This morning saw the start of the introduction to Forensic Practice the first module in the Postgraduate Certificate of Advanced Forensic Practice. This is the only award of its kind in the UK. Previously Health professionals would have had to travelled to the USA, or Canada to undertake this type of qualification.  Nurses and Paramedics who undertake forensic examinations in both custody and sexual assault settings are benefiting from 21^st Century purpose built education environments at Staffordshire University, including a Crime Scene House and life size court-room.  This allows students to experience real life in a safe learning environment.

The award has been recognised by the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine (FFLM), College of Paramedics and United Kingdom Association of Forensic Nurses (UKAFN) as the minimum qualification for Nurses and paramedics working in Forensic Practice.

The Forensic Team are based in the £31 million purpose built Science Centre in the centre of the City of Stoke-on-Trent . The module team are all experts in their fields and notch up over a 100 yeas of practitioner and academic experience between them.

The award Leader is also the Education Officer for UKAFN, which provides her with a unique insight into the challenges and education needs of these Health Practitioners.  The Postgraduate Certificate of this award also includes the UKAFN ASET Certificate, which certifies this award meets the Advanced Standards in Education and Training as set out by UKAFN.  The FFLM have acknowledged that the ASET Certificate can also bemused in part of the FFLM Licentiate, where successful ASET Students can undertake the FFLM MCQ and OSCE examination to obtain an FFLM Licentiate.

Students are clearly enjoying accessing the learning materials which is bringing together theory and practice, such as this morning where the students were required to identify injuries on a ‘real-life’ artists model who had simulated traumatic injuries to identify and body map.  When asked why are you undertaking this course, one student responded by saying that ‘she wanted to be the best forensic nurse she could be’.

@StaffsFACS_Dept

<A href=“http://www.staffs.ac.uk/course/SSTK-01211.jsp”>Forensic Investigation</a>

<A href=“http://www.staffs.ac.uk/course/SSTK-04128.jsp”>Forensic Investigation</a>