Taryn Tanner
Degree: MS 2011
Taryn Tanner’s passion for her work as a forensic nurse examiner is palpable. She describes herself as being a “voice for the voiceless. These individuals are coming to you at the worst moment in their lives and it is my job to help them on a healing journey.”
For the past two years, Tanner has been practicing as a sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) with Forensic Nurse Specialists, Inc, a professional corporation composed of registered nurses and nurse practitioners who are trained to conduct expert medical forensic exams for victims of sexual assault. In her practice, she sees individuals, mostly women, who have suffered injuries from sexual assault and domestic violence and collects evidence that can be presented in court.
“Our main role as the forensic nurse is safety: emotional, physical, psychological safety,” she explains. “It is not an easy job. The amount of injury that patients can have can be very upsetting. They are sharing with you something very intimate and traumatizing. And you have to talk to them differently – remember, they are a survivor of a violent act. ‘How you came to be in my exam room is not okay. Tell me your story. Tell me what happened.’”
For Tanner, the role was years in the making. When she was 16, a forensic pathologist came to speak at career day at her high school. “I was fascinated,” she says, “but so much was going on. I didn’t give it any more thought.”
She obtained her RN degree from community college and worked first in pediatrics at Miller Children’s Hospital and then in the emergency department at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. In 2006, the idea of forensics came up again while she was working towards her bachelor’s degree. Forensic nursing was in its infancy, and there were not many roles available; but from then on, Tanner kept an eye on developments in the field. She went on to obtain an advanced practice degree at the UCI Program in Nursing Science, graduating in the inaugural class in 2011. There were fewer than 10 students in her class and, she says, “It was the best two years of any program that I have been in. I think about it often.”
To be a SANE, you have to have an empathetic attitude.
Taryn Tanner
The following seven years saw Tanner undertake a variety of nursing roles in both New York and California, including expanding her professional development in administration – experience she describes as “invaluable.”
By 2018, she was actively researching education opportunities in forensic nursing and, a year later, the opening she was looking for came. The UCI Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing had received a grant to train nurses for the role of sexual assault nurse examiner. Tanner was in.
Having completed the course, followed by the required 300 hours of clinical experience, Tanner is now part of the team who will be responding to a new sexual assault exam site on the UCI campus. This dedicated, spa-like suite provides a confidential space where students can have a medical forensic exam done by a forensic nurse, whether or not they want to make a law enforcement report. Amenities provided include a shower, clothing, and food.
“Start by believing the victim,” says Tanner. “To be a SANE, you have to have an empathetic attitude.”
In addition to collecting and photographing evidence, Tanner does law enforcement and victim advocate training. She has not had to testify in court yet, but the systems involved take a long time and there is a big backlog because of Covid. She explains:
“Being a SANE is a blend of different disciplines: Criminal justice, crime lab, medicine, and advocacy. You need to learn and know how to talk to each of these different systems.”
Since completing her sexual assault training, Tanner has obtained a post-master’s certificate in forensic nursing for death investigation through an online program at Monmouth University. Her new ambition is to become a nurse death examiner – that is, a nurse coroner – but only three states she is aware of currently recognize this role: Colorado, Louisiana, and Texas.
“I’d love to pioneer that pathway in California,” she says. “As a nurse death examiner, I could give a voice to those who are truly voiceless. I would be helping to get justice for the deceased and start the healing process for the survivors.”
Taylor Semrad
Degree: MS 2016
Taylor Semrad has found her ideal job: taking care of the “sickest of the sick.” Semrad graduated in 2016 from the UCI Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing advanced practice program, certified as a family nurse practitioner. She worked first in a small private family practice and then a large physician practice until, four years ago, she took up her role at Landmark Health.
Across the U.S., Landmark Health partners with health insurance plans to bring medical, behavioral health, and palliative care to patients, along with social services. Patient contact is through both in-person house calls and telemedicine visits over video and phone. In Southern California, the company is contracted with two large insurance providers to see their highest risk patients. These are individuals who have five or more chronic conditions and who oftentimes end up in the ER or the hospital. They’re likely to be homebound and have transportation issues, and are often without fulltime caregivers. Patients can be of any age, “but,” says Semrad, “they are very sick.” “We serve as liaisons with each patient’s community providers – both primary care and specialists,” she says, describing her role. “By seeing patients in their homes, we can identify healthcare gaps and psychosocial factors that are impacting their care. There’s a layer of support that they are often not getting in a 15-minute office visit.”
That additional layer of support has been central to Semrad’s realisation that the job is a perfect fit for her. Previously, she had felt frustrated by the necessity to rush through patient visits on a tight schedule, particularly when seeking to help the most vulnerable. Now she sees five to seven patients per day and is able to spend 50-75 minutes per visit. “This allows us to really establish rapport,” she says.
We are providing the highest level of holistic care that we can to the most vulnerable populations – all while addressing healthcare costs and filling the gaps that the primary care providers often do not have the time or resources for…. I hope it becomes a healthcare model for all.
Taylor Semrad
After almost five years in the job, she has also gotten to know patients’ families and friends, becoming a member of the community surrounding her patients.
The continuity of care for Landmark’s “sickest of the sick” patients is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As Semrad describes, if it is a holiday or non-office hours, and the patient has a health issue – say a urinary tract infection – they would call Landmark. A clinician is sent to the patient’s home that same day to assess and hopefully treat the issue, to keep the patient from going to the ER or urgent care.
The car of a Landmark provider functions as a mobile urgent care vehicle, equipped with items such as IV fluids, breathing treatments and a small supply of medications, including injectables. “We can treat minor urgent needs right in their home,” she says. “Of course, if it is a serious condition, we will refer them to the ER.”
This aspect of the work fulfills the second of Semrad’s key motivations for her nursing career: being able to use the full extent of her education and expertise for the benefit of her patients. She is very active in the California Association for Nurse Practitioners and a keen advocate for the profession.
As such, Semrad has also found a very satisfying interdisciplinary professional community among her colleagues at Landmark. “Our team – which also includes nutritionists, behavioral health specialists and social workers – are all committed to the same goals and purposes. We are providing the highest level of holistic care that we can to the most vulnerable populations – all while addressing healthcare costs and filling the gaps that the primary care providers often do not have the time or resources for.” “I love what I do,” she reiterates. “I love the mission and hope it becomes a healthcare model for all.”
Semrad was recently promoted to a supervisorial role, and plans to continue to develop her leadership skills while caring for the sickest of the sick.
“Right now,” she reflects, “This is where I belong.”
