My name is Jason Empson and I am 42 years old, married with a blended family that includes 4 wonderful daughters ages 21, 18, 15, and 12.  I was born in Southern California and lived there until my early 20's- raised in a small mountain community, Big Bear in the San Bernardino mountains.  I joined the Marine Corps right out of high school and ended up with a knee injury during a training exercise which left me without a career, no backup plan and no idea where I was going or what I was doing.  I spent the better part of my 20's wandering from job to job trying to find where I fit it;  I've done electrical work, drywall, security, worked as a bouncer, personal trainer, warehouse person and delivery driver.  I found my way to Northern California and in school for massage therapy.  After graduation I worked with a wonderful chiropractor for a few years before the economy took a major downturn and clients couldn't afford to keep paying for massages. No income meant no bills were getting paid and faced with the prospect of being homeless, divorced and a very bleak job market I moved North to Oregon to live with my parents (they moved out of Ca. shortly after I joined the Marines) and return to school once again.  Friends suggested I consider nursing since I had enjoyed working in massage and helping people get better and recover from injuries- and nursing would be much more recession-proof.  Cut to me ten years later having stepped up the ladder from CNA in a Skilled Nursing Facility to a float nurse in our local hospital to now working my dream job- RN in the Emergency Department.  I've been here for five years, have completed my BSN and recently have begun to take on other projects such as ED champion for code stroke project re-work and initiation of code sepsis.  I am also adjusting into my new role as preceptor/mentor for a recent graduate and new hire to our department.  My goal is to continue to move forward with my education and obtain my MSN and FNP where I then hope to work in this very same ER as a provider.  I'm leaving myself open to options in case I find something else that really excites me during my clinical rotations but I'm pretty set on staying in the ED.  I am also taking the minor for forensic nursing and can see a future of me working with our county medical examiner who is also an FNP.

 

  My wife is also a nurse, and is currently in her DNP program (4th term) at one of our "Sister Universities"- Frontier.  We live on a ten-acre ranch; have 20 chickens, 7 cats, 3 dogs, 3 goats, a turtle, several goldfish and 5 horses.  We are both members of the Mounted Sheriffs Posse and spend most of our free time riding or participating in community activities related to the posse.  I also train in competitive pistol shooting as part of the Posse Pistol Team and will be competing for the first time with them this Summer! So, needless to say we keep pretty busy around our place.  I am not a big fan of travel and vacations- I prefer to keep it local and just go camping and enjoy our beautiful Oregon Coast during the summer.  I do however have a favorite vacation- Honeymoon to Monterey and Santa Cruz.   I suspect it has more to do with the company I was with as to why that's my favorite vacation though!

 

 

My name is Stephanie Bourdeau. I recently relocated from Savannah, GA to Guam.  I am an Active Duty Nay nurse stationed at the Naval Hospital in Guam where I work as the clinic Manager in the Pediatric clinic.  Previously I worked on at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center as a shift nurse and charge nurse on an inpatient pediatric unit.  After three years I transferred to Naval Hospital Beaufort and worked on a multi-service ward, and then served as clinic manager of the Medical Home Port.  I am originally from Lancaster, PA.  I am married and have two Labrador retrievers.  My hobbies include traveling and basically any outdoor activity.  We’ve recently traveled to Italy, France, and Prague and are planning to travel to Japan this summer.  I am interested in taking the course because I have an interest in Nursing Forensics.  I am a trained SAMFE and provide Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Exams for Active Duty military rape victims and suspects.  I hope to learn more about offender behavior, examination of injuries, methods for obtaining complete histories, and forensic toxicology.  Overall, I believe this course will be extremely beneficial and applicable to the care I provide to both victims and suspects.  

I have always thought forensic nursing would be interesting to learn and explore, which is why I decided to join this course. I have little experience working with forensic sciences. A small exposure that I received was that I worked in an emergency department in college for an internship where they occasionally conducted sexual assault exams. It was interesting to learn about the different test that are done during this emotional process. I hope to learn more about different types of violence and crimes, how to detect for them, how to further investigate them, and how I can aid victims as a nurse. I cannot wait to start this course and I look forward to working with all of you!

My name is Julia Kennedy and I currently live in Delaware and work in the emergency department at Wilmington hospital.  I am involved on the trauma clinical leadership team there and the decontamination team.  Both teams are uniquely different but I love the variety of skills I learn from each.  I graduated from University of Delaware with my BSN in 2012 and I am enrolled in the MSN nursing innovation through Drexel.  I have been in the same emergency department since I graduated in 2012 and has been part of the growth of almost doubling its size and becoming a level 3 trauma center.  Working in an inner-city emergency department has opened my eyes to a new world of violence and crime that has peaked my interest into forensics.  Victims of violence, whether it be gun shots, stabbings, assaults, domestic violence, or drug related, frequently visit our emergency department.  I am interested in ways our team as a whole can better care for them, as well as have a better understanding into forensics.  

During my free time I enjoy doing anything outside, especially hiking and exploring national parks.  One of my favorite vacations was traveling to Zion National Park and hiking the area there.  A goal of mine is to travel as much as I can.  I also enjoy wine tastings and if I had more free time would love to be a sommelier.  I look forward to a great quarter and getting to know everyone better!

Good luck!

The picture below is of my parents, my brother and myself.  

My name is Danielle Jordan.  I am a 26 year old, living in Philadelphia with my Fiancé and our adorable pup, Denali.  I graduated from Drexel’s undergrad nursing co-op program in 2016, and have been working at in the Emergency Department at CHOP ever since.  I am now back in graduate school to become a pediatric primary care NP.  I took a forensic science class in high school, and have always been interested in the topic ever since.  I am not a specifically trained SART nurse in my department, but all RNs are trained to assist during SART examinations (which happen far too frequently for a pediatric ED).  When I am not working, doing schoolwork, or wedding planning, I spend all of my free time outdoors.  My family loves all things nature, especially hiking, camping, boating, wakeboarding, and snowboarding.  We also are avid travelers.  We recently went to Portugal and Morocco and are looking forward to our summer trip to Greece.  I am very excited for this semester and look forward to getting to know everyone!  

 

When I am not at work you can find me traveling, reading, baking, or trying out new restaurants in Philly! I am excited to interact with you all in this course and learn something new!

            I love to swim and do yoga. I have had the opportunity to travel around the globe, so my next vacation, I will be a visitor in my own backward as I will be heading to Eastern Canada. I plan on eating all the seafood. My favorite animal is the polar bear. 

My Name is Jennifer.  I am 27 years old and I live in Horsham PA. I currently work as a Registered Nurse in a level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. I am currently seeking to obtain my NP in Acute care and Primary care Pediatrics.  I chose this course as one of my electives because I have always had an interest in forensics. While it doesn’t completely relate to my major, I am hoping that I will be able to learn something I can apply to my major. I look forward to this class and getting to learn a lot of new and interesting things. 

 

My name is Lisa George. I live in Rockland, NY. I currently work as a RN in a PACU. I’ve been a nurse for 7 years. I am currently working on my NP in Acute Care.

Although this course may not have a direct link to my current specialty, like everyone, I have always been interested in Forensic Science. As a PACU RN, postoperatively, I have taken care of many gun shot wound patients. I hope to learn more about forensics and its link to healthcare systems.

 

In my spare time, I love to hike as well as swim. 

I look forward to meeting and learning from everyone.