Since 1992, guidelines from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has required EDs to maintain lists of community referral agencies specific to domestic violence victims. 12 Local police department victims' advocate services provide information about local laws and regulations. Along with local domestic violence shelters, they can assist nurses to support victims and inform women of their rights and available services. The legal system has set out to make changes in the way domestic violence is handled in our courts. Nurses and their charting are an important part of that process, even if they never take a step through the courtroom door.
Nurses can use their charting skills to affect social change.
Assessment observations, including injuries, signs and symptoms of possible abuse, and statements that victims and alleged abusers make should be charted. Be specific about shapes and sizes of bruises, for instance, if an injury appears in the shape of a horseshoe ring. Injury maps are perfect tools for pinpointing sites. Always place patients' words or any statement made by a partner in quotation marks. Should the record be subpoenaed, the nurse cannot be held liable for recording actual statements.