Patricia M. Speck graduated from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing in 1982 (BSN), 1985 (MSN), and 2005 (DNSc). After retiring from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing as the DNP Public Health Nursing and DNP Forensic Nursing Concentration Coordinator, she joined the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing in the Department of Community Health, Outcomes, and Systems.
Currently, Dr. Speck is a Professor and Coordinator of the graduate Advanced Forensic Nursing program. She is internationally recognized as a Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner and an expert Advanced Forensic Nurse, caring for patients experiencing an intersection with the legal system. She consults with governments and universities internationally in Africa, Eurasia, the Caribbean, and Central, South and North America with government bureaucracies, universities, institutions, and Non-Governmental Organizations to evaluate and implement infrastructure change in response to victims of violence. As a forensic nurse practice expert and researcher, she develops policy, evaluates programs and builds nursing workforce capacity through publication, education, and violence prevention initiatives. Her research interests focus on forensic nurse practices and trauma-informed interventions, the scientific basis for nurse interventions, patient health outcomes following violence, and evidence for the FN practice, including DNA detection. She was President and founding member of the International Association of Forensic Nurses (2003-2004), Chair, American Public Health Association's Family Violence Prevention Forum/Caucus (2011-2013), founding board member of the Academy of Forensic Nursing (2018), founding member of the Forensic Nursing Science Section of the American Academy of Forensic Science, and founding board member and current President (2022-2024) of the Forensic Nursing Certification Board. Her awards include: Fellow American Academy of Forensic Sciences (2008), Distinguished Fellow, International Association of Forensic Nurses (2001) and Distinguished Fellow, Academy of Forensic Nursing (2018), and Fellow, American Academy of Nurses (2002). She is the recipient of over 25 awards and received the Lifetime Professional Impact Award from End Violence Against Women International in 2017, and the American Academy of Forensic Science Virginia Lynch Innovation Award in 2023.
