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This story contains references to sexual assault
Hawke’s Bay woman Lei Johnson was the first nurse practitioner in New Zealand to become an accredited forensic examiner.
Previously, all forensic examiners had been doctors and “it wasn’t just yes, you could be one”, Johnson said.
She entered the industryin 2017 and was recently named the inaugural recipient of an Australasian Forensic and Medical Sexual Assault Clinicians Australia (FAMSACA) scholarship.
Johnson said expanding nurse practitioner roles into forensic medicine had significantly improved timely access to care for those impacted by sexual violence.
“As clinical leaders, nurse practitioners are driving innovation in advanced nursing in forensic health services and helping shape the future direction of care delivery in this critical, under-resourced field.”
The scholarship will enable her to attend the 2025 FAMSACA Conference, where she will speak on the role of Aotearoa New Zealand nurse practitioners as accredited forensic examiners and expanding the scope of expertise in a critical, hard-to-recruit area.
Lei Johnson was the first nurse practitioner to become an accredited forensic examiner in New Zealand.
Johnson currently serves as the lead clinician for the Hawke’s Bay sexual assault assessment and treatment service and the non-fatal strangulation and suffocation service.
As her title suggests, her work can be difficult, and she can be called on at any time.
Johnson’s main aim is to leave the people she comes across feeling slightly better than when they arrived.
“The changes you can make in such a short time, when that person leaves with a smile on their face, really emphasises the incredible role we do.
“It’s not really family-friendly hours that we work, a lot of it is after hours and in the middle of the night.”
Johnson said regionally, the number of cases they will work with can change, and the issue affected “every gender, every age group, every nationality and ethnicity”.
“Our regional statistics show that Tuesday is our busiest time.
“In Hawke’s Bay, we sit 30 to 50 cases a year, and that includes therapeutic examinations or historic exams where people have been sexually assaulted a long time ago, but have just decided that now they would like to have medical care and talk to somebody.”
Johnson said they take a holistic approach to an examination, which could take between three and five hours.
This includes a thorough history and a top-to-toe examination, and if needed, a more detailed genital examination.
“We are not just coming and doing a forensic exam, we are also doing the therapeutic element - we are making sure the patient is well and making sure they are mentally okay and they have the support in place when they leave.”
She said people who had experienced sexual violence in the previous seven days had the option of having a forensic examination, including specimen samples taken from sites around the body where there was alleged contact.
As the lead clinician, Johnson is the primary contact for the Police regarding all aspects of forensic medicine within the Eastern District region.
She said the examiner’s job was not to decide if it happened or not, but to support a person through their journey to be heard.
“One of the biggest misconceptions is a medical examiner can tell if someone has been sexually assaulted.”
Johnson said they then provided expert opinion and guidance for police and for the Ministry of Justice within the court setting, which was neutral advice, with the opinion based on the facts of the exam.
If you have experienced sexual harm and need support or care you can call the Hawke’s Bay Sexual Health Service anytime on 0800 873 219.
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.
