Marilyn Moorhouse, Seattle Pacific University's new School of Health Sciences graduate admissions counselor, comes to us with experience that is not only useful and wide-ranging – it is also pretty fascinating. She has worn many hats as a head nurse, a counselor, clinic manager, educator and forensic nurse examiner.

Speculating about the current surge of interest in forensics, which stems partly from the popularity of the television show “C.S.I.,” Marilyn quickly distinguishes the difference between that demanding, meticulous work and the way television portrays it. “It's such an erroneous portrayal,” she says of television forensics heroes. “They go to crime scenes in their little halter tops with their hair hanging down. You should see what the outfits you wear to a crime scene really look like.”

But this wave of interest in forensics is not a bad thing, she quickly adds. “Now, there are more nurses in forensic roles. People are beginning to look at the process nurses go through during death investigations. Nurses can be very good at putting the pieces together and taking a look at the whole picture. Behind the scenes, especially in cases of abuse and violence, they have often been able to say – in a clinical setting – ‘I think there's something a little bit more here than Johnny always falling down and hurting himself.' Examiners also look at accidents and trauma, and how they can be prevented.”

Now, Moorhouse is applying her powers of discernment and observation in the role of admissions counselor for SPU's School of Health Sciences, the school from which she received her BSN in 1973 and her master's in nursing in 1998. She has also worked as a clinician and critical care nurse in Seattle, trained as a sexual assault nurse at Harborview, and gained her certificate in forensics at the University of Washington. Recently she has served as an educator at Overlake Hospital, as a legal nurse consultant for McIntyre and Barnes, Attorneys at Law, and as manager of several clinics.

Her experience at Seattle Pacific will make her a valuable counselor to prospective nursing students. “What I really learned from SPU was to be more accountable for my actions, for my beliefs, for my practice. SPU gives you the grounding, the confidence, and the beliefs to go out and really make a difference. To serve the underserved. To be someone's conscience. And to promote health, harmony, and peace within the profession itself.”

Laughing, she adds, “It also gives you the confidence to get into weird areas of the profession!”

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