Megan Lechner DNP, APRN, CNS, SANE-A, SANE-P
Megan has been practicing as a nurse for 24 years and as a forensic nurse for 14 years. She earned her doctorate in nursing leadership in 2020 from Grand Canyon University, and her MSN and CNS in Forensic Nursing from The University of Colorado, Colorado Springs in 2008. She became a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner in 2007. Dual board certified as a SANE-A and a SANE-P. Megan served as the Clinical Manager of the Forensic Nurse Examiner Team at Memorial Hospital, University of Colorado Health in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This team provides medical forensic care to over 2,300 patients per year who are victims of violence. Megan served as the Director of the Colorado SANE/SAFE Project, which provides medical forensic education to healthcare providers throughout Colorado.
Megan also served as the Principal Investigator for the Women’s Health Study, a national research project seeking to better understand the recovery process after sexual assault, as well the Nonfatal Strangulation Study, aiming to increase recognition of the acute and delayed complications of strangulation, and to identify standards of care. Megan’s work on a national level includes expert testimony consultation and teaching on issues ranging from sexual violence, intimate partner violence, human trafficking and strangulation. Megan also served as a consultant for Indian Health Services, providing both clinical and didactic education to healthcare. Megan has served as an adjunct professor at The University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, developing and teaching forensic nursing courses. In 2012, she served as an international consultant for a USAID project in Swaziland, Africa, mentoring local health care professionals in the care of pediatric rape patients with an emphasis on the prevention of HIV.
Each year we seek to identify and recognize those individuals who have contributed significantly to the advancement, growth, and success of forensic nursing and/or the Association through various awards.