Course Offerings

Detective Frechette has decades of varied medical and law enforcement experience.  As such, he is able to offer a unique perspective that appeals to a variety of audiences.  All of the programs listed below provide a general overview of the topics covered but are adapted for each audience based on location, experience and need.  If you don't see an offering that meets your needs then please contact us as we will likely be able to build a program for you or connect you with someone that can.

Current Course Offerings 

  • Medical and Legal Working Together to Improve Health Outcomes 

This workshop will look at the relationships between medical staff, police officers and attorneys, which often can be strained.  It is important for medical providers and members of the criminal justice system to work together.  This creates more safety for victims and improves short and long-term health outcomes.

We will examine and discuss the following:

    • The important role of medical providers when working with victims and offenders.
    • How the criminal justice system can use medical information for successful prosecution.
    • An overview of the criminal justice system.
    • Strategies for working together while still adhering to patient confidentiality and organizational policy.
    • The important role medical documentation has in victim safety
  • Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Case Building for Law Enforcement

Domestic violence incidents are some of the most dangerous and complex situations that law enforcement officers respond to.  In many cases, the victim is not able or willing to testify against their abuser and this may lead to a lack of successful prosecution.  Research shows us that when abusers are held accountable for their actions that recidivism decreases, victim safety increases and families can start to heal.  This workshop is focused on building a strong case that can be successfully prosecuted without relying on the victim's testimony.

  • Effective Report Writing in Gender Based Violence Cases 

Gender based violence crimes are pattern crimes requiring careful documentation.  This workshop will look at how police, medical and other official reports have the potential to make or break a case.  In particular it will explore descriptive language as well as ways in which our documentation has the ability to empower or re-victimize victims of these crimes.

  • Stalking Investigations

Stalking cases are complicated, multi-jurisdictional pattern crimes that require great attention to detail and collaboration.  As technology evolves and advances the challenges are only increasing and we must work to stay ahead of the curve.  This course is a basic overview of how to investigate and build a strong stalking case to increase victim safety and offender accountability.

  • Response To Elder Abuse

Our population is aging and the average life expectancy is increasing. With this comes increased incidence of elder abuse, which is often underreported. This session will help providers to identify the dynamics of abuse, injury patterns and the subtle signs/symptoms that can indicate hidden abuse. We also look at the services that are available and treatment options for dealing with victims of elder abuse.

  • Healthcare Response To Domestic Violence

Healthcare providers are often called on to treat victims of domestic violence for seemingly minor injuries.  This program will give providers greater insight into the dynamics of abusive relationships.  We will discuss why victims stay, why and how batterers control their partners, how to recognize the signs of abuse and how to best tend to the emotional and physical needs of victims of abuse.

  • Healthcare and Stalking

EMS providers, nurses and other healthcare workers are constantly in the public arena dealing with people in high stress situations. Our efforts to help people in crisis can be misinterpreted by those we are caring for and lead to obsessive stalking behavior. Additionally, intimate partner stalking is the most frequent and lethal type of stalking. It affects our patients and colleagues and must be recognized, as it is often a precursor to more violent and potentially fatal events. The signs of stalking can be subtle and failure to recognize them and respond appropriately can lead to a tragic ending. Stalking is truly a healthcare issue and this course is designed to give a basic overview of how to recognize and respond to it.

  • Response To Strangulation - It's More Lethal Than You Think!

This course will explore how to recognize and treat potentially life threatening injuries when someone is "Choked".  These assaults are often minimized by victims and medical providers due to the lack of external signs of trauma.  We will cover detailed anatomy and physiology related to the neck and how internal injuries can be identified through a thorough patient assessment.  NH has a felony strangulation law because of the great potential of life threatening injury that rarely manifests externally.  As a result of the felony law and increasing awareness, healthcare workers are seeing increased reporting of this type of assault and it is vitally important for providers to accurately recognize the life threatening potential when someone is attacked in this manner.

The 3-hour version of this course covers all of these topics more in depth with a specific focus on anatomy and physiology and related pathophysiology.  Those who attend the 2-hour course often comment that they wish it were longer so that these areas could be addressed more in depth.

  • Narcotics, hallucinogens, depressants, stimulants, oh my!  What did my patient take?

Local and national attention has been focused on the heroin epidemic but narcotics are not the only drugs being abused at record levels.  Many of our drug abusers are also poly substance users so how do we tell what they took and how does that impact our treatment decisions.  The Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) program was created to help police officers identify and prosecute drivers that are impaired by substances other than alcohol.  This seminar will examine key signs and symptoms as well as assessment tools used by DREs that can aid EMS providers in determining when a patient is impaired by certain types of drugs and how that impacts the care that we provide.

  • Trauma Informed Patient Assessment

Why do some patients respond to our assessments in ways that do not make any sense to us?  Why are there some patients who get hysterical over seemingly minor traumatic or medical events while others appear unfazed by what may seem like life altering events?  Have you ever noticed that some patients push your buttons and elicit responses that are out of character and cause regret and in some instances result in you or a colleague facing disciplinary action?  There has been a great deal of research done in the area of trauma and how it affects the way we and our patients respond to a stimulus.  This workshop explores some key points from this research and how to apply it to your practice in order to provide a higher level of patient care.