Biography

UNLV School of Nursing associate professor-in-residence Kathleen Thimsen has been a registered nurse for nearly five decades with two specialty areas: (1) wound, ostomy, and continence, as well as (2) forensic nursing. Her forensics work is directed to elder abuse, catastrophic wounding, fatalities, and human trafficking/forced organ harvesting. She also has expertise in the risk management and legal aspects of healthcare.

Thimsen has extensive global health experience, having worked in Columbia, Brazil, and Peru since 2005. She was the founder of Nurses2Peru, which served indigenous people on the Inca Trail. She joined UNLV in 2020, formerly serving as co-director and director, respectively, of the UNLV Community Clinic and the Doctorate in Nursing Practice program.

She was one of the founding board members of the Academy of Forensic Nursing and the Forensic Nursing Certification Board, for which she currently serves as treasurer. Thimsen is also an inventor, possessing patents and trademarks for items aimed at tracking and guiding wound care treatment and the dispensing of medical supplies.