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Nursing Resources: Forensic Nursing

This guide is intended to help Nursing students find relevant resources for their research needs. You'll find useful searching tips, nursing databases, websites and more.

What is Forensic Nursing?

Basic Description

"Forensic nurses combine clinical nursing practice with knowledge of law enforcement. They provide care to victims and are involved in the investigation of sexual assault, elder and spousal abuse, and unexplained or accidental death. Forensic nursing is high stress because of the nature of the work, and it requires a broad understanding of social, environmental, and psychological influences on behavior. The environments in which forensic nurses work are varied. They work in such settings as correctional institutions, psychiatric facilities, acute care settings, coroner and medical examiners' offices, and for insurance companies."  (pg 128)

Ea, E. E. (2017). 301 careers in nursing. ProQuest Ebook Central https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Topics of Interest

  • Sexual assault or Rape
  • Death investigation
  • Child abuse
  • Child neglect
  • Data collection (urine,blood, saliva, for example)
  • Domestic violence
  • Crime scene invesigation
  • Spousal abuse
  • Blunt trauma
  • patterned injuries
  • SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner)
  • DNA analysis
  • Elder abuse
  • Collecting and preserving physical evidence
  • Sex offenses
  • Specimen Handling
  • Physical Examination
  • Rape kits
  • Colposcopy methods