Forensic Nurse: The New Role of the Nurse in Law Enforcement

31 October 2010 No Comment

Forensic Nurse: The New Role of the Nurse in Law Enforcement

Forensic Nurse The Vital New Link Between Medicine and Criminal Investigation Serita Stevens R.N., B.S.M., M.A., C.L.N.C. With the Assistance of Members of the International Association of Forensic Nurses A forensic nurse offers an intriguing inside look at her profession, from gathering evidence to solving crimes nurse is often the first person to see the victims of an accident, an assault, or a suicide. Forensic evidence is often crucial, and it is the forensic nurse who is trained and experie

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Forensic nursing is a new specialty in the nursing profession. The first certification exam for this was held only in 2002. It deals with both health and judicial system. Forensic nursing provides an avenue for the nurses who want to support the victims of crime and solve the problem. Forensic nursing does not only deal with dead bodies but they also provide help for the living ones. Forensic nurses specialize in treatment of patient/victim, recognition, collection and preservation of forensic evidence, sexual assault, death investigation and forensic mental health. They can be an expert witness or a fact witness in criminal cases.

As an expert witness, a forensic nurse can provide opinions while a fact witness will only state facts based on the examinations done. Forensic nurses usually work in coroner and medical examiner offices, hospital, acute centers, and law enforcement agencies. In forensic nursing, there are also sub-specialties. You can choose among community education, sexual assault nursing, correctional nursing, legal nurse consulting, death investigation, and gerontology specialization. The salary of a forensic nurse may range from $30 to $100 per hour. Most of the forensic nurses are on call so they are paid hourly. Only few hospitals hire forensic nurses full time due to lack of knowledge of their importance and cost of putting up a new department for forensic nursing. Forensic nursing is an emerging profession so it is not yet known to many people and its importance is not yet recognized in the world but in a few years it is believed that this profession will be given importance.


The University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) College of Nursing offers an online program of study leading to the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in Forensic Nursing. This is a practice doctorate that prepares nurses for an integrative practice at the doctoral level.

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