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Forensic Nursing
Careers
By Melissa
Steele
Forensic nursing combines clinical nursing
practice with the law enforcement arena.
It involves the investigation and treatment
of victims of sexual assault, elder, child
and spousal abuse, unexplained or accidental
death, trauma and assault. It also involves
the investigation of perpetrators of these
crimes.
There are an estimated 7,500 nurses who
recurrently fill forensic-nursing roles,
which includes those who work full-time
investigating deaths or treating violent
offenders at psychiatric facilities. With
a continuous rise in crime rates, forensic
nursing is quickly becoming a regular
part of the American judicial system.
Forensic nursing is one of the newest
forms of forensic sciences recognized
by the American Nurses Association . This
relatively new field combines the health
care profession with the judicial system.
Nurses trained in forensic nursing are
required to quickly and correctly collect
evidence that can be used in a court of
law. Not only do they gather forensic
information, they also testify in trials
of their jurisdictions. Forensic nurses
may also serve as legal nurse consultants
or attorneys. The employers of forensic
nursing specialists include acute healthcare
facilities, correctional institutions,
county prosecutors, coroners offices,
medical examiners offices, insurance companies,
and psychiatric facilities.
Degree programs are available in forensic
nursing. There are online nursing degree
programs as well as campus based nursing
schools. A nursing degree, however, is
not required for entry into profession.
Online nursing degree programs and nursing
schools regularly offer various courses
in forensic nursing. Certification courses
are generally required for forensic pediatric/geriatric
nurses, and to be a forensic psychiatric
nurse, you are required to have a MS with
counseling certification.
Not only is forensic nursing an exciting
and rewarding career, there is also a
growing demand for nurses with these specialized
skills. The industry of forensic nursing
is only getting more and more attractive
to nurses that really want to make a difference
in the community around them. Today we
are finding out that the more expertise
a nurse has in knowing exactly what should
be collected, the better the evidence
turned over to the detectives will be.
And that can help lead to a better outcome
in catching the perpetrator. It's an opportunity
for them to help victims of violence and
helping the perpetrators of violence to
get help.
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