The opinions of senior nursing students about forensic nursing

Abstract

Background: Today, the increasing number of crime and violence cases is defined as a universal health problem and nurses are the first healthcare personnel to encounter victims and offenders in hospitals, emergency units, intensive care, and services, even at policlinics or on-scene; therefore, it is important that nurses receive education in forensic nursing. Methods: This study was conducted as a descriptive study to determine the opinions of senior nursing students about forensic nursing. This study was conducted with 95 students and its data were collected via a questionnaire that contains descriptive features and opinions about students’ forensic nursing education. Results: The results revealed that 94.7% of students believed that both forensic nursing should be an area of specialization and that nurses should receive forensic nursing education, 42.1% of them stated that this education should be given as an elective course in school, and 40% of the students stated that they wanted to become a forensic nurse when they graduated. Conclusions: The findings suggest that senior nursing students’ knowledge about forensic nursing was insufficient and that they were untrained in this area.