Nurses are tasked to care for patients, which requires them to make decisions and take actions that are in the interests of their patients. Nurses are involved in evidence collection as a part of the patient care process. They must be familiar with the various evidence-collection methods and their relevance to nursing practice. Nurses are expected to be familiar with evidence-collection procedures when dealing with a patient in the emergency department.
Nurses are left to collect and preserve evidence from a patient involved in a crime (Kelishami et al., 2022). For example, the nurses collect their body fluids for forensic analysis if a patient is involved in a crime, whether the victim or perpetrator. Nurses need to be trained in handling forensic evidence when dealing with a patient involved in a crime. Nurses should be able to recognize potential evidence, identify potential victims and crime scenes, understand how to document or photograph evidence and record patients’ statements and explain the steps needed in reporting suspected false confessions or convictions.
If a nurse is familiar with evidence collection, they will know how to handle evidence and not destroy anything important in a forensic examination, like blood or semen (Manning et al., 2022). Nurses should be familiar with forensic evidence collection techniques and their importance in daily practice. The nurse’s role is to provide care, comfort, and safety for patients under their care (Wolf et al., 2022). However, it is not always possible to give the best care when dealing with a patient who has experienced trauma such as an assault or sexual assault or who may have been involved in an accident or deadly crime.
To provide safe and ethical care, nurses must also investigate abuse accusations against their patients or others involved. Patients mostly trust nurses, and with the right knowledge of forensics and evidence collection, they can talk to victims of a criminal act and help them calm down to share what happened to them.
Clinical and Forensic Knowledge Difference between Physicians and Nurses
Clinical and forensic knowledge differences between physicians and nurses are based on their educational background, clinical experience, and training. The role of a nurse is different from that of a physician, as nurses are trained to provide patient care. Physicians attend medical school for many years, after which they must pass board exams, then train in various specialty areas such as pediatrics, organology, and surgery.
Clinical knowledge relates to the patient’s health, while forensic knowledge refers to any information relevant to the prosecution or defense of a crime (Manning et al., 2022). Physicians and nurses may be expected to use this special expertise, but it is rarely required initially. Therefore, they should have a good balance between clinical and forensic knowledge.
Clinical knowledge includes knowing how to treat a patient. Forensic evidence collection is more specific and requires more technical skills to identify the cause and origin of an injury or death (Wolf et al., 2022). For example, if a doctor believes that someone was murdered, but the report indicates that it was suicide as a cover-up for the death, the patient’s relatives may request an autopsy to determine if other factors contributed to the death.
Physicians are well equipped with clinical knowledge but should be trained in identifying and reporting cases like rape that need a forensic eye (Kumar et al., 2022). The major difference between physicians and nurses in forensic knowledge is that nurses are more likely to calm a patient who is a victim of a crime than a physician. Nurses are trained to handle patients who have experienced a traumatic event and calm them down easily. Patients are highly likely to open up about their ordeal when a nurse is around than when a physician or doctor is present.
Conclusion
Nurses are frequently involved in the collection and preservation of forensic evidence. By providing awareness, education, and training in this area, nurses can provide a more comprehensive service to anyone involved in a crime or disaster. Evidence collected should be supported for the best result to be established. Any outside contact can add or remove useful components in the investigation.
References
Badiye, A., Kapoor, N., & Menezes, R. G. (2022). Chain of custody. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK551677/
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