Forensic Nursing

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Forensic Pathology This is a vast branch of pathology that exploits cause of deaths by examination of dead bodies. This is a common practice is common in examination of most criminal cases and some civil cases. At the mention of the word forensic, a forensic specialist come the word autopsy. This word can be basically be broken down to mean ‘see for yourself’(Burton, 2005) Investigation should answer some basic questions in order to be valid. These questions may include: Who is deceased? Where? When? What injuries are present? Why and how? And eventually what actually caused the death? Forensic Nursing Field According to International Association of Forensic Nursing, forensic nursing is the application of nursing science to public and legal proceedings investigating potential and real morbidity and mortality cases in different human settings. Forensic nurses investigate sexual and physical assaults together with accidental deaths. This has been instrumental in administration of justice. This field is detail oriented involving crucial data and sample collection as well as analysis of the data collected .They take blood samples and tissues. It can also involve taking photographs and measuring wounds as well as collecting other vital evidence from the body. This may include hair or even semen in cases of sexual assault. They also serve to protect, encourage and offer moral support to assault victims. Forensic nursing is a dynamic job characterized with various traits. The characteristics are fast-pace, structured, patient-facing and research-oriented. These qualities call for competent personalities who can testify in court after proper analysis. Forensic nurses can too offer immediate medical attention to pat... ... middle of paper ... ...scence, 2001 16:251 – 253 Marquette, CA and Blum, LJ 2006, Applications of the luminol chemiluminescent reaction in analytical chemistry. Anal Bioanal Chem, 385(3):546 - 54. Quickenden, TI and Creamer JI 2001 A study of common interferences with the forensic luminol test for blood. Luminescence, 16:295 – 298 Quickenden, T. I., Ennis, C.P. and Creamer, J.I., The forensic use of luminol chemiluminescence to detect traces of blood inside motor vehicles. Luminescence, 2001 19: 271 – 277 Schiro, G 1995, Collection and Preservation of Evidence. What We Do - Law Enforcement Series. Compiled by Captain Merril L. Boling, Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. Webb, JL, Creamer, JI and Quickenden, T. I 2006, A comparison of the presumptive luminol test for blood with four non-chemiluminescent forensic techniques. Luminescence, 2006 10.1002/bio.908 (epub ahead of print)

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