identifies and reports suspicious deaths and dangerous situations. 3 3.2 It is the department that helps the nurse to defend her/his rights in problems s/he is experiencing. 1 1.1 S/He is the person who took part in the autopsy examination. 8 8.4 S/He is the person who helps in the resolution of the forensic cases. 3 3.2 I do not know 48 50.4 Duties of forensic nurses according to students (N = 95)b Collecting evidences 30 31.6 Conserving evidences 25 26.3 Identifying evidences 35 36.8 Recording of the evidences 38 40.0 Provision of evidence delivery chain 32 33.7 I do not know 40 42.1 Subjects that forensic nurses should know according to the students (N = 95)b Basic Health Sciences 67 70.5 Law 56 58.9 Forensic science 71 74.7 I do not know 22 23.2 Areas where the judicial nurses take part according to the students (N = 95)b Hospitals 52 54.7 Jails 14 14.7 Prisons 24 25.3 Forensic medicine institutes 78 82.1 Courts 33 34.7 Crime scene investigation 39 41.1 I do not know 12 12.6 The Case of encountering a forensic event before. Encountering 6 6.3 Not encountering 89 93.7 Forensic events according to students (N = 95)b Traffic accidents 43 45.3 Malpractice 36 37.9 Poisoning 52 54.7 Topçu and Kazan Egyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences (2018) 8:16 Page 4 of 7 Şentürk and Büyükaslan (2013), it was determined that very few of the students had met forensic cases. It is thought that the students’ inability to identify legal cases, their lack of education in the school, and the fact that they had not seen enough of such cases in their clinical practice are effective. When we examine the frequency of forensic cases in Turkey in order of prevalence, traffic accidents is first, followed by penetrating-cutting tool injuries, falls, firearm injuries, and sexual crimes (Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu 2006-2015). However, most of the students in our study reported “sexual offenses” as primary forensic cases (Table 1). In the study conducted by Kalayci et al. (2014), 32.2% of students described “malpractice” cases as primary forensic cases. It is thought that the students being more likely to encounter such stories in the media is effective in this situation. While trying to determine the knowledge levels of healthcare staff working in emergency services with regard to common approaches to forensic cases, almost all healthcare personnel described “firearm injuries” and “sexual assault” cases as forensic cases. It is thought that the reason for the different definitions between students and nurses with regard to forensic cases is that students will identify forensic cases mostly from the media and nurses will correctly identified them based on the most frequently encountered pathways in clinics. It is crucial that healthcare staff receive training in forensic cases in terms of crime and criminal findings, the elimination of victimization of the victim, and contribution to justice (Lynch 2006; Stevens 2004). The majority of students stated that they had no information about forensic nursing and that they were not trained in forensic nursing (Table 1). Today, the Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) TV series seems effective at creating social awareness of forensic science (Yakupoğlu et al. 2016). Thus, the duties and expectations of such professionals are increasing. In our study, very few of the students stated that they followed publications/programs related to forensic medicine/forensic nursing in the media and that they mostly used the Internet for this purpose. It was also determined Table 1 Students’ knowledge about forensic nursing (N = 95) (Continued) Knowledge on forensic nursing Number Percent Suicide 75 78.9 Sex crime 77 81.1 Domestic violence 66 69.5 Gunshot injuries 75 78.9 Drill-cut tool injuries 67 70.5 A student stated that s/he took it as a course at school b N has been multiplied because it has been answered more than once Table 2 Students’ views on forensic nursing (N = 95) Students’ views on forensic nursing Number Percent According to the students, nurses receive forensic nursing education Necessary 90 94.7 Not necessary 5 5.3 Level of forensic nursing education (N = 95)a Must be given as a few hours of lessons in vocational courses at school 19 20.0 Must be given as a compulsory course in school 25 26.3 Must be given as elective course in school 40 42.1 Must be certified education after graduation 29 30.5 Must be given as post-graduate education after graduation 16 16.8 Should forensic nursing be an area of specialization? Yes 90 94.7 No 5 5.3 Do you want to be a forensic nurse when you graduate? Yes 38 40.0 No 13 13.7 Not sure 44 46.3 a N has been multiplied because it has been answered more than once Topçu and Kazan Egyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences (2018) 8:16 Page 5 of 7 in our study that students following publications/programs related to nursing in the media had no effect on information about forensic nursing (p > 0.05). Similar results were obtained when we examined studies conducted with the students related to the subject. In the study of Şentürk and Büyükaslan (2013), it was determined that most of the students had no knowledge about forensic nursing; the very few who did had obtained information from seminars, magazines, and the Internet. When we examined the studies conducted with nurses related to the subject, İlçe et al. (2010) investigated the knowledge and applications of healthcare personnel working in emergency departments for the