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protection and preservation of evidence in forensic cases; they stated that more than half of the 44 healthcare staff who participated in the study had not received any training with regard to forensic nursing. Caliskan and Ozden (2012) conducted a study with 233 people to determine the level of knowledge of healthcare personnel in Turkey with regard to forensic evidence; they found that 73% of the personnel had not received training on forensic cases, and 17.5% of participants who had received training in this area reported that such training had been insufficient. It is believed that the reason for this lack of information is not to include forensic nursing as a course in our country’s undergraduate curriculum. It was determined that the difference between the sociodemographic characteristics of the students, whether their family members were interested in forensic medicine, and the opinions of students with regard to forensic nursing was not significant (p > 0.05). In the study by Şentürk and Büyükaslan (2013), the socio-demographic characteristics of the participating students, whether their family members were interested in forensic medicine, and their knowledge level regarding forensic nursing were compared, and no statistically significant difference was found between the groups (p > 0.05). Strengthening forensic nursing education increases patient care quality, patient safety, access to services, the confidence and skill levels of nurses, and patient satisfaction, while reducing the burden on the health system (Simmons and Grandfield 2013). In our study, almost all students stated that training on forensic nursing should be taken and nearly half reported that there should be elective courses while at school (Table 2). In the study of Şentürk and Büyükaslan (2013), all participating students indicated that training related to forensic nursing should be given and more than half reported that this training was taken during basic vocational training. From here, we can see that students are aware of their lack of knowledge and want this to be remedied. Forensic nursing is a collaborative field of medicine and law that requires both general health sciences and legal knowledge (Lynch 2006; Kent-Wilkinson 1999; Lynch 2011). In our study, students stated that forensic nurses often needed knowledge of forensic science and basic health sciences, and very few students chose the law option. In the study by Şentürk and Büyükaslan (2013), most students (28.0%) stated that forensic nurses should have knowledge of basic health sciences (Table 1). It is believed that students often see forensic nursing related to health sciences, as they do not fully understand the definition of forensic nursing. Forensic nurses have many areas of study such as hospitals, prisons, forensic medical institutions, judicial offices, detention centers and crime scene investigations (Kent-Wilkinson 1999; Lynch 2011). Most of the students who participated in our study stated that the working areas of judicial nurses were forensic medicine institutions. In the study by Şentürk and Büyükaslan (2013), approximately half of the students stated that the working areas of the forensic nurses were hospitals and very few students reported that their working areas were forensic medical institutions (Table 1). In the study conducted by Kalayci et al. (2014), the students stated that the forensic case studies were not only done by forensic medicinetrained colleagues. Many participants saw forensic nurses as working in forensic medicine or hospitals, suggesting that forensic nursing was only associated with the field of healthcare according to students’ opinions. Conclusions In our study, senior nursing students’ knowledge of forensic nursing was insufficient and they were not trained in this area. The data we have obtained in this study aiming to reveal the knowledge levels of nursing students about forensic phenomena show a general agreement with the results of similar studies. In addition, most of the students stated that forensic nursing education should be suggested as an elective course at the undergraduate level and should be specialized. Therefore, addition of courses related to forensic nursing to the undergraduate curriculum in all universities, opening postgraduate training programs related to the subject, and increasing scientific activities such as congresses, seminars, and courses are recommended. Both a tendency towards the advancement of forensic nursing in the nursing profession and basic principles in undergraduate education should be acquired. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the students’ perspectives on forensic nursing (Additional file: 1). Additional file Additional file 1: The Questionnare form related to descriptive characteristics of the Nursing Students and the views of Senior Students in Nursing about Forensic Nursing. (DOCX 15 kb) Abbreviations CSI: Crime scene investigation Topçu and Kazan Egyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences (2018) 8:16 Page 6 of 7 Acknowledegments We thank our students who participated in our work for their contribution. Funding Not applicable. Availability of data and materials The dataset supporting the conclusions of this article is included within the article. Authors’ contributions Study design: ETT, EEK; data collection: ETT, data analysis: ETT; preparation of the article: ETT, EEK. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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