security psychiatry hospitals To determine FPNs’ perceptions of their roles To examine roles of nurses working in forensic psychiatric services and their difficulties To determine the relationship between basic initiatives and competences of FPNs with bachelor’ s degrees and those with associate’s degrees To determine the self-competence levels of nurses working in forensic units, general psychiatry services and community mental health areas To define the conceptual framework of Hodges’ Health Career and Care Area Model which can form theoretical basics of developing forensic psychiatric nursing To determine the effect of a one-year educational program for FPNs on their professional competence To explain the roles and job definitions of nurses working in forensic hospitals 66 people 16 FPN 428 nurses 52 nurses 19 FPNs and 15 head nurses 8 nurse managers and 12 experienced nurses FPNs should adopt professional and flexible roles. By receiving further education, FPNs should meet the social needs of the guilty, victims and their families in mental health areas While doing these things, they should take on leadership roles. The roles of FPNs were defined as: creating a therapeutic environment, psychiatric assessment and risk identification, introducing therapeutic initiatives, achieving a balance between care and observation, and communication. The focus group interview performed with nurses working in forensic psychiatry clinics found that nurses’ different roles about forensic patients had binary themes: observation-care, transferencecountertransference, abuseproviding therapeutic benefit and fear-trust. This study determined that although FPNs had skills in providing patient care, their roles about guilty behaviors of patients were not clear and nurses in this field generally continued their functions in the areas of therapy vs. confidence, dangerousness and violence management. This study found significant differences between the nurses in both groups in the issues of pharmacotherapy, violence, violence management, being aware of their own and patients’ feelings and patient-specific treatment. It was determined that FPNs were more competent in issues about violence and conflict, in providing security and quality care. This is a model that guides FPNs in practice, leads the way in assessing patients, in meeting physical, mental and social needs and for medical, social and legal areas and that can establish standards for FPNs in their practice areas. After a one-year educational program, the FPNs stated that they felt more competent in the fields of patient care, observation, providing help and teaching. This change was found to be less for the head nurses. A text was prepared by achieving a consensus with head and experienced nurses about the roles and job definition of nurses working in forensics. Canada Ireland Turkey Turkey Finland Sweden England Finland Australia 162 Psikiyatri Hemşireliği Dergisi - Journal of Psychiatric Nursing 2017;8(3):157–164 violence management and dangerousness.” However, they remarked that these roles were not only valid for forensic psychiatric units, but also for psychiatry clinics where there were no forensic patients. They determined that there were significant differences between the win vs. lose, abuse vs. use and fear vs. confidence binary themes. They also reported that the Information Gathering Schedule is a valid scale for use in this field.[11] Another study by Mason and Phipps, with a sample of FPNs and psychiatric nurses in hospitals with three different security levels, examined FPNs’ skills and competences. They determined that the most important problems in clinics specified by FPNs included dangerousness, aggression and violence. Similarly, psychiatric nurses defined violence and aggression as problems. While the FPNs stated that nursing initiatives such as providing drug therapy, performing risk management and early diagnosis were required to overcome these problems, the psychiatric nurses believed that therapeutic relationships should be structured, risk management should be performed, and patients should be informed.[17] Mason et al. examined whether there is a difference between roles perceived by FPNs and psychiatric nurses in terms of six binary themes. They found a significant difference between FPNs and psychiatric nurses in the themes of winning, success, being helpful, abuse and self-confidence, while there was no significant difference between the medical, legal, transference, countertransference, losing and fear themes.[20] Kent-Wilkinson conducted a review of FPNs’ global roles and their development remarked that forensic psychiatric nursing is a specific area that provides care to both guilty people and victims. Victims may be abused or neglected children, the elderly or victims of sexual assault. FPNs not only provide assistance in psychiatric assessment for patients staying in treatment institutions with beds, like the USA and Canada, they also respond to court cases or can work as experts in courts. By receiving education in their fields, FPNs should flexibly and meet the social needs of the guilty, victims and their families professionally. While doing so, they should play a leadership role.[21] Timmon conducted a study in Ireland to define the roles of nurses in high security psychiatry hospitals and used the guide developed by the United