The paradigm of forensic nursing for nursing aspirants in India: Promises, caveats & future directions

Abstract

Forensic nursing is an emerging sub-specialty in India holding the potential to rejuvenate the medico-legal system of the country. Also, in India, with its rampant increase in crime rates, the greatest promise of forensic nursing is the emergence of a new holistic approach to legal issues surrounding patient care in the hospital and community setting. The Indian Nursing Council has introduced forensic nursing as a subject in the graduate nursing program in the year 2021. The inclusion of forensic nursing as a subject in the nursing curricula introduces the students to a wider role in contemporary nursing practice that contributes to our own and to public health safety. The implementation of graduate and postgraduate programs in forensic nursing further reduces the gap between health care systems and judiciary systems. The knowledge and practice-related realms of forensic nursing are still in the infancy stage among nursing aspirants of India. The integration of forensic nursing in the existing forensic medical science might be more gainful to improve professionalism. Though forensic nursing has a broad scope, there are certain issues related to the feasibility, ethical and legal implications regarding the mode of service delivery of forensic nursing practice in the Indian setting which needs central attention. The article highlights and discusses the evolution, scope, promises, caveats, and future directions of forensic nursing in the Indian setting.