Nurses and Medicolegal Death Investigation

Abstract

Forensic nurses currently serve in medicolegal death investigation settings nationwide, yet registered nurses seldom recognize death investigation as a career option. The purpose of this article is to describe medicolegal death investigation in the United States and the roles nurses can achieve, depending upon state and agency job requirements. Duties and qualifications for job positions, whether filled by election, appointment, or staff hiring, are described to provide examples of nurses’ roles within the medicolegal death investigation setting and to present career options. Forensic nurses have the educational preparation, medical skills, and forensic knowledge to serve within death investigation systems as a chief officer (e.g., coroner), deputy officer, or staff investigator.

Trauma-Informed Approaches to Medicolegal Death Investigation: A Forensic Nursing Perspective

“…Medicolegal death investigation is carried out under state statutes by personnel of varying educational and experiential backgrounds (Drake et al, 2020). The role of the MDI is diverse and often includes responding to the location of death and obtaining details or circumstances leading up to a death as well as collecting a decedent's medical, psychological, and social history.…”

“…Trauma-informed care (TIC) is not a new concept but has not yet been applied in all fields (Jones &Branco, 2020; Reeves, 2015). One potential beneficiary of such application is medicolegal death investigation, a growing occupational subspecialty within forensic nursing (Drake et al, 2020). The introduction of TIC into death investigation to reduce trauma and retraumatization is a viable strategy applicable to medicolegal death investigators (MDIs) as well as clinicians, patients, and families faced with sudden and unexpected death.…”

The Need for Forensic Advanced Practice Registered Nurses in Medicolegal Death Investigation

“…Forensic nurses already play a substantive role in medicolegal death investigation (Drake et al, 2020). In the last decade, the role of the NP has eased the burden of critical access in high-volume urban emergency centers and rural access areas (Liu et al, 2019; Ortiz et al, 2018) related to the severe physician shortage across the United States.…”

Barriers to consistent and reliable investigation of sudden unexpected infant death: Perspectives from law enforcement

“…Field-based SUID tasks include family/witness interviews, scene examination, doll reenactment, and initial body exam. Ideally, these tasks are conducted by certified medicolegal death investigators, but variability exists in the US death investigation system structure [4][5][6]. Death investigation functions are completed by a range of investigator types with varying levels of training, and the scope of law enforcement participation in death investigation varies as a consequence of state laws and regional customs [7,8].…”