Forensic Evidence Collection & Documentation Flashcards
7 cards from real CFN practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Forensic Evidence Collection & Documentation flashcards as text
A forensic nurse is examining a child for suspected physical abuse. She notes patterned bruising on the buttocks. The best initial documentation action is:
Answer: Photograph the injury with scale and label, then complete a detailed body diagram
Photographic documentation with proper scale and labeling combined with anatomical body diagram mapping is the priority forensic documentation step before interviews or reporting.
When documenting a patient's account of an assault for forensic purposes, the nurse should:
Answer: Record the patient's exact words in quotation marks
Direct quotes from the patient are documented verbatim in forensic records because they may be admissible as statements and preserve the patient's own narrative.
A forensic nurse collects a reference buccal swab from a consenting patient. The purpose of this swab is to:
Answer: Provide the patient's own DNA profile to compare against other collected specimens
Reference buccal swabs establish the victim's known DNA profile so laboratories can differentiate the victim's own DNA from potential perpetrator DNA in collected specimens.
Which factor most significantly affects the reliability of injury aging (estimating when a bruise occurred) in forensic documentation?
Answer: Variation in skin tone, depth, and individual healing response
Bruise color progression varies widely based on skin tone, depth of injury, vascular supply, and individual physiology, making precise age estimation unreliable.
A suspected drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) patient presents 10 hours after the assault. Which urine collection timing consideration is most important?
Answer: Urine should be collected immediately as many drugs and metabolites remain detectable for 72–96 hours
Many DFSA drugs and their metabolites remain detectable in urine for 72–96 hours, so immediate urine collection at presentation is critical regardless of time elapsed.
When transferring forensic evidence to law enforcement, the forensic nurse's responsibility includes:
Answer: Signing the chain of custody form and documenting the transfer in the medical record
The forensic nurse must document the transfer on the chain of custody form and in the medical record to maintain an unbroken evidentiary chain.
A forensic nurse is examining abrasions on a patient's wrists. Which description in the medical record is most forensically appropriate?
Answer: 'Linear abrasions on bilateral volar wrists, 3 cm in length, with surrounding erythema'
Forensic documentation requires objective description of location, orientation, size, and appearance without interpretive conclusions about mechanism or cause.