[A study on the experiences of nurse coroners]

The purpose of this study was to describe the essential structure of the postmortem- examination experiences of nurse career coroners (forensic investigators), to have a profound understanding of their experiences, and ultimately to lay the foundation for nurses' entry into the field of forensic nursing.

The subjects in this study were six coroners. After an in-depth interview from January to June 2007, the collected data were analyzed by Colaizzi as qualitative research.

Four categories emerged from seven theme clusters. The four categories were: attracted by being dubbed a stabilized public official, a sense of achievement due to having clarified false death, self-confidence after distinguishing the victim and the wrongdoer, eternal developmental potential is seen.

It is expected that this study will provide useful information for nurses who are interested in becoming coroners. It will be helpful for career nurses to extend their nursing science into emerging fields like coroners and select a follow-up career.