Grant for training of sexual assault nurse examiners will aid victims in rural Florida
In the wake of a sexual assault, the person who was raped may choose, or may be asked to undergo a forensic examination to collect any evidence left behind by the perpetrator. Though any doctor or nurse can perform this exam, some hospitals have Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners (SAFEs) or Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs) to do this.
Research shows that programs with trained examiners greatly increases evidence collection and investigation in sexual assault cases, which results in higher prosecution rates. Additionally, SANEs and SAFEs are trained to conduct exams in a way that’s sensitive to the patient’s needs, to help reduce trauma in the aftermath of a sexual assault.
In rural areas, the shortage or non-existence of SANEs can make the aftermath of a sexual assault that much worse for the victim.
“Florida currently has only 44 SANE-certified nurses for a state where it has been reported that more than a quarter of its 20 million population have experienced a rape or sexual assault,” said Dr. Tami Thomas, who serves as the associate dean of research and faculty development and as the director of the PhD nursing program at the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health
Sciences at Florida International University.
Recently, the United States Health Resources and Services Administration awarded a $1.5 million grant to Florida International University’s Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Services to launch the Regionally Underserved Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program to increase the number of sexual assault nurse examiners in Florida.
Dr. Thomas, who applied for the funding to implement the program, will lead the Advanced Nursing Education-Regionally Underserved Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (RUSANE) program.
“The purpose of this project is to implement a program to increase the number of registered nurses (RN), advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) and forensic nurses trained and certified as sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs) in underserved and rural communities of South Florida,” she said. “The grant will train
SANEs or Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners and will continue over the next three years.”
Approximately 30 students will be recruited and trained to become licensed registered nurses and certified advanced practice registered nurses, through a partnership between FIU’s College of Nursing and Health Services, the FIU Global Forensic and Justice Center, and rural health clinics and hospitals in Florida.
Once certified, nurses will conduct medical examinations and provide mental and physical care to sexual assault survivors at clinics across Florida, including the city of Sweetwater in Miami-Dade, Hendry and Glades counties, and in the city of Belle Glade in Palm Beach County.
“In these areas, sexual assault survivors need to travel a long distance and wait for care,” said Dr. Thomas. “We hope this grant will mitigate this additional trauma to the sexual assault survivor.”
The program itself is separate from any nursing curriculum or courses provided in the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences; rather, the partnership between FIU Nursing and local healthcare clinics in the four regions will provide didactic and clinical training to prepare up to 30 nurses for SANE certification followed by work as a SANE at the clinics in those areas.
The qualifications a SANE needs to have is a minimum of two years of practice as an RN with experience in either emergency departments, obstetrics and gynecology, and/ or forensic nursing.
The FIU Global Forensic and Justice Center will extend the impact of the program through continuing education courses that will keep SANE nurses informed on the latest forensic science and technological advancements to ensure efficacy of forensic exams, evidence collection, and to improve retention of SANE-certified nurses in the healthcare system.
“We are providing training and forensic evidence support,” said Kevin Lothridge, executive director of the Global Forensic and Justice Center at FIU.
Doctors, nurses and SANEs preserve evidence taken from the victim in a sexual assault evidence
THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO IMPLEMENT A PROGRAM TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF REGISTERED NURSES (RN), ADVANCED PRACTICE REGISTERED NURSES (APRNS) AND FORENSIC NURSES TRAINED AND CERTIFIED AS SEXUAL ASSAULT NURSE EXAMINERS (SANES) IN UNDERSERVED AND RURAL COMMUNITIES OF SOUTH FLORIDA. THE GRANT WILL TRAIN SANES OR SEXUAL ASSAULT NURSE EXAMINERS AND WILL CONTINUE OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS. Dr. Tami Thomas, associate dean of research and faculty development and director of the PhD nursing program at the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences at Florida International University.
collection kit, also known as a rape kit.
When asked how the results from rape kits can help law enforcement identify an assaulter, Lothridge said, “The items are used to collect biological evidence items from a victim. These are then sent to a forensic lab.
“The lab will do a series of biological screening tests and DNA testing on the items. The results are then used by law enforcement to conduct their investigation.”
“This expanded partnership among FIU Global Forensics and Justice Center will allow RUSANE participants to benefit from online and in-person trainings equipped with portable forensic gear, deployable laboratories, onsite chemical and DNA laboratories and the most up-to-date technological programs and evaluation measures,” said Dr. Thomas.
“Global Forensics and Justice Center in collaborations with the National Forensic Science Technology Center (NFSTC) houses the world’s only online DNA training program,” she said, “and provides year round national and international trainings where law enforcement, crime scene professional and military professionals are trained using new technology by the NFSTC forensic team.”
For professional resources for SAFE/SANEs and the International Association of Forensic Nurses, visit www.forensicnurses.org.
For information about the Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences at FIU, visit www.cnhs.fiu.edu.
For information about the Global Forensic and Justice Center at FIU, visit https://gfjc.fiu.edu/.