Area Nurses Train To Help Victims & Police During Sexual Assault Investigations

Throughout 2020, stories of nurses going above and beyond at work each day are in no short supply. Thursday, a group of nurses went through training to put on another hat, forensic examiner. 

Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) are the bridge between police and a sexual assault victim in the hospital. The training program to become a SANE nurse is intensive and once the program is complete scheduled nurses are on call around the clock.

"I often see people on their worst day, but they leave knowing that they are believed and leave knowing they got the medical care they needed," said Amanda Kemp, YWCA's Senior Director of Violence Prevention and Response.

Kemp, a SANE nurse herself, has headed the training program since 2017. When nurses are called to be at the hospital, they arrive with an advocate within an hour to begin the exam process.

"We ask specific details about the sexual assault. We ask them to let us know what happened and we use that information to assess their body for injury and collect forensic evidence," explained Kemp.

Along with collecting the evidence, a crucial part of the exams is keeping patients informed and getting their consent each step of the way.

"It's really important for the patient to feel a sense of control throughout that examination because during a sexual assault your power of control is taken away from you," Kemp said. " [A traumatic event is] very hard on someone's psyche and so it's really important we address that trauma and that we start that healing process in that examination room."

Officials said in fiscal year 2020, SANE nurses averaged more than one exam per day. Each exam takes several hours to complete.

"It is a big-time commitment. You can be on call and maybe get a call in the last 10 minutes and you might be up all night and some of our nurses have jobs the next day, " Kemp said.  "Sometimes I've worked 24 hours straight in order to get my regular job done and make sure these patients get served."

The SANE nurses also provide information on follow up care options and can prescribe some medications. The services are all free for patients.