Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) training for nurses
Grant will increase support for training in rural Minnesota
In response to the lack of medical professionals qualified as Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs), the School of Nursing at Minnesota State University, Mankato and the School of Nursing at the University of Minnesota teamed up on a $1.5 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration.
The grant will be used to train registered nurses as certified SANE nurses, who are then qualified to conduct evidentiary exams for rape and sexual assault victims. SANE nurses are trained in the medical, psychological, and forensic examination of a sexual assault victim. The program hopes to train and certify hundreds of nurses and increase support, especially in rural Minnesota.
First SANE training in rural Minnesota
In the Fall of 2022, several RNs participated in a week-long didactic and simulation training, the first of its kind in Minnesota. Until this training, nurses who wanted this type of training outside of the Twin Cities had to seek it out on their own. The goal is to offer the training again and open it to any nurse in southern Minnesota who is able to attend. In the Twin Cities, nurses have access to such training at Regions Hospital in St. Paul and Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.
Three Minnesota State Mankato nursing faculty are a part of the grant: Dr. Amy Haycraft, Dr. Kelly Krumwiede, and Dr. Renee Kumpula.
Kumpula states, “We’re trying to build this network because this has been done independently within healthcare systems and there's little in place to coordinate and collaborate throughout the state — and that's what our grant is doing.”
Building and growing through simulation
One of the team’s goals is to make sure trainings feel as authentic as possible. They have been working with SANE experts from Regions Hospital and survivors of sexual assault. Making the exercises and simulations as real as possible will create a richer — and ultimately more beneficial — experience that nurses are seeking. The simulations use paid actors, giving nurses an experience that is very close to the real thing.
“You don't really know how this simulation is going to roll out because it really depends on the nurse’s questions or how they present themselves,” says Haycraft. “For example, in one that I witnessed, the actor asked to take — and truly did take — a smoke break. They went outside and did that just as it maybe would happen in real life.”
Although the training provides certification for nurses, it can also be used by already-certified nurses who wish to hone their skills in working with sexual assault survivors.
Haycraft says, “This program could evolve and incorporate virtual reality or other technologies that can be implemented throughout the rural area.”
In addition, due to a high level of interest, some of the SANE content has been introduced to students in the School of Nursing undergraduate curriculum, allowing new nursing professionals to begin their career with an increased awareness about resources available when working with sexual assault survivors.
