cari4n6

LOL. I always try to be safe and many question my sanity! Be well and you can cry on my shoulder anytime. cari

This is a re-post of a message I left in another section but it still applies: I have been a forensic nurse examiner for 16 years and am a Board Certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner since they gave the first exam in 2002. I have worked in 3 SANE programs and built another one from the ground up until I started my own sexual assault business in 2003. Many nurses are drawn to the specialty until their pager goes off at 0300 in the morning. It is a very demanding and fulfilling specialty but don't go into it if your idea is to 'help' victims or 'get the bad guy.' It is all about being objective and meticulously collecting evidence. Patient assessment is foremost and it takes a full time knowledge base for what is usually a part time job. Don't give up your regular job if you have to support yourself. We appear in court and must have excellent writing and verbal skills. You must have the stamina and endurance to do several exams in a row, which happens from time to time. Each exam takes between 2 and 3 hours for the patient and 3 to 5 hours for the nurse examiner. I teach a sexual assault examiner course out of the University of California, Riverside, Extension. A few of my students are doing their internship with me. A 'rape kit' is the equipment an assailant might bring to the scene to commit his crime. (although this type of assailant is rare) I use a sexual assault evidence collection kit (SAE kit). Most reported assaults are by people who know each other, use poor judgment while drinking, elevate their risk factor, etc. The real stranger assault is rare. We work very independently so a good background and foundation in nursing; women's health, emergency department are very desirable. If you are not influenced by the TV shows and you like hard work, are flexible and enjoy unpredictability, give it a try. Cari

I have been a forensic nurse examiner for 16 years and am a Board Certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner since they gave the first exam in 2002. I have worked in 3 SANE programs and built another one from the ground up until I started my own sexual assault business in 2003. Many nurses are drawn to the specialty until their pager goes off at 0300 in the morning. It is a very demanding and fulfilling specialty but don't go into it if your idea is to 'help' victims or 'get the bad guy.' It is all about being objective and meticulously collecting evidence. Patient assessment is foremost and it takes a full time knowledge base for what is usually a part time job. Don't give up your regular job if you have to support yourself. We appear in court and must have excellent writing and verbal skills. You must have the stamina and endurance to do several exams in a row, which happens from time to time. Each exam takes between 2 and 3 hours for the patient and 3 to 5 hours for the nurse examiner. I teach a sexual assault examiner course out of the University of California, Riverside, Extension. A few of my students are doing their internship with me. A 'rape kit' is the equipment an assailant might bring to the scene to commit his crime. (although this type of assailant is rare) I use a sexual assault evidence collection kit (SAE kit). Most reported assaults are by people who know each other, use poor judgment while drinking, elevate their risk factor, etc. The real stranger assault is rare. We work very independently so a good background and foundation in nursing; women's health, emergency department are very desirable. If you are not influenced by the TV shows and you like hard work, are flexible and enjoy unpredictability, give it a try. Cari

Jane, I've been doing this for 16 years and I've never had a 'hysterical' patient. cari4n6

It depends on what you want to do.. Look at the University of California Riverside, Extension. cari

I am a Board Certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE-A) with a Credential through the Forensic Nursing Certification Board NOT through the ACFEI. cari

You can find it on the UC Riverside Extension. Look for the sexual assault examiner course. http://search.extension.ucr.edu/search?q=nursing&site=ucrextension&client=ucrextension&proxystylesheet=ucrextension&output=xml_no_dtd I found out that I will not be teaching the next class but the next two after that. Good luck. cari

Thank you, Haunted, for the kind words. You may be interested to know that UC Riverside has made me the instructor for the Sexual Assault Examiner course. I guess they thought it was best to have someone who actually works as a SANE to teach the course....what a concept!! I went through and revamped the course and exams to make it better. We are halfway through the January to April course and my students are happy and getting good grades. I must say that your class was the first and we have made many improvements after learning from you and your valuable feedback. I hope you would be willing to recommend the course, now. I am very happy that you have found a great group to work with. They are one of the best! I understand that I will be teaching the next class, as well...(and hopefully more) so thank you, for your participation and letting me know that I helped you in some way. Best Regards, Cari SANE-A PS. By the way....The National Certification is given by the Forensic Nursing Certification Board. That was the first question that I took out of the final exam because all the answers were incorrect!!!!

I heard that for 30 years. My answer was: "I may not have kids but I am somebody's kid" Case closed. Cari

You must mean that YOU know of no one who has lost all to a lawsuit. I think that is wonderful but I prefer not to view life through rose colored glasses and I maintain my policy...my car insurance...home owner's insurance, business insurance and fire and earthquake insurance. There are thousands and thousands of lawsuits that are filed every day and many may be deemed as frivilous but nevertheless they go to trial and must be defended against. Whether they be for a nursing incident or a car crash. That costs lots of money. The reason liability insurance is high, in some states, is because so many nurses are being sued, not because they have insurance. That's looking at things backwards. If you work in a hospital, you know that your patients do not intend to get sick or injured. Yet, patients continue to come into hospitals and many have no insurance. Just another perspective. Cari

Every nurse, everywhere should have their own liability insurance. I don't know what dreamland one would live in to think that if one doesn't have insurance, one can't be sued. If one is involved in a law suit and the hospital 'covers' your defense, they may sue you to reimburse them if the suit has an unfavorable outcome. Nurses who think the hospital will take care of them are dead wrong. I have never, in my 30 years, been involved in any kind of liability difficulty but I do many things that put me in an independent role..ie: teaching CPR, Camp Nursing, forensic nursing, assisting family, friends and neighbors. Knowing that a hospital won't 'take care of me' makes it easy to write that check every year. Cari4n6