Minimum standards for advanced education and clinical requirements

Encourage a minimum standard for advanced education and supervised clinical practice for health care personnel conducting the exam, as well as certification for nurse examiners.  Such a standard must speak to specific education and supervision needs of involved disciplines. For example, nonphysician examiners may require medical supervision and backup, in addition to completing necessary training and clinical requirements. Certification through the IAFN is currently available only to nurses trained as SANEs. When designing classroom education for examiners, make sure the examiners understand the importance of a multidisciplinary response during the exam process. Consider involving trainers from health care, advocacy, law enforcement, prosecution, judiciary, and crime laboratories. 
 
Standardized curricula on sexual assault exams in medical school, nursing and nurse practitioner programs, and physician assistant programs are recommended. Consideration must be given to how to systematically secure, supervise, and retain examiners in/for poor, rural, or remote areas, institutional settings,[1] military bases, college campuses, tribal lands, migrant farm worker communities, and other areas needing increased victim outreach. Examiners need to know how to respond in a respectful manner to various populations within their community (e.g., local tribal victim service providers may be able to provide training on cultural beliefs and practices that might be relevant in sexual assault cases).  
 
In addition, other health care providers who come into contact with patients who disclose a recent assault need information on procedures for obtaining immediate patient assistance and caring for patients prior to their arrival at the exam site.

[1] Examples of institutional settings include prisons, jails, immigration detention centers, juvenile detention centers, nursing homes, assisted living and rehabilitation programs, and inpatient treatment centers.


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