More nurses receive training in sexual assault response

FAIRFIELD — A growing number of nurses are being trained in how to respond to victims of sexual assault.

Shelly Adkison is the education coordinator at Jefferson County Health Center, and she received special training on this topic in October through a grant to become a certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE). Adkison said one other employee at JCHC has received this training, too, Sylvia Sorak.

A SANE-trained nurse provides crisis intervention for the sexual assault victim. They are trained in how to collect and document forensic evidence that may be used in a trial, as well as services that will be useful to the victim such as prophylactic treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, and to evaluate their risk of pregnancy. A SANE-trained nurse will refer victims to counseling services and other follow-up care.

Adkison said this type of specialized training for sexual assault has been around since the 1970s, but it’s only been more recently that nurses are being training, too.

“This is something I’ve always been interested in, because I want to provide a better patient experience,” Adkison said. “I’ve worked in ER prior to this, and we’ve had a lot of cases come in that I’ve been a part of. I wanted to see what more we could do for the patient to achieve a better outcome.”

Adkison said the incidence of sexual assault is likely underreported, and victims sometimes don’t realize the services that exist for them.

“Another thing is that victims of sexual assault think they’ll be blamed for it, but it’s not their fault. They didn’t ask for this to happen,” Adkison said.

Adkison said she traveled to Minnesota for a two-day training in March that focused on building a rapport with patients and improving nurse interview skills.

One important element of the training is documenting abuse to the victim that could be used in trial, if the victim wishes to press charges. Adkison said this could involve taking photos of bruises, administering a rape kit, and documenting the victim’s story.

“We want to document it without putting words into their mouth,” Adkison said. “We have to be very specific so it will hold up in court. You are an expert witness.”

Adkison said she has been a nurse for 18 years, and has been in her current role as education coordinator for four years. Thus far, she has not been called upon to testify in court about any of her patients.

Different victims will handle their trauma in different ways, Adkison said, and her training helps her to prepare victims for the challenges they will face even after their assault. For instance, they could be walking down the street and a certain smell will trigger the memory of the assault. She said it’s as if their body senses something is wrong, even though their conscious mind doesn’t understand why.

“Our job is to educate them so they know they’re not going crazy,” Adkison said.

She expects more staff at JCHC will go through this training in the coming years.

“I’m seeing more grant funding become available for this training, and I got to take advantage of some grants when I trained, too,” she said.

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Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com