USI Didactic Training To Focus On Care Of Sexual Assault Victims

Research has shown that medical facilities with Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs provide better victim care and forensic specimen collection, but not all health professionals have access to this training. To increase the number of SANEs throughout Indiana, the University of Southern Indiana College of Nursing and Health Professions, in collaboration with Southwest Indiana Area Health Education Center (WI-AHEC), is offering an Adult/Adolescent/Pediatric SANE course. A required online self-study for nurses will be held February 1 through March 3, and the on-site training is scheduled for March 6-10 at the Health Professions Center on the USI campus.

“We are in our eighth year of offering this didactic training at USI. Before we started this in 2016, it had been years since there had been a similar offering in southwest Indiana,” says Jane Friona, Executive Director of SWI-AHEC. “We have a dedicated team who plans the curriculum for this training, including SANE-certified nurses from local hospitals, Indiana State Police forensic scientists, law enforcement, prosecuting attorneys, and mental health and victim support specialists.”

The Indiana SANE Training Project offers funding assistance for registered nurses and advance practice registered nurses from across the state to become trained, clinically competent and certified as Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners. Nurses interested in applying for funding assistance should visit USI.edu/IndianaSANE.

In 2018, Southwest Indiana AHEC received a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) HRSA to design and implement the Indiana SANE Training Project. Since then, there have been over 15 new SANE programs created at hospitals and other care settings in the state of Indiana, and more than 350 nurses have participated in trainings through the Indiana SANE Training Project, according to Friona.

Seating is limited for the 2023 SANE Training, and prices increase after February 1. To register or learn more, visit USI.edu/sane.

Hosted by the University of Southern Indiana in the College of Nursing and Health Professions, Southwest Indiana AHEC serves 10 counties: Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Knox, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh and Warrick. Southwest Indiana AHEC is part of a national network with a mission to improve health by leading the nation in the recruitment, training and retention of a diverse health workforce for underserved communities.