Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner

Become a SANE

To become a SANE, you must first be a registered nurse (or advanced practice), preferably with two years or more experience in areas of practice that require advanced physical assessment skills, such as emergency, critical care and maternal child health. The SANE training should meet the IAFN SANE Education Guidelines and will consist of both classroom and clinical components. In addition, nurses should understand their local community requirements as they vary significantly between state, province, or country Boards of Nursing and/or Colleges of Nursing as it relates to SANE practice.
After beginning practice as a SANE, nurses who have obtained SANE training and meet the clinical practice requirements have the opportunity to take a board certification examination through the Association. The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner-Adult/Adolescent (SANE-A®) and the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner-Pediatric (SANE-P®) board certification tests are for SANEs who care for this specific population of patients. The eligibility requirements can be found in the SANE Certification handbook.

Resources

IAFN’s Sexual Assault Forensic Exam Technical Assistance Projects: www.safeta.org and www.kidsta.org provide technical assistance (information about sexual assault medical forensic examination practice, policy, procedure, and more), especially in regard to the National Protocol for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations of Adults and Adolescents (US DOJ, 2013) and the National Protocol for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations – Pediatric (US DOJ, 2016).