InsaneJournal

Day 4
At this point, we were still fresh and excited but starting to settle into a rhythym.



I wasn't sure how I was going to take this one since, well, it was about rape exams.

We started with a tour of the Emergency Department; where we check in for a call, where the victim is likely to be, how to navigate the back rooms, etc.  It was interesting seeing the whole area coming from the back to the front since I'm used to coming in the other doors.  Oh yes, most of this session (including the tour) was conducted by our lead SANE Nurse (more on that later).  We were then shown the exam room.  Our hospital actually has a room specifically dedicated to sexual assault exams.  It is away from the main area of the ER, is well appointed in calming colors and well, is a comfortable as this sort of exam room can be.  After the tour we went back to the classroom.

There was where we discussed the SANE nurse program.  This is a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner.  This type of nurse is specially trained in the collection of forensic data and dealing with victims during the exam.  We went step by step through a rape kit, all of what is collected, how it is collected and why it is collected.  She walked us through exactly what to expect, step by step and the fact that rarely are all 15 steps performed.  She also stated that sometimes the victim wants the advocate there during the exam, sometimes not and yes, even as a male I may be requested to be present during the exam.

The SANE that gave the class had a very... odd sense of humor but well I've know enough emergency professionals to know that over time most do.  It tends to be a defense mechanism.  Still, it was a good class and will help when the time comes.

The SANE really helped break the ice here as through her humor, jokes and commentary, we all started to get a better feel for each other.  At this point we'd also kinda paired off for any partner activities that came up during classes.