Accepted!

I received the official word last week that I was accepted into the St. Vincent Center of Hope, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program! I know that some readers might get caught up in the "name" of the program and think things like "what would be the motivation for someone to do this job?". Well, the only way I know how to answer that type of question is to say that this is probably one of (if not) the most vulnerable and fragile patient populations in health care. These patients and their families need a dedicated, compassionate, kind and responsive care provider who is extremely competent in women's health. So in a way, I feel like how can I not offer my services as a care provider?

I will start the certification course in early September and I will be in classes every Monday evening until mid-November. Yes, that's right...just as I'm finishing up my Master's degree, I sign up for another class, ha! There are 40 classroom hours and 40 clinical hours to be completed, however since I will be a WHNP when I start the program, the only clinical hours I will be required to complete will be 3 "supervised" exams & evidence collections, then I'm done! I will get to do some outside experiences with the IMPD and CPD, forensic & DNA labs and some training with the prosecutors office. Many times the SANE is called to trial as a witness or put through a deposition - however, since studies have shown the huge improvement of evidence collection with the SANE program, few cases make it to a trial, but it is good to know that we will be trained for that possibility.

St. Vincent will be paying the course fee for me (thank you!) in exchange for me taking ER call for at least 36 hrs/month. Each shift is 12hrs, and I can certainly take more call than the required 36 each month. Right now, the plan is for me to primarily be at the 86th St. location, but in the future I'll be able to go between 86th St and Carmel hospitals. We have our first meet and greet with the current SANE nurses/NP's at the end of this month, so I'm excited to get to know everyone and get started!