Nursing Forensics: Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) - Research Paper Example

The role of SANE has over the years moved ordinary examination of sexual assault victims to include the role of completing evidentiary examinations on other abuse cases where forensic evidence collection may be deemed necessary. This advanced role has been deemed necessary because a sexual assault nurse examiner is supposed to be a registered nurse who has advanced training in forensic sexual assault examination. Logan (2007) outlines three major purposes of the Sexual Assault Nurse Examination.

He notes that that sexual assault examinations are carried out to assess a sexual assault case. Assessment here may mean evaluating and carrying out test. Next is to document results of the assessment. Finally, sexual assault nurse examination is about collection of forensic evidence towards charges and accusations of sexual assault. Sexual assault nurse examination is characterized by special features that makes it different from regular nursing practice. First, a person requires special education even after the regular registered nursing program.

Secondly, the program is not the usual patient centered but a victim centered. Finally, a sexual assault nurse examiner undertakes regular services in professional nursing as regular nurses. This is to conclude that all sexual assault nurse examiners are regular nurses but it is not all regular nurses who are sexual assault nurse examiners. Male Perspective Sexual assault nurse examination is not all about females. There is no denying the fact that issues of sexual assault have generally being related to males as culprits and females as victims in most circles of media and academic learning.

However, this school of thought is highly erroneous because sexual assault nurse examination makes room for male practitioners. As a matter of fact, the qualification that gets a person to become a sexual assault nurse examiner is purely based on academic merits, qualification and self-desire. There is no mediocrity on human relational grounds such that females will specially be selected to undertake the course in order to victimize and expose male offenders. Having said this, there is the need to appreciate the professionalism with which the sexual assault examiner nurse works and the urgency that is attached to the authenticity of forensic evidence gathered by sexual assault nurse examiners.

For this reason, it would be extremely difficult for a nurse to try to be bias on the grounds of what his sex is if cases are brought against males and the nurse happens to also be a male. The same line of argument applies to victims or patients. It has mostly being that females are the worse victims of sexual assault cases but the truth is that males also suffer sexual assault cases. Nurses are therefore admonished to continue to exhibit professionalism in the delivery of their work. If this happen, the issue of whether it was a male who suffered as a victim or not will not be necessary because there will be a common standard that treats patients of all sexes.

Meshing with Law Enforcement The sexual assault nurse examiner is more of a nursing professional on a legal duty than just a medical expert needed to examine a patient of health problems. This is said because the duty of the sexual assault nurse examiner has been meshed with law enforcement whereby the sexual assault nurse examiner is expected to give legal testimony in court. This means that the sexual