Becoming a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner

There is a shortage of sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs) across the United States, especially in medically underserved communities. The purpose of this study was to describe the lived experiences of nurses on their journey before and after becoming a SANE.

A qualitative descriptive research design was used in this study.

A semistructured interview was conducted among 10 nurses who completed SANE training from a medically underserved community.

Perceptions of being valued and supported and programme rigour influenced trainees' commitment to complete the SANE programme. Misconceptions about the role changed as trainees were immersed in the training. Being isolated and underutilized from the health care delivery system and the broader medico-legal system were faced by SANEs after completing SANE training. Continuous use of telemedicine, continued funding for SANE training and greater emphasis on the legal aspect of the role during training are recommended by SANEs.

Trainees' experiences during SANE training influence programme retention and completion. To fully build the capacity of SANEs in the community, an infrastructure and a system must be developed to embrace and integrate new SANEs into the broader medico-legal system so they can perform in the role they are trained for.

The study's findings have implications for policies in compelling medico-legal and political systems to help build SANE capacity in the community, especially in medically underserved regions. Likewise, continuous input and involvement of trainees in the training implementation are critical to SANE programme retention.

This study provides some of the lessons learned in the training and education of nurses to become SANEs, which could be helpful to clinical educators wanting to establish a SANE programme, as well as factors that can lead to the decline of SANE capacity after so much investment has been made to it.