PMC hosts a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners training course

There is currently a shortage of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners throughout the U.S. This week, nurses from around the region participated in a specialized training course, dealing with victims of sexual assault.

The course was led by the International Association of Forensic Nurses. Participants not only learned about how to treat a victim of sexual assault from a medical perspective but law enforcement as well.

“What we know is that less than 20 percent of hospitals in this country have sexual assault nurse examiners,” said Diane Daiber, Education Director for International Association of Forensic Nurses.

Sexual assault victims require comprehensive assistance. Due to the nature of the harm, it is dealt with extreme care. There are various medical, safety and criminal justice needs that nurses must be aware of. Therefore, it is essential to have trained nurses.

“A nurse that understands the long-term consequences that are a potential with this diagnosis and a nurse that can address all of those patients needs,” Daiber explains.

Law enforcement plays a key role in all sexual assault victims. Bryan McClure, Detective Sargent for Pocatello PD, says, “The importance of the nurse and the medical in any kind of investigation of sexual assaults is vital not just to the case and the prosecution but to the victims.”

Out of the 18 nurses in the class, there were 6 were from Portneuf Medical Center; making 9 in total at Portneuf Medical Center after today. Merillee Wells, the Emergency Director of Trauma Service at PMC says this training has been a long time coming.

“This was a gap in our community,” Wells said. “That this was a service that we wanted to provide, so I sat down with our local law enforcement. And the feedback I got, was that they were very excited. They knew the community needed it. And it was one of those things, if we were going to provide this service, we’re going to provide this service. I couldn’t be any happier.”