AKRON, Ohio — Kent State University’s College of Nursing and Cleveland Clinic Akron General are partnering to offer an adult/adolescent Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program to meet the regional and national shortage of SANE-certified nurses, especially in rural areas.
The new program will provide nurses who have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in nursing and at least two years of experience with the specialized training necessary to be certified as a SANE nurse.
To become certified, nurses must have completed a minimum 40 hours of sexual assault education, worked under the supervision of an expert and performed enough sexual assault exams to demonstrate clinical competency and passed a certification test.
“SANE nurses are unique in what they do because of the type of care they provide,” said Eldy Lazaroff, DNP, RN, CNP-BC, professor and coordinator of the Kent State College of Nursing women’s health nurse practitioner online program. “These nurses create a quick relationship of trust with their patients. It takes a special personality to be a SANE nurse.”
Only one in three of Ohio’s 267 hospitals has a SANE program. Cleveland Clinic Akron General is the only one with the SANE program in Summit County.
“We know that victims of these horrible crimes benefit from working with nurses who have the clinical expertise as well as deep compassion and patience to work through the complicated process of performing examinations and properly gathering crucial evidence for potential future prosecutions,” said Jennifer Savitski, M.D., chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Akron General and director of the hospital’s PATH program. “We believe this joint program with Akron General and Kent State will produce skilled, caring practitioners to bring these services to patients who truly need them
The courses will be offered in person and online at Kent’s campus and at Akron General. Learn more about the program, including how to sign-up here.
