Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examination: A Virtual Practicum
For Health Care Providers
Become a better examiner. Enhance your patient care.
For Allied Professionals
Expand your expertise. Improve your response to survivors.
About the Virtual Practicum
The Virtual Practicum teaches health care providers each step of a person-centered sexual assault medical forensic examination. Nurses can earn up to 19.5 hours of continuing education for completing course material.
The Virtual Practicum is also a valuable training tool for law enforcement, prosecutors, forensic scientists, emergency medical services, victim advocates, and others allied professionals. Get your free copy of the program today!
Interactive Training
Training takes place in a virtual facility, with interactive lessons taught by leading experts. Through patient simulations and hands-on activities, training covers a wide variety of topics, including:
- Medical/forensic history taking
- Physical head-to-toe examination
- Evidence collection
- Medical/forensic documentation
- Crime lab analysis
- Courtroom testimony
Room A
Observe, then conduct a full virtual medical forensic examination. Hands-on exercises give students practice collecting evidence and documenting findings.
Room B
View five patient simulations that teach skills to care for patients from different populations, including transgender patients, elders, adolescents, cisgender males, and incarcerated patients.
Pre-Trial Area
Learn how to interface with the legal system and prepare for testifying in court.
Courtroom
Watch a nurse give expert testimony and learn how to answer difficult questions at trial.
Forensic Lab
Learn how forensic evidence collected during an examination is analyzed for DNA.
Survivor Experiences
Hear from survivors as they recount personal experiences with the criminal justice system.
Master Practitioner Interviews
Delve into challenging issues and explore lessons learned from experts in the field.
The Virtual Practicum is a program of End Violence Against Women International developed in partnership with the US Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women; World 2 Systems; Zapdot, Inc.; the Academy of Forensic Nursing; the International Association of Forensic Nurses; and more than 30 multidisciplinary experts. View the full list of people and organizations who made the Virtual Practicum possible.
The Virtual Practicum is an excellent supplement to, but is not a substitute for, the 40-hour sexual assault nurse examiner training course.
More Benefits of the Virtual Practicum
MAINTAIN PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
- Use the Virtual Practicum to count toward your SANE-A and SANE-P basic renewal hours. See the International Association of Forensic Nurses for details.
- Visit the Resource Room for extensive research, protocols, and best practices.
- Review the Virtual Practicum as a refresher training before testifying in court.
ENHANCE CARE FOR DIVERSE PATIENTS
- Explore current topics through in-depth discussions with experts on caring for patients from different populations.
- Practice trauma-informed techniques for history gathering with transgender patients.
- Learn critical aspects of caring for incarcerated patients and coordinating with detention facilities.
AUGMENT YOUR TRAINER TOOLBOX
- Enrich your own training presentations with survivor experiences and master practitioner interviews.
- Enhance your annual skills lab with interactive exercises and clinical practice.
- Supplement a 40-hour sexual assault nurse examiner training course with virtual learning and practice.
- Invigorate staff meetings with video segments to spark discussion and showcase best practices.
EARN A CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION
Every learner can earn a Foundational Certificate of Completion by completing all of the Room A, Room B, Pretrial, and Courtroom lessons (13.5 hours). Complete the full program to earn an Advanced Certificate of Completion (19.5 hours).
Nurses can earn up to 19.5 Continuing Education Nursing Contact Hours. Click on the Continuing Education button below for more information.
What people are saying
“I am deeply grateful to EVAWI and the Office on Violence Against for devoting the time, resources, and exceptional team of multi-disciplinary providers to craft a new scenario in the Virtual Practicum on providing care to transgender survivors. Creating content focusing on a trans man of color highlights the unique challenges trans survivors face, and how forensic examiners can increase their culturally responsive skills to more respectfully serve trans patients.” michael munson, FORGE
“I am very excited about this updated practicum. I will look forward to making it available to the nurses of Nevada.” International Association of Forensic Nurses Conference Participant
“This is great! Easy to understand and gives rationale for practice, …This section [on the documentation of injuries] for the general physical and genital exam is the most accurate, useful, and interactive I have seen.” Jessica Volz, Clinical Director of Forensics at Adventist Healthcare Shady Grove Medical Center
“Providing care for incarcerated survivors and coordinating with staff from detention facilities is not always easy or simple. The Practicum includes a new training scenario that offers practical guidance and gives professionals the tools to ensure incarcerated survivors get the care they need and deserve.” Linda McFarlane, Just Detention International
Promote the Virtual Practicum
Project partners and allies can use these marketing resources to promote the Virtual Practicum. You can choose the images and information that best expresses the benefits of the Virtual Practicum to your audience using your website, social media, and email distribution lists. Together we will help health care providers improve their care for sexual assault patients and support allied professionals in enhancing their collaborative response to survivors.
This project was supported by Grant No. 2018-SI-AX-K001 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this program are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Justice.
