| Media Kit | Testimonials | | | Contact Us | Archives


DNA Evidence and its Impact on Court Cases
By Kimberly A. Pavlik

Female Forensic Mental Health: Assertive Community Treatment

Speaking for the Dead: A Day in the Life of a Nurse Coroner

The Forensic Nurse as an Expert Witness: Preparation for Legal Proceedings

Editor's Letter
The Growing Epidemic of “Femicide”

News & Views
Datebook

 

Healer, Heal Thyself

By Lucy Doty, RN, CNOR

When the fliers went up at various places in our community hospital, I noticed. The dates the classes were being held were at a time when I would be out of town, so I didn't give them another thought. Then the physician who was pushing for the establishment of a sexual assault response team (SART) at our facility caught me in the hallway as I was making rounds. "Did you see the notice about the SART classes?" he asked. I admitted that I had and wished him hearty congratulations since I knew this was something he'd been trying to get started for some years. "Would you consider taking the training? I think you'd be a great forensic examiner. I really need solid people to get this off the ground."

I explained that I was unavailable at the time the classes were being offered and thanked him for the confidence he had in me. I said I'd watch for the classes to be offered again and try to make it then. My best friend took the first set of classes and was very excited about them. Her enthusiasm was a little troubling and I was uncomfortable with her vivid descriptions of the content.

But I soon became busy and put it out of my mind. It wasn't until a number of months later that the same physician hunted me down to tell me that a new class was beginning and hoped I'd be available to attend this time. I agreed to take the class and join the group, not only because it was an important program but also because there were so few nurses signed up that he was concerned there wouldn't be enough nurses involved to start the program at all. I like and respect this physician, and while guilt isn't always the best motivator, he was open about using it.

I found the class to be informative and interestingly presented, but I was feeling uneasy. Our group gathered in smaller numbers to role-play interviewing techniques, to practice with the equipment and to tour the crime lab. The ride-along with the police department was arranged and went smoothly, considering how weird it felt to have the police officer tell me, "Stay in the car and if you hear gunshots, hit this button and it will broadcast to all units, 'Officer requests help.'"

During the weekend break before we were due to actually open for business, I was still unable to shake the uneasiness that persisted, so I took the time to think about why.

As we role-played interviews and saw testimonies of other assault victims, one thing became achingly clear: While we may have all been there voluntarily and for different reasons, there was a commonality. Not a prerequisite by any means, but there were stories here. We were survivors. We weren't all the same, of course. Our stories were as varied as the personalities in the class. There was the date rape, the adult child of alcoholic parents who suffered abuse and neglect, the survivor of domestic violence, the sexual abuse from a supposedly trusted family member, and a survivor of sexual coercion as the result of a drunken joke carried too far. And I was no exception.

I have always been involved in community theatre and as a natural ham, I volunteered to work with the instructor to role play the interview process. We all were seasoned nurses, experienced in assessment and triage. How hard could it be to follow the questions right there in front of us on the state form? We found that when putting it into practice, it was harder to ask those questions than we would ever have imagined. It was easy for me to play the frightened victim and answer the questions from a scenario in my head, but when it came time to put it all together and have the course instructor give us a final demonstration of the interview and examination, it suddenly became all too real.

Her kind voice as she introduced herself to me and explained that she would be conducting the interview and examination under the authority of the police department gave me cause to pause. Thinking about how caring she sounded, I knew I wanted to impart that sense of safety and caring to anyone I would deal with in a real-life setting. It wasn't until she said, looking me straight in the eye, "It's not your fault. No one does anything to deserve to have happen to them what happened to you." Her words hit me like a cement truck. I felt my eyes fill with tears as we continued on with the interview process.

She may have thought that I was really a good actress, when in actuality I was answering each question from a teenage memory of just such an assault. I have to say I thought all the emotion about the incident had been processed and dealt with long ago. I was wrong. The scenario was beneficial to the class to observe and the instructor thanked me for helping her give such a realistic demonstration. In the course evaluation many of the participants mentioned how powerful that particular exercise had been and how helpful. But the greatest help was to me. Finally getting a comfortable closure and feeling that I have the tools to help someone else made me at last understand why I couldn't shake the unease. The class, I believe, was equally cathartic for others taking it for the same reason. As stories unfolded and confidences were shared, we were all able to internalize the message, you didn't do anything wrong.

Is being a survivor necessary to be a good advocate or a good forensic sexual assault examiner? No, not at all. But in this case, and in others I saw in the same class structure, it was a case of healer, heal thyself and then go on to help be the healing hand for others.

Lucy Doty, RN, CNOR, became a forensic nurse examiner for a SART in Murrieta., Calif. in . She will play the role of a SART nurse in an upcoming film to begin shooting this year.

Click here to Subscribe


HOT NEWS

02/21/

American College of Surgeons National Trauma Bank Now Surpasses 1 Million Record Mark

Psychiatric Disorders Greatly Underdiagnosed in Hospital Emergency Departments

02/17/

Emergency Nursing Leaders Tackle ED Overcrowding, Patient-Safety Challenges at National Summit

02/14/

Emergency Department Violence Not Uncommon; Majority of Emergency Physicians Report Experiencing at Least One Violent Act a Year

Project HOPE Sends Emergency Nurses on Humanitarian Aid Effort for Tsunami Survivors

SANE Training Offered in Florida in May

02/10/

New Film, 'The Woodsman,' Gives Minnesotans an Opportunity to Discuss and Work to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse

More News

 

 

 

 







related sites

EndoNurse

Infection Control Today

Today's SurgiCenter

Forensictrak