Caring for the Sexually Assaulted Patient When There is No SANE in Sight: A Training for ALL Healthcare Providers

This two hour course is FREE and open to everyone!

Course Outline

  • The Neurobiology of Trauma
  • The Coordinated Community Response
  • The Medical Forensic Examination
  • Courtroom Testimony

CNE credits are available at no cost upon completion of the course through IAFN.


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If you are interested in using this program for nurses and doctors throughout your institution utilizing your own e-learning platform, please complete a request form by clicking here for a free SCORM version of the product. 

There are many clinical facilities that do not have access to Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) or trained sexual assault examiners to provide expert care to patients across the life span following sexual assault or abuse. As a result, clinicians are often inadequately prepared to address the healthcare and evidentiary needs of this patient population, leading to less effective care being provided to the patient. For some patients, there may be no care provided at all, as they may be turned away.


This training was collaboratively created by a team of national experts from various disciplines and is intended to fill the education gap for all clinicians about sexual assault and the unique needs of this complex patient population. This training was developed using the basic elements of Appendix C of the National Training Standards 2nd ed.


This training provides clinicians with a greater understanding of the needs of patients that have been sexually assaulted or abused while improving the overall care and exam process for these patients. With the guidance conducted within this training, clinicians are more equipped to provide their patients with trauma-informed, patient-centered approach. Affording the clinician an increased level of comfort with caring for this patient population.



Ready to begin?

System Requirements: For best results, we recommend a desktop or laptop computer with High Speed Internet and Speakers/Sound. Firefox, Chrome, or Microsoft Edge are preferred browsers. In order for course completion to track properly, you must have the ability to accept cookies on the device that you are using. Note that some institutional security settings and firewalls may impede your ability to access the course from their network.

  1. You must sign in under the orange sign in box in the top right of the page in order to access IAFN’s Online Learning Center. If you do not have an account, create an account here.
  2. After signing in, Access the Online Learning Center here and look for the courses under “Featured Courses” on the dashboard.

Note – You must remain connected to the internet and logged in to IAFN’s Online Learning center the entire time you are viewing this course.




This product was supported by Grant No. 2018-SI-AX-K002 award from the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women. The International Association of Forensic Nurses is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.