One nursing certification that I would be interested in holding is the SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) certifications for adults and pediatrics. While not relevant to my immediate job, it is something that I have always thought about completing, but I needed to finish my bachelor’s degree first. Forensic nursing has always fascinated me ever since I went to a seminar on SANE nurses and what they did. I would also be interested in getting my CCRN as that correlates with the area that I work in right now. Martin, Arenas-Montoya, and Barnett (2015) state, “Individual studies have successfully demonstrated a positive correlation between nurse certification and selected patient indicators.” Nursing certifications show a deeper understanding of the patient care needed in those specific areas. It improves patient outcomes and gives you more experience to rely on as getting certified requires several “clinical” hours before taking the examination. One of the IOM’s main goals in the Future of Nursing was for nurses to continue to expand their knowledge and to continue going to school and learning. Nursing certifications fit into this category as those who are getting them are doing exactly what is described needs to be done to advance the nursing profession.
Reference:
Martin, L.C., Arenas-Montoya, and N.M., Barnett, T.O. (2015). Impact of nurse certification rates on patient satisfaction and outcomes: A literature review. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 46(12), 549-554. Doi: 10.3928/00220124-20151112-06
Sexual assault nurses are very admirable and currently sorely needed parts of the healthcare team. There is a shortage of SANE and it is causing troubles. The shortage, especially apparent in rural areas, is due in part to the psychological stress involved in this job. According to one report, out of the 540 examiners trained in a two-year period, only 42 of those examiners were still practicing after two years.
Hospital administration being unwilling to financially support SANE services is another cause of the shortage. The clinical skill needed to be SANE is very difficult to acquire which makes it daunting to many nurses.(Potiker, 2016) It takes a very strong willed person to be able to assess and care for the victims of sexual assault.
Reference
Potiker, H. (2016, August 31). How the Critical Shortage of Sexual Assault Nurses Harms Survivors Across the US. Broadly. Retrieved April 21, 2018, from https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/vb44m3/how-the-critical-shortage-of-sexual-assault-nurses-harms-survivors-across-the-us