Sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs) provide vital services to survivors of sexual assault. However, nurses need highly specialized training in order to deliver the complex combination of medical and forensic services that is the foundation of SANE practice. The Florida Council Against Sexual Violence currently offers a free, 40-hour face-to-face training for those seeking to work as SANEs in Florida. Unfortunately, the time investment and associated travel expenses for a full week of training are difficult for many healthcare facilities (and nurses themselves) to absorb. This in turn limits the number of SANEs that can be trained and thus may limit access to the services they provide to patients. To address this barrier, CIMES worked with FCASV to develop a blended training comprised of 16 hours of self-paced, web-based training and 24 hours of face-to-face training. The goal of the new format is to increase access to SANE training and help ensure that every sexual assault survivor in Florida has access to a medical forensic exam performed by a SANE-trained provider.

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