Karen Carroll, RN, SANE-A, SANE-P, NY-SAFE, is a sexual assault survivor and forensic nursing specialist who is bringing her unique experience to other health care providers this Friday as part of The STEP-UP into Forensics Conference. Offered by the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s College of Nursing, the conference will take place April 26 at the FedEx Event Center at Shelby Farms.
SANE stands for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, and training SANEs is the purpose of the three-year, $1.5 million Health Resource and Services Administration (HRSA) grant that funds the conference. Awarded to the college in 2021, the HRSA grant has supported the training of 65 nurses in forensic nursing and trauma-informed care, said Assistant Professor Andrea Sebastian, DNP, APRN, CPNP-AC/PC, AFN-C, SANE-P. Of those, 20 have completed the program. In addition, six grant participants have completed national certification exams to be certified as a SANE. Twelve more exams are currently scheduled. Dr. Sebastian is the principal investigator of the HRSA grant.
“This training opportunity is available for anyone who cares for victims of violence but it is targeted to help nurses who care for victims of violence in West Tennessee,” Dr. Sebastian said. “In this conference, they will learn more about providing trauma-informed care to victims. This training also gives participants a chance to collaborate with other agencies and nurses, which will strengthen the response to violence in West Tennessee.”
The conference, which takes place from 8:15 am to 5:15 pm, covers topics such as human trafficking, pediatric physical abuse, and the West Tennessee Health SANE program and challenges for rural communities. The program targets advanced practice nurses, physicians, registered nurses, law enforcement, attorneys, patient advocates, and other community partners. Participants who complete the conference can earn 7.5 Nursing Continuing Professional Development credits. Carroll kicks off the conference with the keynote, “A Tale of Two Cases.”
In 1994 in Yonkers, NY, Carroll was sexually assaulted by her then-husband at knifepoint and counts her experience in the emergency room afterward as her inspiration to go into forensic nursing. “The doctor walked into the room. He didn’t look at me or say anything. He went to the cabinet and opened a box and started reading the directions. I was thinking to myself, ‘He doesn’t know how to do this.’’’
Carroll was a nurse manager in the emergency room of a different hospital in the city and had seen many sexual assault exams. “I told him, ‘If you let me, I can help you,’’’ she said. “Thank God the doctor listened to me, and I walked him through my evidence collection kit.”
Her ex-husband eventually pled guilty and was sentenced to three to nine years in prison. He served seven years and spent the last two on probation. Carroll decided to become trained as a forensic nurse so no one else would have to experience what she did following her sexual assault. “Becoming a forensic nurse was my way to give back. I try very hard to let my patients know they are in charge. My job is to give them choices. I let them make the decisions. That is how I train and teach.”
In her keynote, Carroll will compare her case with that of a woman for whom she served as a SANE and as an expert witness. In that case, the man accused of sexual assault received 30 years in prison.
Carroll estimates that she has trained about 4,000 nurses and physicians since she became certified in 1997. She currently works as a forensic nursing specialist for the International Association of Forensic Nurses. She also has served as nursing director of the forensic acute care team in Westchester County, NY, associate director of the Bronx Sexual Assault Response Team, and the first coordinator of the Westchester SANE program.
In her current role, Carroll has taught in the skills days for the participants in the community-based option and post-master’s forensic nursing certificate at the UT Health Science Center College of Nursing. More information about the college’s forensic nursing program can be found at uthsc.edu/sane.