Massachusetts Nurse :: September 2005

Beacon Hill Briefs

Legislature advances SANE program

The Legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Health has favorably reported H.878, which relates to the certification of sexual assault nurse examiners and the collection of forensic evidence in cases of sexual assault and rape. The legislation would codify the SANE program into state law.

The SANE program was started as a pilot project under the Department of Public Health in 1997 due, in large part, to the advocacy and support of the MNA. Its mission is to provide sexual assault victims, ages 12 and older, with forensic medical-legal exams that comport with the highest standards of quality to collect crucial, time-sensitive evidence while simultaneously providing patients with immediate crisis intervention and other support services. Since its inception, the program has trained hundreds of nurses, treated thousands of patients and expanded its services to pediatric victims.

The numbers tell it all: to date the SANE program has served over 3,000 rape victims. SANEs have gathered forensic evidence in over 60 percent of all rape kits sent to the Boston Police Department’s crime lab, and over 50 percent of all kits sent to the state police crime lab. Where SANE nurses have been called to testify in criminal cases, the conviction rate is over 95 percent. The Massachusetts SANE program serves as a national model for other states.

The SANE program protects victims by providing excellent medical care and furthers the interests of public safety by providing forensic evidence that serves to exonerate the innocent and convict the guilty. It is an inspiring example of the positive things that can be accomplished by dedicated professionals and an enlightened government.

CareerBuilder.com weighs in on nursing crisis

Yet another study recently demonstrated that the crisis in nursing is being driven by poor RN-to-patient ratios.

According to the latest survey from CareerBuilder.com, the nation’s largest online job site with more than 20 million unique visitors and over 1 million jobs, 49 percent of nurses say they plan to leave their current jobs in the next two years, 32 percent expect to change jobs in a year, and 18 percent say they plan to do so in as early as the next six months.

The top reason why nurses said they are seeking out new employers is an unmanageable workload. Nearly three-fourths of nurses reported that their facilities were understaffed, which contributed to high stress levels and compromised patient care. Sixty-seven percent said their workloads have increased over the last six months and 59 percent said they were feeling burnout.

A survey of Massachusetts nurses released on July 13 had similar findings and offered a more simple and straightforward solution—pass H. 2663 and regulate RN-to-patient ratios in hospitals.