In response to my posting about checklists last week, I received an email from Dr. Lynn Sheets about a sexual assault clinical resource she had co-authored, over on MedEdPortal. (click through for a full description). Not familiar with MedEdPortal? I had forgotten about it until I received this email–it’s a peer-reviewed site for teaching and faculty development tools. You can access content for free, but registration on the site is required. I could lose an entire afternoon just perusing their library.
From the site:
The medical evaluation of sexually assaulted children ranging in age from infants to teens is a complex and emotionally charged procedure. Even medical professionals who have special expertise in these evaluations find these cases challenging. It is important to provide the best medical care for these children in the least stressful way possible, while at the same time meeting the evidentiary needs of investigators. Current guidelines for completing sexual assault evaluations in children are too complex and cumbersome to be very useful at the bedside. Health care providers are usually under duress because of time constraints and the tragic circumstances of these cases when completing these evaluations. Too often the examiner omits key elements of documentation, evidence collection and treatments of these children. The SA Pocket Tool provides a user-friendly checklist that is both educational and useful as a checklist while evaluating a child who may have been assaulted. It is helpful in navigating diagnostic and treatment options to provide consistent, comprehensive and evidence-based health care. The SA Pocket Tool Resource contains the SA Pocket Tool (a two-sided tool with adolescent and pre-pubertal checklists), Instructor Guide including reference list, PowerPoint presentations for Sessions 1 (Use of the Tool) and 2 (Case Examples), and evaluation tool.
The full citation for the Sexual Assault Pocket Tool is:
Sheets L, Bretl D. The SA Pocket Tool. MedEdPORTAL; 2012. Available from: www.mededportal.org/publication/9165