For those of you out there struggling with issues around VAWA 2005 forensic compliance, technical assistance is now available through EVAW International. Additionally, they have a variety of materials available on the topic, as well as a couple webinars coming up. The first webinar will be October 15th at 2pm ET: Medical Forensic Exams Conducted without a Report Being Made to Law Enforcement.
Just back from a terrific trip to CO Springs/Alamosa (where, among other things, I got a tour of the gorgeous Memorial program and also ate my weight in Mexican food). We were also busy over at the Sustainability site this week:
It may have been snowing in Colorado this week, but it’s gorgeous and sunny in the 216, and I’m actually home for a sustained period of time (3 weeks!). So I’m very much looking forward to my weekend. Hope yours is a good one, too!
The Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Technical Assistance (SAFE TA) project is hosting a free webinar October 13th from 2-3:30 ET on victim privacy. Susan Chasson MSN, JD, SANE-A (an IAFN past-president and practicing SANE) and Jessica Mindlin, Esq. (from the Victim Rights Law Center) will be the featured presenters.
Medscape has a forensic-focused CE offering currently available: Forensic Issues for Nurses. It’s your standard article-posttest format and is free, with site registration. 1 CEU will be awarded upon completion.
RN.org has several new CE offerings available that might be of interest to readers. It’s a flat $19.95 for unlimited CEs (in a 12 month period), and they offer some of the state mandated courses, as well as a general selection. That’s actually a pretty fantastic value for the money–something to consider springing for if you just don’t have the budget to send your team members to conferences this year.
In the wake of the Dugard case, it’s no surprise that the merits of sex offender registries are being debated. Time magazine has an interesting article about the potential globalization of sex offender registries here. But before we go there, perhaps we need to analyze the current national registry system, as was done in a brief editorial in last week’s USA Today by Suzanne Brown-McBride, Executive Director of CalCASA. It’s definitely worth a read.
It’s a great week at the sustainability site. First off, I’m so excited to be able to bring you a new Friday Coordinator Q&A with Emily Huggins in York, PA (thanks, Emily!). In addition:
Next week is the NSAC conference in Alexandria. I’ll be presenting a couple sessions there and am looking forward to seeing many of you. Please stop by the AEquitas booth or snag me after a session and say hello if you’ll be there.
Have a safe and happy holiday weekend!
Time once again for a run down of some of the new and noteworthy articles in the current literature. All of these are from the August/September issues. As always, please keep in mind this in no way a comprehensive list; simply items that have caught my attention from a selection of peer-reviewed journals. All links lead to PubMed abstracts; from there you can choose what’s worth a.) paying for; b.) a pilgrimage to your nearest medical library; or c.) downloading via the full-text access you possibly have at your disposal. The list is alphabetical by journal.
I had a colleague ask me for some resources for training healthcare providers on child sexual abuse, and while this wasn’t a resource specific to her needs, it made me realize I’ve never posted it before. The American Academy of Pediatrics published a web-based sexual violence prevention program last year. There’s quite a bit of information contained in it, so it’s probably worth trolling through the different sections. They break it up into age groups, too, so you can review based on interest (e.g. if you only see adolescents and adults in your practice, there are tabs for younger and older adolescents).
Well, people, this is my last week of being at home for the next month. I”ve had two uninterrupted weeks with the family, but this weekend, it’s back on the road for me. Assuming that the Navy base I’ll be on allows me internet access (and you just never know), there shouldn’t be any interruption in posts next week. In the meantime, check out what’s happening over at the sustainability site:
I’m going to try and cut out a bit early today to enjoy this last day of summer break with my kiddo; there’s a wedding anniversary to celebrate tonight (you’ll have to ask Rob which number–I never get it right), and Sally’s birthday in Harrisburg this weekend. All in all, it’s shaping up to be a fantastic weekend. Hope yours will be, too. See you back here on Monday.
The National Child Protection Training Center is offering a free webinar: When the Victim is Very Young: Investigation and Litigation of Child Sexual Abuse Cases. It will be held September 17th at 3pm Central and Victor Vieth will be the faculty for the session. Please note: advanced registration is required and closes September 10th. Click here to register.
I know it’s not the most clinically-focused offering I’ve put up, but I also know there are a lot of Victor Vieth fans among you. Plus it’s great info to take back to your MDTs or SARTs.
I don’t know how many of you read the Sunday NY Times, but this past weekend the Magazine ran a special series: Saving the World’s Women. There were a few articles that were particularly interesting, including The Women’s Crusade and an interview with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Not surprisingly, trafficking and gender-based violence were discussed repeatedly.
It’s been an insanely busy week, but a really good one. And there’s some great stuff over at the sustainability site this week. Aside from an evaluation webinar happening today over at OVC (I hope I’ll be able to share archived materials soon), you’ll also find:
It’s going to definitely be a working weekend for me, but hopefully not for my friend Tara, who just passed her FNP boards. Considering she was sweating the exam in Oregon last week, allow me to be the first to say, “I told you so!” (oh, yeah, and congratulations…). Enjoy the fishing, Tara–you earned it.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
CROWD has a really terrific powerpoint on gynecological consideration in treating women with physical disabilities. I post it here because it’s a great overview of some of the exam techniques that can be useful (a consideration for those of us completing SAFE exams); challenges in identifying STIs and other GYN issues in this population; and potential red flags for physical and sexual abuse. The slides are accompanied by detailed notes, making the whole thing a great educational tool.
OVC has another free web forum coming up August 26th from 2-3pm ET: Responding to Homeless Victims of Sexual Assault. No registration is required. Jessy Haywood, community educator and trainer at the Center for Women and Families, and Katya Fels Smyth, founder of the Full Frame Initiative and On the Rise, Inc., will be facilitating the discussion. To find out how to participate in this session, you can check out the directions here.
Just a head’s up: I’m facilitating one of these at the end of September on program sustainability. I’ll post more on it when I have the official details.
It’s been a terrific week out here in the mountains, but it’s just about time to go home (and then turn right back around and head to Oregon). I confess, I tried to get a new clinical guide up this week, but the mountains beckoned and it didn’t happen. Next week, I promise. In the meantime, check out what’s happening over at the sustainability site:
It’s my last day here, so I’m going to enjoy one last trail run. Have a great weekend everyone! See you back here next week from the Pacific Northwest.
Medscape has a new slideshow available: Recognizing Child Abuse. It’s free to access (registration is required, also free) and would make another fantastic continuing education presentation for your team. The slideshow includes multiple annotated injury photos, films and recent stats, but it’s still brief enough to review during a staff meeting or inservice (there are 25 slides total). Child sexual abuse is also addressed, albeit briefly.
It’s certainly not the most comprehensive presentation on the topic, but it’s a nice overview. I’ll look forward to hearing your opinions…
Friend of FHO, Diana Faugno, will be the featured speaker for the next Family Justice Alliance webinar, August 13th at 9am Pacific: Injury & Terminology 101 in Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. Participation is free, but pre-registration is suggested. This is a great opportunity to provide continuing education for your team, or help bring your newbies up to speed, so I would get yourselves registered ASAP. The good news is that they archive all of their webinars, so if the date doesn’t work for you, you’ll still be able to access the information. But experiencing it live means you get to ask questions…I’m just saying.
UPDATE: you can find a PDF of the presentation here; video here.
Yesterday, I received an email from a reader looking for materials on teen dating violence. There are several sites addressing this issue right now. One is That’s Not Cool, which does a great job speaking directly to teens about stalking, harassment and violence. There’s also Break the Cycle, which has a boatload of free resources that would be great to have on hand as patient handouts (in English and Spanish), including safety planning workbooks for teens and for college students (PDF). They also publish a report on state laws each year–you can see how your state measures up here (OH gets an F) or download the full report (PDF).
Time once again for a run down of some of the new and noteworthy articles in the current literature. All of these are from the July/August/September issues. As always, please keep in mind this in no way a comprehensive list; simply items that have caught my attention from a selection of peer-reviewed journals. All links lead to PubMed abstracts; from there you can choose what’s worth a.) paying for; b.) a pilgrimage to your nearest medical library; or c.) downloading via the full-text access you possibly have at your disposal.