Original Release Date: October 29, 2021
In episode two of our Workforce Resiliency mini season, Just Science sat down with Dr. Cara Berg Raunick, a women’s health nurse practitioner and the Director of Clinical Quality and Advancement at Health Care Education and Training, to discuss vicarious trauma experienced by sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs).
Vicarious trauma – the cognitive changes someone experiences after witnessing traumatic events – affects nurse examiners profoundly, particularly those providing care in the aftermath of sexual violence. According to Dr. Berg Raunick, the ramifications of SANEs experiencing vicarious trauma could be devastating to the practice of medical forensic examination. Listen along as Dr. Berg Raunick discusses her journey through anti-sexual violence practice, the effects of vicarious trauma in her own life, and her research findings in this two-part episode of Just Science.
This episode of Just Science is funded by the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence [Award 2016-MU-BX-K110].
View or download the episode transcript here:
Transcript
Related Resources
Guest Biography
Dr. Cara Berg Raunick is a nurse practitioner and certified SANE-A. She works as the Director of Clinical Quality at Health Care Education and Training, a non-profit committed to improving reproductive and sexual health outcomes throughout the Midwest. She also maintains a clinical practice in women's health and family planning. Her SANE career began on the forensic nursing team at the Cleveland Clinic. She has also worked as a SANE consultant for the Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking, where she led the most recent revision of the Indiana State Guidelines for the Medical Forensic Examination of the Adult/Adolescent Sexual Assault Patient. Her doctoral research on Vicarious Trauma Among Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners was published in the Journal of Forensic Nursing, and she was recently published in the Indianapolis Star advocating a trauma-informed approach following the universal trauma of 2020. Dr. Berg Raunick teaches frequently in community, academic, and professional settings on various sexual health, trauma-informed care, and forensic nursing topics.
The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this podcast episode are those of the presenter(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Justice.
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