Shared roles ensure complete care for sexual assault survivors.

Collaboration between nurse and medical practitioners is required to achieve the quality of care needed by persons experiencing sexual assault. The environment necessary to support this endeavor emerges from the larger organizational values, the program values, and from mature, confident team members. Medical and nurse practitioners understand their unique knowledge and skills as complementary and enhancing, rather than divisive; they must identify the knowledge and skill sets common to both as well as those unique to each discipline. The complex needs of the client demand a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach. This approach benefits both the client and the care provider. The atmosphere provided by this style allows individual professionals to grow and cultivates interest to learn from each other. Modeling of this behavior to clients gives unwritten and unspoken permission to rely on others in a healthy and open fashion.

The role of a forensic clinical nurse specialist in a sexual assault treatment program.

The role of a Forensic Clinical Nurse Specialist has been developed within our Regional Sexual Assault Treatment Centre in London, Ontario, to assist in meeting the short-term and long-term physical and psychological needs of victims of acute sexual assault. We report on the development and application of this most valuable role within our medical and nursing health care team.