Our Kids Center, a Nashville-based organization providing expert medical evaluations and crisis counseling in response to concerns of child sexual abuse, has created a series of skills labs, including simulation at CELA, to enhance clinical and communications skills for healthcare providers training as pediatric Sexual Assault Examiners (SAEs).  

Given the sensitive nature of the exams and communications with patients and their families, CELA’s unique environment allows trainees to apply new skills in the presence of experts who can provide input and guidance in a safe, nonthreatening setting.

At CELA, trainees are able to perform a full exam, use specialized equipment for forensic documentation, collect evidence, and communicate with an adolescent patient who has suffered a sexual assault as well as an adult caregiver.  To increase the impact of their experience, trainees receive immediate feedback from experts in the field as well as their “patients”.

Future plans include research about the training’s long term impact on clinical practices and investigating additional opportunities to use simulation for the furthering of SAE training.