Apply for the Sexual Assault Nurse Training Certification Program

What you need to know about the program

The Massachusetts Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Program provides 24/7 emergency forensic nursing services across the Commonwealth. The Program is seeking applications from a diverse group of committed individuals looking to provide compassionate care for sexual assault patients.

About the training

The MA SANE Certification Training is a 48-hour program held over the course of 6 weeks, culminating in both a written and practical certification exam as well as a precepting experience. This certification training serves as the basis for eligibility to contract (as an individual entity) with DPH to provide care as a MA SANE.

The didactic content for the MA SANE Certification Training will be provided primarily in an on-line format which will include recorded, self-paced sessions as well as scheduled, live, interactive webinars.

• The live webinars are approximately four hours in length and conducted twice a week during the training period.
• The three in-person clinical days are held at the interprofessional Center for Experiential Learning and Simulation (iCELS) at UMASS Chan Medical School in Worcester.

Upon acceptance to the MA SANE Certification Training, you will be expected to attend all live training sessions (a mix of virtual and in-person) and complete all require pre-work prior to each session. You must be able to commit designated time to the training sessions, pre-work, study/review, and examination. Candidates who miss a live session of the training will not be able to complete certification.

We are currently accepting applications for our Fall 2025 Certification Training. To be considered for this session, applications much be received by August 11, 2025. Applications received after August 11, 2025, will be given consideration for the next session. The dates for the Fall training are:

Virtual live training dates
9 a.m.–1 p.m.

• Thursday, Sept 18, 2025
• Tuesday, Sept 23, 2025
• Thursday, Sept 25, 2025
• Thursday, October 9, 2025
• Tuesday, October 14, 2025
• Thursday, October 16, 2025
• Thursday, October 23, 2025 (Virtual Written Exam Day)

In-person clinical days at UMass Chan Medical School

All Students to attend either 8:30 a.m.–12 p.m. or 12:30–4 p.m. session on Monday, September 29, 2025.

Students will also be assigned to one of these three days, 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.

• Thursday, October 2, 2025
• Friday, October 3, 2025
• Monday, October 6, 2025

All students will be required to complete a Practical Exam on Tuesday, October 28, 2025.  Students will be assigned a timeperiod (either 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. or 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.).

By completing and submitting this application, you are applying to be considered for the MA SANE Certification Training. This training is offered by the MA SANE Program, part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Department of Public Health.

Qualifications

To be eligible to apply for the MA SANE Certification Training, you must be either a registered nurse, nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, or physician in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with a minimum of three (3) full years of clinical experience. A working background or knowledge of violence against women, sexual assault, and domestic violence issues is preferable.  The Program is seeking SANE contractors, who actively examine their explicit and implicit biases in order to provide equitable, trauma-informed SANE care for all patients, and who actively address instances of racism perpetrated by others during patient encounters. The Program is committed to providing and supporting educational opportunities to support this life-long learning process.

Eligibility requirements

To apply for training and certification as a MA Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) you must be either a registered nurse, nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, or physician in the state of Massachusetts with a minimum of three (3) full years of clinical experience. Clinicians with diverse backgrounds and experiences are encouraged to apply. 

By completing the SANE Certification Training, you become eligible to contract with the Commonwealth as an Independent Contractor.  This is not an employed position.  All eligibility requirements must be met (without exception) including:  

• Current independent, individual professional liability insurance policy with minimums of $1 million per claim and $3 million minimum aggregate. Hospital-based, principle named, or self-insured hospital insurance policies are not acceptable.
   
• Current Immunizations:
  • Annual Influenza Immunization
  • COVID-19
  • MMR
  • Varicella
  • Hepatitis B
  • TDap (Initial Vaccination, plus most recent booster, which must be <10 years)
  • Record of a minimum of one negative TB-ppd/Mantoux 

These contracting eligibility requirements will be verified during the contracting process (if you are accepted into the MA SANE Certification Training Program). 

The MA SANE role

Upon successful completion of the MA SANE Certification Training, Certified MA SANEs are eligible to apply under the Commonwealth’s RFR 231332 “Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners” to work as a contracted SANE in one of the program’s 6 geographical regions.

Contracted MA SANEs are expected to be available on-call for approximately 30 hours per month (may be more or less, depending on the needs of the Region in which they provide services, and at the discretion of the SANE Program Regional Coordinator and/or Associate Director).