(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Attorney General’s Office is proposing an update to state rules that outline the standards for nurses who are certified to conduct sexual assault examinations — and those who are not certified to collect rape kit evidence would no longer be eligible for state reimbursement for conducting the exam. Susan Krisco, the Deputy Attorney General for Criminal Justice, says the goal is to ensure any evidence collected is admissible in court.

“There are a number of people out there that believe that they can do these because it seems to be a checklist. You get a box and there’s a number of things that it says you should do,” Krisko says. “…However, the standards of a sexual assault nurse examiner are far more intricate.” Krisko says an emergency room doctor typically spends between 20 and 25 minutes with a patient, while an exam to collect evidence of a sexual assault takes three to four hours.

“Because we’re treating them with trauma informed care that an emergency room doctor doesn’t have the time or the training to do,” Krisko says. Amy Campbell, a spokesperson for the Iowa Nurses Association, says the standards for nurse examiners outlined in the new rules are appropriate.

“Nurses aren’t trained in forensics,” Campbell says. “A lot of doctors aren’t trained in forensics and the importance of ensuring that the qualify of the text, information that’s collected is going to stand up in court is what’s really important.” Attorney General Brenna Bird is asking legislators to raise the reimbursement rate for nurses who are certified to conduct sexual assault exams and, for the first time, provide mileage reimbursement.

Campbell says that’s important to the Nurses Association because the current 400-dollar payment is too low. “We have nurses that do this basically because it’s the right thing to do and they’re losing money on it,” Campbell says. “…They’re not getting reimbursed for their transportation. They’re getting paid below what their rates would be for a four or five hour examination.”

To get certified as a sexual assault exam nurse, a nurse must complete 40 hours of training which can be completed online or in person.