As some of you may be aware, the IAFN has updated recommendations for SANE education.  Therefore, as a result and effective immediately, the DOJ SANE A course will no longer have a 2 year minimum RN clinical practice pre-req. For Wisconsin, this update means a likely increase in the number of nurses who can be trained as SANEs and a growth in the SANE population. However, in order to be eligible to test for the SANE certification exam, the IAFN does require at least 2 years of clinical practice experience as an RN prior to taking the exam.

 The IAFN updates are as follows:  

1. The SANE didactic course is intended for registered and advanced practice nurses. The minimum licensing recommendation to practice as a SANE is the registered nurse (RN),  but physician assistants and physicians may also receive SANE training” (2018 SANE Education Guidelines page 3).  The specific number of years of clinical practice experience (2 or more) is a requirement to test, not to take the course. 

2. With regards to SANE exam testing eligibility, the IAFN requires:

a.       2 or more years' clinical practice as an RN

b.       Completion of a minimum 40-hr SANE course by an accredited provider

c.       300 hours of SANE practice* within the past 3 years (at least 200 with the  intended exam population)               

                                                                           i.      *practice* =providing patient care, taking on-call shifts, precepting/teaching, consulting, and engaging in peer review 

Additionally, the update stressed the need for individualized clinical preceptorship guidelines for newly trained SANES—nurses who have completed the didactic components of class.  The IAFN emphasizes the “importance of individualized clinical training of the newly trained SANE and that preceptors be willing to recognize that competence is NOT determined by numbers (of observed exams, of precepted exams e.g.)-but rather is determined by the individual preceptor AND the student. Allowing plenty of time for observation, mentoring, and post-clinical support of the new SANE,  and for the clinical training post course to continue for as long as necessary for the newly trained nurse to feel confident in their skills.”