Care of the victim of rape

To the Editor: Regarding Dr. Hampton's timely review of the care of the woman who has been sexually assaulted (Jan. 26 issue),¹ most rape victims are initially evaluated in the emergency department, where accurate and compassionate detection, intervention, and documentation can decrease physiologic and psychological sequelae for victims and improve the rates of conviction of assailants.² We recently completed a national survey of 102 residencies in emergency medicine to evaluate existing sexual-assault curriculums. Of the 67 programs that responded, only 45 percent included education about sexual assault as part of the orientation of new residents. Sixty-two percent offered less than.