To help construct a realistic and sensitive portrayal of the exam process, \u201cThe Pitt\u2019s\u201d writing team and actors worked with a number of consultants, including the UCLA Health Rape Treatment Center<\/a> and Pittsburgh Action Against Rape<\/a> (PAAR). <\/p>\n \u201cI wanted people to understand the extent of the exam, I think that\u2019s a misconception among a lot of people,\u201d said Dr. Kathleen Sekula, a SANE at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh who also consulted the show\u2019s team. <\/p>\n Ilana (Tina Ivlev) arrives at the ER in Episode 7 of \u201cThe Pitt.\u201d<\/p>\n (HBO)<\/p>\n The case in Episode 7, \u201c1:00 P.M.,\u201d involves a visibly shaken young woman, Ilana, played by Tina Ivlev. The writing team knew they wanted to detail the process, not the trauma, Pierre-Geyfman said, so the information about what Ilana experienced is minimal: She was at a barbecue with friends when she was assaulted by a male friend. <\/p>\n \u201cThe thing that struck me was the fact the other shows might focus on what happened and then dive into that,\u201d Ivlev said. \u201cWhat I loved about this, the minute she starts talking about it, they cut [away]. There\u2019s so much underneath it. I wanted it to be similar to real life when you have a traumatic situation happen \u2014 sometimes you can be hyperfocused on certain details, then other things are cloudy. Her head is spinning. She\u2019s in shock.\u201d<\/p>\n As with many of \u201cThe Pitt\u2019s\u201d cases, the story serves to bolster the emotional arc of the show\u2019s healthcare providers, in this case Dana, who assists with the exam from start to finish as the department\u2019s certified SANE nurse. Last season, she was brutally punched in the face by a disgruntled patient while taking a smoke break. That violent attack left her rattled and contemplating an exit from the job, but after taking a few weeks off, she ultimately returned to work \u2014 though the assault\u2019s lingering impact has sharpened her edges.<\/p>\n \u201cWith Dana\u2019s arc and her own assault last season, she\u2019s definitely calcified a little this season,\u201d Pierre-Geyfman said. \u201cShe\u2019s trying to create a little bit of distance between her and her patients, and is really trying to prioritize her nurse\u2019s safety. You see her struggle a little bit with that with this patient. She\u2019s wanting to do more for her.\u201d<\/p>\n On screen, the assessment begins with Dr. Al-Hashimi checking to see if Ilana has any injuries that need immediate attention and getting an intake of prescription medications and any known allergies to medications. Securing two triage rooms to complete the exam as a way to ensure privacy in the busy emergency department, Dana, with help from Emma, begins the evidence collection while carefully outlining the process to Ilana. For starters, once Dana opens the kit, Ilana cannot leave the room but is free to take a break as needed. <\/p>\n To avoid contamination, Dana puts on a face shield and opens the kit, which is a rectangle-shaped box that contains items like paper bags to store evidence and swabs for collecting biological samples. The first step requires Ilana to change into a robe, undressing on top of pads placed on the floor so each item of clothing can be packaged into separate bags and collected as evidence. She\u2019ll be given new clothes, Dana assures her. Dana raises a large piece of cloth to give Ilana privacy as she completes the process. <\/p>\n Eventually Dr. Al-Hashimi returns to examine Ilana, checking for any pain on her body or need for X-rays or imaging \u2014 she notes two areas of bruising to be documented by Dana with photos. Dana seals the camera\u2019s memory card in an evidence envelope. Next, with the lights off, Dana runs a black light over Ilana\u2019s body. Dana relays that if there\u2019s a part of Ilana\u2019s skin that glows, she\u2019ll swab it with a wet, then dry, cotton swab. Dana next swabs Ilana\u2019s mouth \u2014 the inside of her cheek and along the gum line \u2014 and her finger nails. At various points, Dana is careful to assess Ilana\u2019s comfort with each step and uses statements like \u201cThis will not define you,\u201d while Ilana shows signs of stress about the length of the process. <\/p>\n Emma (La\u00ebtitia Hollard) assists Dana (Katherine LaNasa), who leads the exam as the SANE (sexual assault nurse) on duty.<\/p>\n (HBO)<\/p>\n At one juncture, an advocate from Pittsburgh Action Against Rape, otherwise known as PAAR, arrives to further detail the resources and assistance they can offer, a service that\u2019s available regardless of whether a patient decides not to complete the rape kit exam. Throughout the process, Ilana is assured that she can complete the exam even if she\u2019s vacillating on whether to file a police report \u2014 that decision can be made at a later time and none of it goes on her permanent medical record. But when the exam pivots to external and internal vaginal collection, Ilana panics once she\u2019s instructed to place her feet in stirrups to get into position. Dana suggests a break.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want a break, I want to stop,\u201d Ilana proclaims. \u201cHe\u2019s my friend. He knows all my friends. It was just a dumb \u2014 he was drunk. He didn\u2019t mean \u2014 it didn\u2019t mean anything.\u201d<\/p>\n It brings a pause to the process, which will carry over into Episode 8. In trying to show the scope of the exam, the medical drama takes liberties in its completion time. Sekula said it\u2019s rare for an exam to be completed in under three to four hours.<\/p>\n Not all nurses are certified to be a SANE, and certification requirements vary by state, according to Sekula. It\u2019s a role that requires extreme attention to detail and thoroughness, as their work bridges the healthcare and legal systems. While preparing for the episode, Hollard said she marveled at the precise protocols involved and the support that\u2019s provided.<\/p>\n \u201cOn a technical level, it\u2019s so meticulous,\u201d Hollard said. \u201cThere\u2019s so many parts, so many envelopes. You have to take these swabs and they can\u2019t touch each other. And the legality of it all \u2014 the way this kit is happening is how they would do it with PAAR in Pittsburgh, but that\u2019s not the same way they do it in California, or [the way] they do it in different states.\u201d<\/p>\n While \u201cThe Pitt\u201d is frequently recognized for its hyperrealistic medical procedures, the episode\u2019s director, Uta Briesewitz, knew she wanted to film the exam in a way that mirrored the sensitivity healthcare professionals strive to exhibit, with shots that weren\u2019t invasive or fixated on Ilana\u2019s body. For example, when Ilana is undressing, the camera is fixed on Dana being mindful to give her privacy even in their close proximity \u2014 an out of focus glimpse of Ilana\u2019s bare backside comes only when getting a reaction of Emma taking in the weight of the moment. Later, when the blue light is being run down Ilana\u2019s body, her hospital gown is carefully place to avoid exposure. In addition to a SANE consultant being on set to assist with queries about the process, there was also an intimacy coordinator to help with the comfort level of filming the scenes.<\/p>\n \u201cOn a technical level, it\u2019s so meticulous,\u201d said La\u00ebtitia Hollard of the process. \u201cThere\u2019s so many parts, so many envelopes. You have to take these swabs and they can\u2019t touch each other.\u201d<\/p>\n (HBO)<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a very sensitive line because women can get re-traumatized,\u201d Briesewitz said. \u201cI remember one of our more detailed conversations with our SANE nurse was about when Dana had to look with the black light for bodily fluid. How do we make sure she would not miss anything but, at the same time, give the victim the feeling that they\u2019re still protected? It was super helpful to have our SANE advisor on set to say the way she would do it. \u2018One arm comes out of the sleeve, then I hold up her gown this way, and I would do it like that …\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n LaNasa found her time at the UCLA Health Rape Treatment Center crucial to chart both her character\u2019s ease in the room and her sensitivity to the task at hand: \u201cI went back a second time because I knew I was going to have to use the kit … I wanted it to look like I had used the kit many times and I knew what I was doing.\u201d<\/p>\n Reflecting on the case as a mirror to her character\u2019s journey, LaNasa pointed out that Dana never pressed charges against Doug Driscoll, the man who assaulted her. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s different in this situation,\u201d LaNasa acknowledged. \u201cI thought it was great information that we got out of this, which is that you can go and do a rape kit, you can have the evidence collected, and you don\u2019t have to decide on that day when you\u2019re traumatized if you want to press charges or not. I think that part of Dana\u2019s hypervigilance is probably because there was no justice for her. I think why she\u2019s cracked this season is because she didn\u2019t take care of herself. She\u2019s reeling from that. She let him beat her up. At the same time, she doesn\u2019t want Tina\u2019s character to feel any pressure, but I think she wants it for her. She wants her to have the ability to change her mind later.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to hear Dana, later in the season, refer back to this process that these people have to go through, in defense of a sexual assault victim,\u201d LaNasa teased. \u201cIt\u2019s big on her mind. She\u2019s been doing it quite a while.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The following article contains spoilers for Episode 7, \u201c1:00 P.M.,\u201d of \u201cThe Pitt\u201d Season 2. The education begins…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":300420,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[33109,41903,146,28838,21495,151613,85,151612,46,139217,28448,41150,109889,151616,12607,151615,151614,2028],"class_list":{"0":"post-300419","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-body","9":"tag-dana","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-episode","12":"tag-evidence","13":"tag-exam-process","14":"tag-il","15":"tag-ilana","16":"tag-israel","17":"tag-katherine-lanasa","18":"tag-nurse","19":"tag-patient","20":"tag-pitt","21":"tag-pittsburgh-action","22":"tag-process","23":"tag-rape-kit-exam","24":"tag-sane","25":"tag-way"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=300419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300419\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/300420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=300419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=300419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771563008_421_.jpeg\")
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