Medical Assistance
On Campus
At TCNJ Student Health Services, a nurse practitioner can perform a physical exam to check for injuries, perform STI and HIV testing and provide emergency contraception and treatment. You can call their office at 609-771-2889 to schedule an appointment.
Off Campus
Local hospitals can also provide services to address physical injuries, including medical evidence collection. In the event of a sexual assault, hospital staff can help students start the Sexual Assault Response Team Activation Process. An advocate from Womanspace will be deployed to the hospital to help you through the process and talk about your options. Medical evidence collection is conducted by a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) and can be useful if you decide to pursue criminal charges against the offender within 5 years. It needs to be done within 5 DAYS of the incident. For further information about preserving evidence visit our Preserving Evidence page.
Hospital Care
At the hospital, you will be asked questions about your general health. If you are female, you will be asked about your menstrual history and your use of contraception. You will also be asked specific questions about the assault. It may be difficult to recall some of the details, and it may be emotionally painful to talk about what happened. Medical providers ask specific questions to find out what to look for when they examine you. The information you give helps them conduct a thorough physical evaluation.
Then you will have a general physical exam and if you are female, a pelvic exam. The clinician will check for external and internal injuries and test for any sexually transmitted infections. You may be given antibiotics to prevent infection. For females, a pregnancy test will be done and you will be given emergency contraceptive pills to prevent unintended pregnancy. (Emergency contraception is also available at Student Health Services. Students can purchase it from the Student Health Services receptionist and have the option of seeing a nurse or not. It is also available without a prescription at local pharmacies.)
There are many resources that you can utilize as a member of the TCNJ community if you are a victim of sexual assault or dating/domestic violence. Below are the on-campus and off-campus resources:
- Student Health Services
Eickhoff Hall 107
Ewing, NJ 08628
P: 609-771-2889
https://health.tcnj.edu/
- Womanspace
24 Hour Crisis Line: 609.394.9000
1530 Brunswick Avenue
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
609.394.0136
http://www.womanspace.org/
*Womanspace serves all genders.
- Capitol Health Regional Medical Center
750 Brunswick Ave
Trenton, NJ 08638
609.394.6000
For more information on each of these resources please visit: http://oavi.tcnj.edu/tools-for-everyone/relatedlinks/sexual-assault/