A client tells the emergency nurse, "I was sexually assaulted, but I am not sure I want a forensic examination." Which response should the nurse make first?

Trauma-informed care restores safety, control, and informed choice. The client may accept or decline each part of medical and forensic care, so the nurse should explain options without coercion while addressing urgent health and safety needs.

Quick answer
Acknowledge the disclosure and return control to the client by explaining that each part of care is voluntary. This supports safety and informed consent after an experience that involved loss of control.

Why this is correct
A medical forensic examination has health and evidence-collection purposes, but its components require the client's consent. Clear options, permission to pause or decline, and nonjudgmental communication reduce retraumatization while allowing urgent injuries and other health needs to be addressed.

Easy analogy or mental picture
Think of the nurse as offering a map with several routes rather than pushing the client onto one road. The map represents informed options and the client chooses the route; this does not remove mandatory reporting duties that may apply under local law.

Memory hook
After trauma, restore control: acknowledge, explain choices, obtain consent, and avoid coercion.

NCLEX decision rule
When a capable client considers sexual-assault care, protect immediate safety and obtain consent for each component. Do not make treatment, forensic evidence collection, or law-enforcement involvement sound compulsory when the applicable protocol allows client choice.

Why the other choices are wrong
Linking care to prosecution pressures the client. Claiming evidence collection cannot be declined removes informed consent, and asking police to direct medical care reverses the client-centered role of the clinical team.