Free BCEN Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN) Practice Question

The correct answer is to collect a urine sample before any other interventions. Despite the time elapsed and multiple urinations, a urine sample may still contain valuable DNA evidence from the assailant. This sample should be collected as soon as possible to prevent further degradation of potential evidence. While documenting the patient's account is important, it doesn't directly preserve physical evidence that may be lost. Similarly, while collecting clothing is crucial, it's not as time-sensitive as the urine sample, as the clothing can be collected at any point during the examination. Photographing injuries, while important, is also less urgent than collecting biological samples that could degrade quickly. This question highlights the importance of prioritizing actions in forensic evidence collection, especially when dealing with time-sensitive biological samples.