Wearing Gloves When Taking Vital Signs?

[student1000]

I was wondering what is considered the norm in different people's ERs when taking vital signs about whether nurses/techs wear gloves. Whenever I have been to the ER the person who does my vitals on admission never wears gloves but several times when the techs have come in to take my vitals (no body fluids expsoure possible) they have put on gloves. As you would expect, at the doctors office they don't wear gloves either for taking vitals. When I have asked why they need to wear gloves to take my BP the responses I have received are "I don't know why you are here, so it is a standard measure" and "You don't know what I might have" (meaning the tech)-if I have to worry about catching something from the tech, she shouldn't be working. I understand the role of PPE and am all for it but I also was taught that a basic exam you don't need gloves that it is good for the patient to have human touch without a gloves barrier.

[mmutk, BSN, RN, EMT-I]

"You don't know what I might have" (meaning the tech)-if I have to worry about catching something from the tech, she shouldn't be working. I understand the role of PPE and am all for it but I also was taught that a basic exam you don't need gloves

I don't agree with any part of your statement above and I also do not believe you actually do know the role of PPE. It was initially developed to protect the patients from other patient's blood or body fluids that might be on the nurses hands after seeing other patients. This was back before handwashing became a routine. Now it has developed more into the role of protecting the healthcare worker from the patient, but it still serves a dual purpose.

I don't usually wear gloves to take vitals in the ER, but I do sometimes if the situation presents itself. I welcome anyone who comes at me with clean gloves on as well. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

[mmutk, BSN, RN, EMT-I]

Hmmm, just to play the devil's advocate, these same people who may have MRSA or C.Diff are also shopping in your grocery store, refilling their soda at the fountain at McDonalds, or just used the ATM ahead of you. Do your wear PPM in those cases as well?

If I have to take their vitals or touch them I would. In fact sometimes I wish I did have some gloves and a mask with me for times like that.

[star77, MSN, RN]

Before I was an ER nurse...

I took vitals at a clinic on a patient who had the WORST case of scabies any of us had ever seen. Of course, he was wearing long sleeves and pants and didn't tell anyone about his rash when he signed in.

And when I wrapped that BP cuff around his arm and took his pulse, guess what else I took home with me and gave to my (current) boyfriend?

I wear gloves. Permethrin costs $40 a tube, and you feel mildly poisoned afterwards. Gloves are cheap - in fact, they're provided for my safety.

I go with gloves now.

[nursel56]

]

as a patient and as someone considering nursing as a career i think you should always were gloves when having contact with a patient especially in an emergency situation!!! why would you want to catch or transfer something that could have been easily prevented by simply putting on gloves.

agree, but i've seen people go from patient to patient with the same gloves on. almost had to snatch the lab techs hand one time when he drew blood on one guy, then went to draw blood on my son without changing gloves grrrrrr

[veronicajr]

Okay, I work in a large ER and I also work PRN in a rehab hospital. I will say that many times when I go in to do a simple assessment on a patient, especially at the rehab hospital, I don't necessarily wear gloves. They're always bedside, for me, and if I encounter a situation where I may need them, I am quick to put them on. Oh, and just because someone doesn't have gloves on doesn't mean they don't take the time to wash their hands. That's an unfair assumption.

[buttercup99]

I have worked in a few places such as Emergency Dept, Short stay surg, nursing home, and I have never seen a nurse wear gloves for vital signs except for if the patient is on Additional precautions (MRSA, scabies, C diff.) We are very strict on washing hands here though. At the short stay surg ward, there are pump bottles of alcohol gel at the end of every bed and at every sink, which we use after every patient contact. And we will wash with soap and water when taking gloves off or every few alcohol washes.

I take the point about not knowing what the patient has. We usually look at their file and guess who might need additional precautions however you can't always know. In the ED, there was an Aboriginal patient from the outback who was put under Additional precautions just for being suspected of having scabies. No real reason for suspecting except the community she lived in. Likewise anyone with gastro, we take precautions before the tests come back.

By the way, when i say Additional precautions, I am referring to the "sign on the door, don't go in without a gown and gloves and everything in the room is cleaned before moving the next pt in" kind of setup, not just gloves.

[Larry77, RN]

I don't wear gloves on routine vitals but definitely wash my hands at least a hundred times a day :-)

I think it's just the healthcare person's preference...some are a little more paranoid than others. Now if there is a potential for fluid exposure of any kind, it would be irresponsible not to wear gloves.

R/T scabies...I took care of hundreds of scabies cases in Honduras and we did not wear gloves on each patient (just didn't have enough) but washed our hands either with soap and water or Previcare...not one team member contracted scabies or lice...just FYI.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

If you have intact skin, handwashing immediately after patient contact will get rid of any cooties. I worked infectious diseases in the era before gloves were readily available, and wasn't out sick during those years. I did get a few colds, but without full PPE for every patient I think thats to be expected.

If I worked in a riskier ER the gross out factor alone could prompt me to wear gloves for every patient contact just in case. So far I glove for poop and anything with blood or sputum, and pericare. (Yes I glove for procedures, but that goes without saying right?). I would be offended if someone insisted I glove for everything- you still have to wash your hands anyway! If a healthcare worker gloved to care for me it wouldn't be offensive, just unnecessary. Whatever makes them feel comfortable enough to do the job is fine with me.

[star77, MSN, RN]

R/T scabies...I took care of hundreds of scabies cases in Honduras and we did not wear gloves on each patient (just didn't have enough) but washed our hands either with soap and water or Previcare...not one team member contracted scabies or lice...just FYI.

Well, I washed (and still wash) my hands with soap and water religiously before and after each patient - known for being rather OCD about it - and yes, I wash for the full amount of time (and I hate the sanitizer crap in the hospital- makes my skin itch, so I actually scrub while I'm talking to people)... and I still contracted scabies from this patient, as did other practitioners in our clinic. I also hung his jacket for him at one point (clinic, remember, different quarters), so possibly from that? Ugh.

In any case, it sucked. And I still wash my hands religiously, and I still wear gloves with patients.

I've come across cuts, random bleeds, ugly pressure ulcers, etc, and I feel better about wearing gloves when I do an assessment. I can't tell you how many times I've stuck my hand into something wet and have been happy that there's at least a minor barrier over my skin.

Do gloves give me a false sense of security? Nope. The microbes can still get in. I still wash, religiously.

But I do feel better about "goin' in" when I have them on.

That's all.

[cjcsoon2bnp, MSN, RN, NP]

I usually don't wear gloves when I take vital signs but I always wash my hands before and after each patient contact (either with soap and water or hand sanitizer.) Sometimes I use gloves but its usually if I think I need to do something else while I'm in the room (such as emptying a urinal or cleaning up something.) In my new job in the ER I plan on wearing them a lot more often.

!Chris

[mmutk, BSN, RN, EMT-I]

I love how all the comments about not wearing gloves and what not are from RN STUDENTS OR NEW GRADS...

[cjcsoon2bnp, MSN, RN, NP]

I love how all the comments about not wearing gloves and what not are from RN STUDENTS OR NEW GRADS...

I'm detecting a bit of sarcasm when you say that. I may be a nursing student but I'm also a CNA that works in a hospital too, I'm actually speaking from experience as a CNA and not as a nursing student.

!Chris