New nursing student and AIDS patient

SaderNurse05, BSN, RN · Oct 17, 2007

I would say these are great opportunites for you to learn a lot. The fact is in most cases you are more of a danger to the HIV patient than they are to you. Review your transmission routes- if you are not exposed to his blood you will not get infected. This is a good reason that universal precautions should be just that-universal. It is likey you will care for people that are in the hospital (or clinic, or wherever you nursing path takes you) that will be HIV positive. Some may even have TB or HIV and not even know it. It also shows me your instructor thinks you can handle it. I would take it as a compliment and learn as much as I could. As far as HIV, I am prejudiced because I have been dealing with it in some way or fashion since they identified in back in 1985. As a nurse I think it is our obligation to educate people about real vs perceived risks. I hope you learn about HIV and then share it with everyone you can. Okay, now off the soapbox. Make us at Allnurses proud!!!

leslie :-D · Oct 17, 2007

i was just about to respond as sader nurse did.

universal precautions.

this could very well be one of the more memorable nsg experiences you will encounter.

and please, don't forget that extra dose of tlc.

leslie

ohmeowzer RN, RN · Oct 17, 2007

at our hospital the students take pt's with HIV and TB and MRSA and anything that they are assigned. it's a very good learning expirence .. i enourge the students to take these patients. good luck in school and keep us posted on how you are doing.

Esther2007 · Oct 17, 2007

Hi. I am a fairly new nursing student in my 2nd semester and in the first part of Med Surg. Tonight, at the beginning of clincials, I was assigned a patient with full blown AIDS and Bacteremia. Is this typical for a fairly new RN student?? Another student got someone with active TB in isolation. She has to gear all up before she goes in. Is this typical?? This seems a little extreme to me for only being in my second semester. And since I am pretty new and dealing with an AIDS patient, what advice do you have to protect myself?? Your thoughts and advice are greatly appreciated. Epona :uhoh21:

In my second semester, I also had a patient with full blown aids. I had to give 30 crushed meds via ngt and 2 injections. The patient also had psychiatric issues. While I was giving him his meds via NGT, he started to cough, so I stopped and rechecked for placement. I did not hear any pssst sound. So, I had my instructor listened, she too did not hear placement. I had to get another nurse, to hold the guy down, so we could put back the NGT. After 30 minutes with this guy, I was able to give him all the meds. The guy was fighting with us. The placement came out between the meds because my instructor and heard the psst sound. Anyway, it was a great experience for me.

What a day that was. I also thought the patient was too advanced for me, since I was doing diabetes then. But, I managed to get through it.

Look at it as a great opportunity to learn.

liljsmom02 · Oct 17, 2007

I took care of my first AIDS pt when I was about 8 months pregnant. I had a terrible cold and couldn't take anything due to baby on board so I wore a mak when I went into his room. He looked at me funny so I explained the really bad cold thing. He actually asked me to come back in his room when I had time and to not wear the mask. Apparently his T counts were still good. He explained so many things to me that I did not know. I grew very comfortable with him and was able to ask him any questions I wanted. So I say take advantage of the situation if the pt is a nice one. Tell him(or her) that this is your first encounter with an AIDS pt. Pts are sometimes the best source of info.

Crash_Cart · Oct 17, 2007

What scared me the most when I started Nursing wasn't who actually had full blown HIV, but rather it was who you didn't know that had full blown HIV.

Hope that makes sense. If not, it will in the future.

My Best.

VivaRN · Oct 17, 2007

I agree that this will be a great learning experience for you. Learn as much as you can! Someday you'll be out there without an instructor. Seize the day. Nurses were at the forefront of caring for HIV patients when no one else would.

There is still a lot of stigma surrounding people living with HIV/AIDS. Treat the patient as you would anyone else: universal precautions.

Also be very sensitive about disclosure issues. Family and friends may not be aware of the dx.

You will have a fun time looking up the meds! The history of the epidemic is also very interesting.

Good luck ~

southernbelle08 · Oct 17, 2007

I agree that it was a great experience. I helped with a Postpartum HIV patient and it really was sad how some people viewed her all because she was HIV+. Just go in with an open mind, ready to learn as much as you can, and I think you'll get a lot from it. :)

pagandeva2000, LPN · Oct 17, 2007

I also think that this will be a good learning experience. Universal precautions should be all that you need. They do get heaps of medications, so, it is a good practice to learn what they are taking as well as observing the complications related to AIDS. I know it is intimidating, but, I'd rather get the experience now than later when there is even less support for me. Good luck! I think you'll be fine. I happen to have a great deal of love for those patients and wish to work in an Immunology clinic further in my career.

tvccrn, ASN, RN · Oct 17, 2007

I wasn't a nursing student, but a GN (that should tell you how long ago it was, working as a GN) when I took on my first AIDS patient. This was back when you double gowned, doubled gloved, wore shoe covers, a mask and a hair cover. He was also placed in a negative-pressure room at the end of the hallway.

The gentleman was in the end stages of encepalopathy and comatose. I can't tell you his meds, but I can tell you I learned so much that day about treating the patient with dignity and respect. This was in East Texas and, at the time, you just didn't see "those" types of people.

This family was so very loving and accepting of this man's lifestyle. He and his partner had just moved to the area from California. The family missed them so much that the family packed up and came as well.

The only thing we could do for the patient was make him as comfortable as possible and wait for the inevitable. In spite of all the rigamorole of donning the protective gear, myself and another nurse were in and out of the room numerous times for comfort care.

The family came to me and said they were going for dinner and would be back in about half an hour. I decided to take that time for a completed bath and bed change. So, we headed into the room in all our glory and bathed the patient. It took us the entire 30 minutes to bathe and pampered this guy. Before we could change the linens, the family came to the door to let us know they were back. I indicated we would be out in a few and we proceeded to change the bed. As we roled him the last time to pull the sheets through, he took one last deep breath and that was it.

I tried to get vitals and was not able to. I helped arrange for a funeral home to come because he hadn't been in the area long enough before falling ill to make those arrangements himself. The family was very grateful for the care we had given him and the dignity we had maintained. They had been SO worried about him getting care in our area because of the stigma surrounding his lifestyle and disease. To this day 12 years later, I remember the relief, for lack of a better word, the family expressed that this man's last hours were in the hands of a care giver that was nonjudgemental and respectful as opposed to someone who would have looked down on him for his choice.

If you take anything away from this ramble, let it be that our patients deserve respect and dignity no matter what their disease process is or the reasons for it. Yes, there will be times where you can't help but make judgements, you are human after all, but don't let them get in the way of your nursing care and compassion.

Natkat, BSN, MSN, RN · Oct 17, 2007

You have much more to fear from hep-C and MRSA than you do from AIDS, honey. AIDS is uncurable, but MRSA and hep-C will kill you a lot faster.