Nurses afraid to care for AIDS patients.

hapeewendy · Jan 9, 2003

sad to say but I have seen nurses treat AIDS patients poorly ... And this behaviour offended me so much that I called them on it and reported them. which is not like me at all. I have heard some ppl who claim to be such good christians openly treat AIDS patients poorly because "god created adam and eve not adam and steve" dontcha know. I took it upon myself to educate them as best I could , and told them that the god I believe in loves everyone equally. that didnt go over well im sure but I dont care. its discrimination plain and simple and I will call people on it ANYTIME!

lucky this was a rare occurance , but I have seen it, so while I would like to think we are all as great as the nurses I interact with here on this board, it just aint so.

BadBird, BSN, RN · Jan 9, 2003

First let me say that if you use Universal Precautions then you should not fear anyone regardless of their diagnosis. I am not fearful of a AIDS patient, I am more fearful of what isn't diagnoised, how many nurses have taken care of patients for days before MRSA or VRE cultures come back? All of a sudden the patient is on isolation after you have taken care of that patient for days, sometimes in a semi private room.

I also had a positive PPD test from exposure to a patient that was not diagnoised with TB for 2 weeks. The hospital I worked at sent me for a Chest X-ray, talked to the employee health nurse who offered a course of medication that I after a imformed decision declined, I also had blood work done. According to the CDC you only need a chest X-ray every 3 years or if you are symptomatic, I see my Dr. every year and have a physical, He ususally has a repeat cxr done every 2 years because my agency requires it, I have been healthy as a horse for 6 yrs. So my point is use UNIVERSAL PRECAUTIONS, of course this patient was admitted with pneumonia and it took so long for the cultures to come back that many of us were infected, 3 other nurses tested positive. I don't know about the roommate that he had.

2amigos · Jan 9, 2003

Sorry Chap2218-

I just get the feeling you're full of sh*t for the most part. Not my usual to be so blunt, but I've read quite a few of your posts/threads and you don't make any kind of sense. If you're going to try to play mind games, make sure you keep your stories straight. If you're not playing games and wonder why I'm posting this, I suggest you take a look at all of your posts, they're inconsistent.

I'd give a more thoughful reply to this question you've posed if I felt it was a truly valid question and had been honestly asked, but since I don't feel that's the case....

Cheryl Moore

dawngloves, BSN, RN · Jan 9, 2003

Originally posted by renerian
You must work someone different than I have. I have not seen this.

renerian

Ditto. Brings to mind the end stage AIDS/TB pt I had that sweared feces all over himself after pulling out his IV and honey, it was just me myself and I.

mattsmom81 · Jan 9, 2003

The only HIV patients I have been 'afraid' of are the combative ones. But combative or psychotic patients with ANY diagnoses are my greatest on the job fear.. so many nurses injure their backs, etc, and if the patient is not in their right mind you cannot reason with them much to gain cooperation. These patients are my worst nightmare.

We are seldom staffed to deal appropriately with these types and getting the doc's assistance for appropriate orders is difficult many times too.

Chap, if you feel there is poor communication in your facility regarding need for PPE you should discuss this with your supervisor. Maybe the infection control nurse needs to present a refresher on care of the patient with infectious disease.

Personally I believe we all have the right to know when we are caring for someone with a communicable disease. Others may disagree with me here, but I feel health care providers have the right to exercise that 'extra' little bit of personal caution on the known carriers. I have been told by patients themselves they have Hep C or HIV because the doctor didn't feel the staff had the 'right' to know. This concerns me.

Complaining on the boards in such a volatile manner is not likely to improve your situation. Most nurses I know have great compassion and would not shirk in their their care of HIV patients... which is what you imply.

SmilingBluEyes · Jan 9, 2003

Originally posted by chap2218
Why do nurses run when its time to do personal care for AIDS patients. patient?

I repeat---RUN, dont' walk away from nursing. You are operating without a clue. And please quit starting thread after disparaging, whiny thread about NURSES if you yourself are not even one yet. This has really gotten OLD and does nothing to impress upon me any readiness on your part to join our ranks. And if you carry this attitude into school you will be weeded out fairly quickly anyhow,and out more money and time. Good GRIEF! Oh and before I forget, I have taken care of patients with a whole range of disease states, including HIV, Hepatitis in various forms, and TB. I feel they are deserving of compassionate care and I use universal precautions with ALL patients---- because you never know who is affected, period. Just cause you know one has a particular illness, does not mean you know the next one does NOT. :rolleyes:

emily_mom · Jan 9, 2003

I agree with Cheryl. I've read all of your posts this morning, and they are very inconsistent. I think you have a bad attitude towards nurses and nursing. Everything is someone elses fault or the RNs are lazy, rude, etc... What about YOU? Many of your posts flame nurses b/c they are unwilling to do YOUR job. You have no idea what being a nurse is all about. If you decide to pursue nursing, I suggest that you knock that chip off your shoulder and grow up. You are so clueless to the responsibilities of nurses.

Kristy

OBNURSEHEATHER · Jan 9, 2003

Originally posted by chap2218
One of the things I also heard was that the spread of the AIDS epidemic was one of the contributes to the nursing shortage.

What do you mean by this? Could you please clarify how the 2 issues correlate?

On a side note: You need to quit running your mouth off about things "you hear." Come walk a day in my worn out stinky sweaty shoes, and then we'll talk.

Heather

Gator,SN · Jan 9, 2003

By the way she didn't even tell me that the patient had AIDS. I guess what I don't know wont hurt me

You got that right! I too am a NA and a student and if you are using standard precautions, like you are supposed to, then you do not need to know the status of the patients that are on the unit. It is for confidentiality reasons that you are not "informed" and rightly so.It would be wrong for the nurse to discuss these issues with you. Don't get bent out of shape over it, realize it is the law. YOU put yourself in this position, not the RN.

Gator

Lausana · Jan 9, 2003

This may sound crazy, but with a little reasoning:

More infected people=More nursing care needed.

But hey, what do I know :chuckle

cindyln · Jan 9, 2003

Originally posted by chap2218
I didn't have any symptoms it just showed that I was exposed. And they werent to perform anymore ppd screening the following year

Do you care to elaborate on this? or do you have the knowledge to??

RN2B2005 · Jan 9, 2003

Chap, honey, I know you're probably all excited by the attention you've received from this and other posts, but you need to settle down and let me explain a few things.

First, you need to understand that in ANY profession, there are going to be a few bad apples. In nursing, there aren't any more or any less than in any other profession. I have NEVER met a nurse who would "run" when an HIV+ patient or any other infectious disease patient needed care. I have difficulty believing that any nurse who did this would continue to be employed for long. Your perception of reality is not necessarily reality itself.

Second, do not come onto a bulletin board which was created by and is run by nurses and then expect to slam nurses without repercussions. If you wouldn't say it in person, don't say it on the boards.

Third, you need to crack a book or fifty and learn to write a coherent sentence before lashing out. You sound like an inarticulate idiot, so we must make the assumption that you ARE an inarticulate idiot. :rolleyes:

Finally, all of your nonsense about being "positive" for TB is just that--nonsense. If you seroconverted after a documented exposure, it's more likely a coincidence than anything else--TB is astonishingly difficult to contract, which you would know if you used your nursing books for something other than paperweights. It sounds to me like you are fishing for a reason to sue your employer or your coworkers.