nursing student question

[gullo45]

Hello, im a nursing student at a state university and i have a question. this past week i had cut my hand up kinda bad and i have some moderatley deep cuts on my knuckles that look pretty nasty. i was just wondering as to whether or not i should go into my clinical day at the hospital tommorrow regardless of this or call in ?

-thanks,

J. Gullo;

[Gennaver, MSN]

theyre not reallllyy that bad, theyre just kind of scrapes/abrasions. i guess i should go in, maybe wrap my with a lil bit of gauze, i can still help people..

Hello,

I would forget the gauze, you will be washing all day! I'd even go so far as asking your clinical instructor or your nurse if you should use some adhesive coverint, (a derm covering) and then make sure to glove up all day when giving any patient care.

Good luck,

Gen

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

But sometimes, I get minor cuts...we are talking paper cuts here...and I get all worried that I am going to get something funky in them with all these MDR bacteria crawling around everywhere. Usually, I wrap my fingers up in a clear tegaderm.

This made me think about nurses working with injuries. I don't know, but I think nurses can be the worst. I've seen nurses working with Bandaids and Tegaderm on boo-boos. Another big one was TED hose for sore legs or aggravated varicose veins. Stub your toe or bump your knee and a cold pack was easy enough to fix up. There was no going home unless you were truly crippled and couldn't crawl down the hall. Got a cold? Wear a mask. We're a terrible lot. One thing you learn real quickly as a nurse. . .about the only excuse for not showing up for work is if you truly are half dead. Most of the time they want you there even if you have the common cold. And, most facilities have strict attendance policies in force. They'll find something useful for our raggy butts to do, believe me! This is just the other end of being in a profession that has a shortage.