Am I being a baby?

[rn2newbie]

So here is my situation - hopefully there are those who will understand.

Im a fairly new RN who has had a very difficult time finding a job. I did however finally land a job in an outpatient facility which supports those with mental health issues. Now, I come to find out that a fair number of employees here are positive for TB as a result of working at this facility.

I was taught in nursing school that if you have a patient suspected of TB they need to be placed on airborne precautions, which is not done. Furthermore, the special mask n95? is not provided either.

When I pushed for a response as to what the deal with this was, I got a 'it comes with the job' type reply.

So am I just being a baby? Or am I right in thinking I should bolt from this place?

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

This is outpt right? If these are pts that are living in the community, what would be the purpose of the masks and/or isolation? Is this even possible?

[rn2newbie]

Thanks for the quick response. Yes it is possible! Like I said I was told many employees have become infected with TB as a result of working there. The people we serve are sometimes homeless/hiv+/etc.

[Jolie, BSN]

Can you research OSHA guidelines for the care of patients with TB?

Regardless of their status in the community, if patients are coming into your facility with known active and inadequately treated TB, then you ought to be able to protect yourself.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

But my point is, how do you know they have TB?

[Lovely_RN, MSN]

You can be exposed to TB in any type of patient care setting. I work in LTC and when we get new residents we do a PPD implant but since it takes 48 hours for the results we are potentially exposed until then. I have had residents with positive PPD tests but so far no x-rays have come back with active disease. I don't know if it's possible to do anything about this...it seems like the risk is part of the job. We can't go around wearing a N95 all day long and putting everyone on airborne pre-cautions. I think it's the same in hospitals...you get exposed to all kinds of things until s/s present or test results come back positive.

[rn2newbie]

Trauma, I don't know. All I know is that a fair number of my co-workers have TB now(so im told) due to working at this facility.

I guess BxRN2b is right, we cant wear masks all the time. But based on the population we deal with, I am surprised we lack even masks to deal with someone who is high risk (IE hiv+/homeless/s&s of tb)

But maybe im being overly paranoid/unreasonable. Which is why I made this post

[BabyLady, BSN, RN]

I have a feeling that the OP probably means that these nurses are TESTING positive for TB...not that they have an active case of it.

The OP probably doesn't know that just because you test positive for TB, doesn't mean you are active and are contagious.

[Jewelsy]

I think if some of the other employees have contracted it from the patients, then you should definitely protect yourself, or bolt. Even if it is suspected and a high risk area, and the facility does not take precautions, I personally, would not work there.

[Jules A, MSN]

that just sounds weird. contracting tb at work is something that would be tracked. before i got all upset i'd inquire and i bet if you look into it further you might find that its just a rumor or an exaggeration.

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

My mother, a retired schoolteacher, once tested positive for TB while an elementary teacher. The only place she could have been exposed was - you guessed it - at school.

She was mortified - she grew up in the forties, in the era of TB sanatoriums and the stigma that "only dirty people get TB". She took her six months worth of drugs and was fine.

It happens.

[NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN]

There is a difference between having a positive PPD test and having active TB.

Many people are "exposed" to TB in their lives, however they good immune systems and area health individuals. Because of the exposure though, their PPD tests will come back positive. All a positive PPD test means is that your body has come into contact with the disease at some point.

When a positive PPD occurs, a chest xray is the next step, if the chest xray is negative, then you do not have the disease. All you have is a positive reaction to PPD, which means your body has antibodies now to TB. In otherwords: you do not have TB.

If a chest xray is positive, then that means you have TB and need to go through an extended drug regimen.

I would get clarification before jumping the bandwagon. Chances are nurses are just getting positive PPD tests, and having negative CXR. This is common and of no concern.

Nursing does carry the risk of becoming infected as we often take care of patients with a variety of infections.