Are contact precautions ordered by the MD?

[littley]

Hi, I just took a critical thinking exam where it is rumored that we will penalized for not putting the pt on contact precautions. The scenario did not have an order for contact precautions. The pt did have MRSA but per CDC guidelines on their site, contact precautions for MRSA apply for "SOME" patients. CDC doesn't state that it is mandatory for all patients. My question is, are contact precautions ordered by the MD or are we as nurses at liberty to put a patient on contact precautions? The quicker the replies the better because I need to be ready to argue this if in fact I was penalized.

Thanks!

[Carrie_MTC]

It is ordered by the physician. I have never heard of a nurse being responsible for that judgement.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

it would seem to me to be presumptive, by diagnosis.....

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Good question...I think precautions are ordered and discontinued by the MD.

However, that's not going to stop me from grabbing a mask and/or gown if I think there's a valid reason for me to be wearing them when providing patient care.

[SolaireSolstice, BSN, RN]

I thought contact precautions were hospital protocol based on diagnosis. For instance when a culture comes back positive for MRSA, we do not need a MD order to start precautions.