Being lax with PPE because of full vaccination status

[DesiDani]

At work someone pointed out that a dialysis tech was doing treatment in a patient room that was COVID positive, while only wearing a surgical mask.

I don't know why. I assume that they didn't realize the room was isolated or the person was new. Those assumptions were shot down because the rooms are clearly marked and PPE cabinets are hanging on the doors.

My last assumption was that the tech was fully vaccinated and assumes a surgical mask is good enough.

My question is, is this a problem? If so for whom?

[chare]

42 minutes ago, DesiDani said:

[...]

My question is, is this a problem? If so for whom?

Yes. For himself, his coworkers, his family, and anyone he has close contact with.

[SmilingBluEyes]

It's a problem for everyone---in and out of the hospital. And that technician needs correction ASAP.

[DesiDani]

It is not just techs. I've seen drs go in iso rooms without donning PPE. 

[DesiDani]

We do have an infection control doctor who is HARD with the PPE. Nurses been sent home to change clothes when caught without PPE. Right they should.

[chare]

25 minutes ago, DesiDani said:

We do have an infection control doctor who is HARD with the PPE. Nurses been sent home to change clothes when caught without PPE. Right they should.

What is the rationale for this?  

[DesiDani]

Why the Dr sends people home? They went into an iso room without PPE. Dr would demand they change their scrubs. I guess they could get new ones from ER, what I was told the Dr insist they go home to shower. Oh and then the Dr will go to top of chain to get you written up.

Like I said HARD!

[klone, MSN, RN]

Our clinic has gotten lax, and I had to send out a reminder email last week. We are still required to wear eye protection with every single patient, and a lot of our clinicians and MAs are getting lazy about that. I admit that I'm guilty as well. Some days I run our Pfizer vaccine clinic if we don't have extra staff to do it, and I completely forgot about wearing eye protection.

[chare]

1 hour ago, DesiDani said:

Why the Dr sends people home? They went into an iso room without PPE. Dr would demand they change their scrubs. I guess they could get new ones from ER, what I was told the Dr insist they go home to shower. Oh and then the Dr will go to top of chain to get you written up.

[...]

So, rather than provide scrubs and opportunity to shower on site, he or she insists that someone, that she or she believes has been contaminated and is potentially infectious, go home to shower and change?  At the risk of exposing how many others?

1 hour ago, DesiDani said:

[...]

Like I said HARD!

When I was in the Marine Corps we used to say there was a fine line between hard and stupid.  It seems that this physician has crossed well into the stupid territory. 

[Kitiger, RN]

In home health, we're running into nurses who don't even wear a mask while giving direct care. I know this because the family tells me, and our supervisor recently sent out an emphatic email regarding masks. One family member directly asked me whether masks were required for the nurses. When I told him that our agency does require masks, he became a little more proactive. He now insists that the nurses mask up.

We don't wear eye protection or gowns unless we have reason to suspect COVID.

[OUxPhys, BSN, RN]

On 8/29/2021 at 4:45 AM, DesiDani said:

We do have an infection control doctor who is HARD with the PPE. Nurses been sent home to change clothes when caught without PPE. Right they should.

Im all for PPE but why send them home to change? Covid is airborne. TB is airborne and you aren't required to wear a gown. It's been established that the primary mode of transmission of covid is airborne not contact. Better yet why doesn't the hospital provide a set of surgical scrubs to change into? That's what we do. 

[SmilingBluEyes]

Hmmm well that doctor is a moron.  Infection control indeed....SO take all the dirty stuff home to family rather than have the nurse change into scrubs for the shift.