Ebola - do you have the right to walk away?

CuriousJim · Oct 17, 2014

MedChica wrote: "Frankly, this media is handling this badly.+

The media is handling it the very same way that they handled Viet Nam, Desert Storm, Wall Street. Banking, the Mortgage debacle: As a means to an end.

Watching "All In" with Chris Matthews I was greatly impressed with the Co-President of a Nursing Advocate group: She knew PRECISELY what was going on and had no qualms about going into detail: First: the administrators responsible for the RESULTS spent their time with the usual 'wordsmiths' to 'cover their 'aaaaz'. Don't know why; we haven't held anyone in public service accountable no matter how egregious. They usually get to 'testify' and, for that testimony, are granted immunity. Look at the VA: they just threw Billions at it until it faded from the news.

You, MedChica, are a Human Being as are those not stricken with that early childhood disease which robs them of their humanity: Sociopathy.

Those that create a crisis to generate fear and anger in Human Beings are a mutation of the Species. YOUR agenda is clear: you get warm fuzzies from your exemplary professionalism, knowledge, experience, YOU know that you CARE, to put it short and simple.

Second: How can we use this situation to destroy our enemies?

War on Ebola? We Human Beings have let something more deadly run rampant all over the World. The Cure is known to everyone, can be administered with negligible discomfort; without an injection of any kind... however most of us do not have the self-esteem, the confidence nor the belief in our own abilities, that WE are FREE to CHOOSE.. and we have chosen poorly, again and again and again. We spend our energy looking where we are TOLD instead of how to get the facts, get the bad guys, find good guys, Amen.

What's the Cure? Your Vote. Re-elect NOBODY until THEY get the message:

"We are mad as hell and we are not going to take this any more!"

... and that's all I have to say about THAT...

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Oct 17, 2014

Thimbalina- yes, bleach kills Ebola.
And to everyone- no, it is not airborne. The virus must be in a bodily fluid to remain alive. If a patient is coughing or vomiting, they are projecting (can't think of the correct word) virus particles. If a person breathes in those particles, or gets them in their eyes or mouth, they can become infected. But if you are on beyond the traveling distance of those particles, they won't be breathed in. If you then walk over to the patient and touch the fluids coughed up, then there is a risk.
Like I said, I'm not a nurse yet. Just someone who has been learning about Ebola for 15 years now. This is why I'm going into nursing. Here is a link to the WHO website, it is a protocol manual for donning and doffing the protective gear. WHO | Ebola: Protective measures for medical staff

A report by CIDRAP Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy and the University back in September believed differently

We believe there is scientific and epidemiologic evidence that Ebola virus has the potential to be transmitted via infectious aerosol particles both near and at a distance from infected patients, which means that healthcare workers should be wearing respirators, not facemasks.¹
The minimum level of protection in high-risk settings should be a respirator with an assigned protection factor greater than 10. A powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) with a hood or helmet offers many advantages over an N95 filtering facepiece or similar respirator, being more protective, comfortable, and cost-effective in the long run.
We strongly urge the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to seek funds for the purchase and transport of PAPRs to all healthcare workers currently fighting the battle against Ebola throughout Africa--and beyond.

COMMENTARY: Health workers need optimal respiratory protection for Ebola | CIDRAP

suzil · Oct 17, 2014

My concern is not the protections I would take but those of my coworkers and the physicians. We all know coworkers that are extremely lazy with isolation precautions. Walking around the nurses station in their isolation garb. We all have seen the physicians that refuse to even wear the garb! So, not worried about my care but those around me. From the laziness I have witnessed.

suzil · Oct 17, 2014

All my hospital has are those flimsy paper yellow gowns! Do I feel comfortable with that? heck no!

afowler77 · Oct 17, 2014

Ok, I did not convey my thoughts well. For average people, who know little about Ebola or disease in general, they think that by being in the same airplane, for instance, with someone with Ebola they will be able to breathe it in. Those are the sorts of people I'm accustomed to talking to. I'm not trying to fight nurses on here. I know you aren't average people. I've been seeing a lot of misinformation among laypeople, and I mean serious misinformation (like "why can't we treat it with essential oils" and "it's a scam from big pharma" type of misinformation) and have had to explain the disease to people in order to calm their extreme fears. I don't claim to be an expert, just sharing what I know. I plan on learning all I can, so that I can work with Ebola patients. It is something I've wanted to do for a long time. I know a few Ebola researchers, who share their knowledge with me. Maybe it isn't my own firsthand experience, but it is preparing me in order to be able to go into the field and gain that experience. But don't worry, I won't be posting in this discussion any more.

suzil · Oct 17, 2014

I had high hopes for our Government putting the right people in positions to look out for the public's health interest. I do not have much confidence in our own leaders right now. Personally, I strongly feel the Czar for the Ebola virus, should be a scientist, physician or even a professor in the specialized health fields. I just am disappointed that Obama put a lawyer (of all things!) in charge of this. Sad today.

jaad · Oct 17, 2014

We have the right as nurses not to take on an assignment/task/procedure if we have not been fully trained and checked off on, or comfortable with. Why? Because we might harm a patient or ourselves with our lack of knowledge and lack of experience. This is no different. There are still unanswered questions. We certainly wouldn't ask a surgeon to perform surgery before knowing what he was doing, and yet we are asking nurses to step into this Ebola care blindly? I don't think so!

suzil · Oct 17, 2014

And we nurses would be written up. Reprimanded, insulted in front of other staff. They would get rid of us. We have no protection. You can't compare us to doctors. Their boards are supportive of them. Nurses have no support.

Thimbalina · Oct 17, 2014

I feel so much better now that we have an ebola Czar. Especially since he has no healthcare experience whatsoever. However he is a Czar so wow that is awesome. (sarcasm) I want to be a Czar when I grow up. What are the requirements?

caliotter3 · Oct 17, 2014

In general, when you walk away from a patient, you walk away from your job. A big consideration in today's employment market.

suzil · Oct 17, 2014

My thoughts exactly! Obama, what on earth are you thinking? We needed a specialized infectious disease physician, a scientist that is a leader in this virus or even a professor in this field. No, Obama you put a lawyer in place! What on earth?

suzil · Oct 17, 2014

My concern for that nurse that spoke up. I feel for her and her courage. However, she is in Texas and she has virtually no protection for her job. Her lawyer even commented on that. Plus she will be labeled in the community as a whistleblower.