Nurse Illness

Specialties Emergency

Published

question, do ED nurses get sick more often than other nurses?

I feel like its every other shift that I hear a nurse say, oh damn, that person is on droplet/contact precaution now? I was up in their space for hours!

Thoughts?

I use gloves for all contact with pts...... if I brush skin on skin, I instantly go and wash my hands, which I do all the time anyway.

When you've been in emergency for a while your body becomes use to the micro organisms and spores so you build an immunity. As long as you use standard precautions you should be fine. Now working in CHILDCARE is a whole mother kettle of fish

Specializes in Emergency Room, Trauma ICU.

I think at first you get sick more often, then your immune system kicks in and you become like teflon! We get all the flu, norovirus, and every other gross thing that comes through the doors. When I was a receptionist in a peds office I was sick for the first 6 months, then I was invincible! But yes, I think we get exposed to way more than anyone else in the hosptial, especially bacterial menegitis...that was just last week...eek!

Specializes in Med-Surg, Emergency, CEN.

Just got notice that I and a few others need to be re-checked for TB next month for a newly diagnosed pt we all had care of. sigh.

+ Add a Comment