Honestly: Do you wear gloves every time?

[BeachNurse]

Taking a little poll here. I am work in I.D. and one of our co-workers was recently hospitalized. She said not ONE of the people who drew blood from her, etc. wore gloves. The guy who drew a blood gas held his bare hand over the site where he drew from while it was still oozing blood. From the ER to the floor-NObody wore gloves. This is in a "highly respected hospital". We were apalled. Then again, we work with patients who have HIV and Hep B & C, but still! Any thoughts?

[hmccartn]

As I am still in school, I don't have much experience but so far in my placements, I am a glove freak..I load up pockets so i am never without. Just recently I was doing a rotation in the ICU and the nurse drew an ABG from an ART line, withdrew the ART line and recapped the bloody needle all without gloves..I think she could see the look of horror on my face because she said matter of factly, "i am old school, i dont use gloves..i've been nursing for 15 yrs and haven't caught anything yet"... my thought was, so you've been lucky but how many germs and diseases might she have passed from one patient to another?????? Being in hospital, they are likely immunocompromised and more likely to become ill. Another point, we should be treating all of our patients as if they have HIV or Hep C/B because we dont know...the patient may be undiagnosed or unable to tell us their status.. these tests are not routinely run on admission so its important to take precautions with everyone..to protect you and the patients.

[NHLPN, LPN]

I always wear gloves......drawing blood, starting IV's, even giving injections. It is our hospital's policy to wear gloves when giving injections, you could be fired if you were caught without them.

[unknown99, BSN, RN]

Not wearing gloves????

Gloves should ALWAYS be worn when you have the potential to come in contact with any body fluid/secretions. Gloves can save your life as well as the lives you come in contact with.

To start an IV, you can feel for the vein prior to putting the gloves on, then put your gloves on just before you stick them. Any way, that works for me.

[newbetonursing]

whoa.....your gloves will protect you when using almost anything in the field of nursing. And yes if your going to do IVs then you all should get to the Phlebotomy labs and start figuring out how WE find the veins. Patients in the veterans hospital that I am at complain all the time that the nurses have to stick them a bunch of times in order to find a vien. Start practicing. And btw sometimes, in some cases, the gloves have saved me from sticking myself. Better to treat everyone like they have some serious illness then to touch them with bare hands and pass that on to others or even your family members.

if your going to RIP yoru glove just to find a vien then Im sorry but you GOTTA practice. Thats how I had to learn, I never had the option of not being able to wear my gloves as a phlebotomist.

Its all connected, and if any of ya were my nurse and couldnt get the stick or couldnt get the IV in, then your darn right I would ask to see someone else who knew what they were doing. I think all nurses should really take notice that the phlebotomy aspect can over lap the the nursing. :) It will definately help me when I start a nursing program some day.

[newbetonursing]

oh and btw, when Im done with my statisics class, I would be more then willing to show you the results of those nurses that were followed after having sat thru an ed. glove wearing class. Its kind of scary that the data shows those who have not been a nurse for that long wear gloves constantly, vs those who have been working say 15 or more years. Dont get comfy, get smart and be safe! :)

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

Question: Do you wear gloves when doing Accu-checks on diabetics? Just curious...

[klone, MSN, RN]

Drawing blood or starting an IV: every single time

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

This reminds me...when I was a second year student, I had a rotation on an ortho unit. I remember the doctor coming in to talk to a patient who was c/o lost sensation in his groin area following surgery. The doc was palpating the area, including the pt member without gloves. Doc did not wash his hands before or after. I wanted to throw up...

[Belle Epoque]

I do not wear gloves while dong Accu-checks, drawing blood or starting IVs, but definitely while palpating a member.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

Thread is nearly 10 years old ... probably time for the archives.

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

I do not wear gloves while dong Accu-checks, drawing blood or starting IVs, but definitely while palpating a member.

:smokin::smokin::lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2::smokin::smokin:

I wear them when I draw blood, but I do cut off the tip of the index finger so i can palpate the vein better......

I am not exposed to memberes at work, but I think I would double glove if I was!:lol2::lol2:

[newbetonursing]

wow. I cant believe you do not wear gloves while drawing blood....seriously...if your a nurse I dont EVER want you coming near me. Its reasons why the nosocomial infection can occur because you transfer bacteria from patient to patient. Geez thats seriously digusting.