Handling of urine specimens

[flwomen]

I work in a correctional setting , and we have a new HSA , who has said that she will not be ordering wax-lined water cups . When I went to work yesterday , I had come to find out that we have paper cone water cups that are permeable . I found myself throughout the day holding , very carefully , cone cups full of urine in my hand , trying to do dipsticks on them . We alse have to use these cone cups for NS and or H2O2 to clean wounds . Does anyone out there know of any Florida laws about this , because I want to report it to OSHA but I want to make sure it is a valid report . Thanks !!

[chicookie, BSN, RN]

I don't know about that but I do know that its just plain gross. ew.

[justiceforjoy]

Are you sure they didn't fail to mention a stock of cups just for those purposes?

Whomever ordered them in sounds very uneducated about their use...

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

If you wear gloves there should be no problem. I always wear gloves working with urine.

[flwomen]

They were using the wax lined water cups for urine dipsticks , but the HSA said she was not going to order them anymore . I do use gloves but holding a cone in one hand and doing the analysis on the other hand can be tricky . Have you ever held one of those paper cones , you squeeze just alittle to hard and it pops right out of your hand .You cannot put the urine specimen on a flat surface and I am curious if this is putting the nurses at risk and if it is a valid work hazard under OSHA.

[WishfulThinker]

How he hell is the person giving the sample supposed to clean themselves, pull up an fasten their pants, and wash their hands while holdong a paper cone. Obviously most people would put the cup down while doing these tasks...not possible with a cone.

[dishes, BSN, RN]

Have you addressed your concerns with the HSA? If not maybe you could write a letter or e-mail the HSA describing your infection control concerns regarding the clients inability to wash their hands while holding the cone and your occupational health concerns regarding urine spillage. Ask her to re-order the wax cups. Keep a copy of the letter. Obviously the HSA made a decision without knowledge of the impact on the end users, I cannot see her denying the paper cups once she understands the impact of the cone cups.

dishes