HIV+ Nursing student!

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Hi guys!

I have a question. I recently moved to a new state and had to change employers. I am a nursing student who is HIV+. The hospital I worked at previously placed no restrictions on me. The new hospital however has placed restrictions on the care I provide. I am not able to do anything with a needle or blood period. I am ok with this, it is the hospitals policy and if I want to work there I have to adhere to it. The only people that know on my department are my manager and asst. manager. I have to have co-workers do the tasks I am not allowed to. For the most part everyone has been willing, but I can tell there are some who think I am just being lazy. It came to my attention while we had a HIV+ pt. on the floor that my co-workers did not understand this illness at all. I was very hurt by some of the things said and practices used in this pts care. I have spoken to my manager and she asked if there should be an inservice on the floor about HIV care and if I would like to do direct the inservice to make it closer to home. The hospital I came from was in a larger city and the hospital was vert knowlegable. My new hospital is in a small town and the hospital itself is small. So what are your thoughts? Should I take the plunge and advance awareness and educate or should I be silent?

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Specializes in Telemetry/Cardiac Floor.

I may get flamed for this, but, in an ideal situation, where eveyone is open to new things and learns things w/o predjudices, hey you go for it. But.......the reality in a lot of places especially where I live, which is a very close minded place with prehistoric ideas, I wouldn't say a word unless I was fully prepared for stares, whispers, and being treated like a freak...extra stress that I could not go under being a new nurse. So I guess it depends on the personality of the people that you deal with and how much extra stress you can handle.

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Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.

Disco- Sounds like a great opportunity to educate your coworkers regarding care of the HIV patient. Are they aware of your status? If not, are you planning on sharing that with them?

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No, my co-workers do not know. I was thinking of disclosing the information. I am just not sure of the reaction I will get. My new co-workers are hard to read!

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Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.

Maybe you can do the inservice without disclosing your personal info, since you don't know them that well. Maybe you can feel them out during the teaching process to see how they react to the info given?

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Specializes in psych, geri-psych, LTC/rehab, correction.

I suggest that you do the in-service. Afterall, YOU are the key to a lot of important information in regards to this disease that not only affects you but affects some of your patients. I am NOT HIV infected, so I do not know what it is like to live with the disease. I have, however, treated a couple of patients with HIV and Hepatitis. I understand the fear that some have about treating someone with the diseases, but the thing is, we are all taught in nursing school to TREAT EVERY PATIENT LIKE THEY HAVE HIV! I don't understand why it freaks people out when they find out that a patient is HIV+ when you should be thinking everyone has it.

I think if a person who lives the life gave an in-service, then you could also teach about dignity and respect, along with tolerance and non-discrimination....alongside the medical aspects of it! Most in-services that are taught by the book don't include the bedside manners portion of the holistic approach that nursing is supposed to incorporate!

I would not disclose your personal information. When I was in high school, I was a member of 4-H and did competitive public speaking. I won the local and got to go to district at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama to compete at the district level. I chose to do a research speech. I researched AIDS and HIV, something that still was not too well known about. It was just a few years after Ryan White came out at as being HIV+. My opening statement in my speech was, "I want everyone to look around you. Look to the person next to you. Look to the person behind you. Look to the person in front of you. Look all around at everyone in this room." There were heads turning every which way at this point. I continued to say, "Do they look like they have HIV or AIDS?....Probably not, but guess what? THEY MIGHT! And you would never be able to tell." You should have seen the shocked faces in that room. People started shifting in their seats and pushing their chairs. These were university and PhD level people in this room, and they were acting like little scared kids. It definitely opened their eyes, and it took a 14 yr. old girl to make them see what just might be. So, my idea is that you do that type of thing. Have them go up and hug each other or shake hands and have them come up and shake your hand or hug you....then after everyone has done that, explain to them that most people who have HIV or AIDS look just like them, and that what they might not know is that they more than likely know or WORK with someone who is HIV+ or has AIDS and MIGHT NOT EVEN KNOW IT. Explain to them that in nursing you must not single out anyone with the virus. You have to treat EVERYONE like they have it. Use universal precautions. Treat EVERYONE like they have HIV+ or AIDS.

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For goodness sake I have been passing doctors and nurses fit for duties for 8 years??? you don't want to be a surgeon or a OR nurse you represent no greater risk to the general public than anybody else, if fact I am willing to bet you maybe safer, come on people how many times have we stabs ourselves with the injecting needle and then thought its okay I haven't got anything...god knows how many time I have done it then fortunalty or unfortunalty for me 3 months into my training my mum had a AIDS patient who rupture during child birth and she was unprotected, got on with the delievery took the hospital 6 months before they told her the pt was AIDS, by this point we had all shared needled sorry to disappoint Dad newly diagnosed diabetic and me glucose intolerent and mum just interested so we had all used the puncture needles thankfully we we're all okay, but we might not have been and how high risk where we 3 people, 2 only one partner and one no partner ever...at the time

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Specializes in Nursing Student & PCT.

sorry about your illness. part of nursing is patient teaching. it could be an opportunity to teach the teacher's, but only if you feel comfortable with the situation. otherwise, i feel that your supervisor's should do their job and include this in an upcoming in-service. there are many aspects of nursing that you can work in and not feel alienated. who know's better than someone that's been there! :up: p.s. i'm not hiv+ but i can empathize!

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I realise I didn't answer your post, I was angry with the way you where supposed to "hide". in Britian we always think of America as the future... and I have only been here 8 weeks and I think I am living in 1978, I don't know what to advise, but as my previous post I know you will be more careful than most and this is the BIG question would I be happy for you to look after my 3 yr old twins, hell yes, due to my job in the UK I knew one of their Doctors was HIV, he was kind, compasionate, knew what he was doing, good luck to you because health care needs people who know how important good health is, I am a much better nurse since I lost my parents, had children and had a heart Op...

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I agree with everyone else. Keep the personal info out of the education and use your knowledge and experience to help them out of the dark ages. It is interesting that you have limitations. What limitations does the facility provide to protect you from infection, or do your meds keep you in pretty healthy shape?

You are courageous to head into nursing without carrying unnecessary stigma. I remember when cancer carried that same kind of stigma so I do believe it will change. You will be one of the people to facilitate this change. I say go for it but protect yourself.:smiletea2:

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Specializes in Surgical Tech - former.

Hi! I was diagnosed in 1996 at a "well-known" hospital in Los Angeles, California. My boss found out and made my life hell. Maybe times have changed.....but this hospital was very near to "ground zero" for the HIV/AIDS crisis and their was plenty of information available. Infectious Disease assured them I was not at risk. My then Dr was (and still is well known in that field) and Head of Infectious Disease. But my boss was not convinced and for instance, I was given ALL the patients with MRSA,VRE and active TB. People are people first. I was failing therapy and was continually on clinical trails and I was having to fight for my survival and my job to keep insured. My doctor then, gave me 5 years max. Just be careful about disclosing your status. Ignorance still exists...even in the "Big Cities."

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I think it is great you are being allowed to be a nurse and the hospital is willing to work with your "disability". I am still very upset that I had to leave nursing schoold due to problems walking. There are many forms of nursing and not all require working with needles or blood. Are you a nurse or nursing student? If you are a nurse were you HIV+ when you were a nursing student? It amazes me for a field about caring and helping the sick, nursing doesn't help its own people.

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