I just had to post what I encountered when I had my clinical rotation the other day. I was being precepted by a nurse in her mid to late 40's, maybe. Well, she totally disgusted me. She wore gloves, but not like she should have. This nurse was told to give a medication straight into the patient's vein. She dug and dug and finally got it in, then pulled the needle out and there was bleeding. She put a swab on it to contain the bleeding, but in the process, got blood on her fingers. She knew this guy personally, and said, "don't worry, I know you don't have anything." She washed her hands and went on her merry way. Later in the afternoon, another patient came in with difficulty voiding and had to be catheterized. His urine was red and he had blood clots. He c/o feeling like his cath was coming out so I asked the nurse to look at it after I did. She did not put gloves on and handled his member and got some more blood on her hands. It was at this time or another time that she said that older nurses didn't wear gloves like they should like us younger students and/or nurses.
OK, guys, what is your input on this situation. I mentioned this to another nurse but without as much detail and she said I should talk to the supervisor. Could this be seen as an ethical or a legal dillema? I ask this because in my paperwork due tomorrow, we have to discuss a legal or ethical dillemma that we encountered in clinical. :) . Perhaps, I am just too wrapped up in what we learned in school. But after witnessing what I did at this particular hospital, I don't want to take myself or my kids there to that particular unit. Yuck, yuck, YUCK.
