Hi everyone, I'm a nursing student that has just started out in my first job in a nursing setting as an AIN at a nursing home. So far I'm really enjoying it, but there's one big thing that's driving me up the wall - poo. My issue mainly arises from the regular staff at the home tossing the soiled pads on the floor or the dressing counters while changing them, and then putting their (albeit gloved) hands all over the bed sheets, pillows, hand rails and hand rail covers. I then end up inadvertantly touching this with my uniform and shoes, which then touches the inside of my car, and then some parts of the house when I get home.
Now, I know most people (my parents and most of my friends included) may think that this is trivial or that I'm over-doing it, but it dead set drives me up the wall to the point of where I'm bordering on obsessive-compulsive behaviour. An example of this would be using spray disinfectant on my shirt this morning where the seat belt of my car touched it.
So, does everyone else here think I'm over-doing it and if so do you have any ideas on how I should deal with it? Any input here would be greatly apreciated because appart from this I love the job.
@RNfaster: It would seem logical to most everyday people to take the bin to the bedside, but these nurses (they are all AIN's) just want to get everything done as quickly as possible so they can go on their breaks, and as I am a new, junior member of staff on the casual pool, I highly doubt that they would listen to me if I suggested changing gloves after romoving the pad and cleaning the area, or wheeling the bin out of the bathroom to the bedside (although I will try to do that myself in future).
At least the nurses use gloves at this facility. I did some volenteer work at a private nursing home and the employees never used gloves or washed their hands in between residents. It was disgusting.
@Jackfackmasta: I'll try to do that next time I am there, but as I said, I highly doubt that they will listen to me, being new and all.
On a smart-orificed note, I'd just like to take the opportunity to say that I hate, hate, hate the word "poo".
BM, void, feces, waste... anything but "poo".
Well, I thought "poo" was most appropriate to use in a thread title at the time of writing. I can sympathise though, it does sound like a rather childish word to use.
What I abhor is teenagers and young adults telling me that they're "just gona go lay a cable". I mean, how more crass can you get?
shoe covers before getting in the car. sheet over the car seat. Put a jacket on over your uniform or T shirt if thats to hot. I took my cloths off as soon as I walked in the door and threw all my uniforms together in a separate basket to wash in hot water with bleach haha. Luckily now I have little to no contact with feces and my current place of work is more sanitary than clinicals were. I still take my shoes off at the door and wash my scrubs separately though.
In the ICU, where RN's do most of the direct patient care, many of us suit up in isolation gowns when getting "up close and personal" cleaning up a massive code brown, or bathing a patient that is really "dirty", either because they came from an ECF and is most likely colonized with some communicable disease, or because they didn't bathe regularly at home (my least favorite).
I second the idea of a hoodie for the car ride home, and not letting your work shoes near anywhere... change into flip flops before you get into the car... work shoes trudge through traces of pee, poo, blood, germs and vomit that cover hospital floors...
My semi-OCD friends and I have a few habits that can help you.
Some wear disposable shoe covers. Some of us carry clorox wipes everywhere and wipe down rails, doorknobs, and other frequently touched places.
I keep spare linen bags in patient rooms so I can hang them over the bed rails when I am in a full code brown.
I keep extra gloves in my scrub pocket, shoe covers in my cargo pocket, and hand sanitizer in my hip pocket. I also wear isolation gowns A LOT if I know the patient is incontinent.
Some of us also have a spare pair of shoes that we wear to and from the car so our contaminated shoes never get into the house.
I wash from the elbows down (sometimes shoulders down, depending on the day) before leaving my shift.
My one super OCD friend gets sanitized surgical scrubs from the laundry every day to change into after her shift and brings them back the next morning. Her contaminated scrubs go straight into a plastic bag and then the laundry as soon as she gets home.
Just think about the person in WalMart who just had a BM in the bathroom, did not wash, and is now rifling through all the fresh produce that you are about to pick out, bring home and eat.
Yikes...sounds to me like your facility needs to have an infection control inservice! Soiled briefs on the floor??? Big infection no-no, if any health dept inspector would see that they automatically give out infection control citations (at least in my state they would). And not changing gloves after providing peri-cares, another big no-no. I think it would be a good idea to talk to your DON about having some inservices!
dropbears101
4 Posts
@RNfaster: It would seem logical to most everyday people to take the bin to the bedside, but these nurses (they are all AIN's) just want to get everything done as quickly as possible so they can go on their breaks, and as I am a new, junior member of staff on the casual pool, I highly doubt that they would listen to me if I suggested changing gloves after romoving the pad and cleaning the area, or wheeling the bin out of the bathroom to the bedside (although I will try to do that myself in future).
At least the nurses use gloves at this facility. I did some volenteer work at a private nursing home and the employees never used gloves or washed their hands in between residents. It was disgusting.
@Jackfackmasta: I'll try to do that next time I am there, but as I said, I highly doubt that they will listen to me, being new and all.