Medical Gloves Survey

[dpreece1]

Hi Guys, I am a PhD Student looking at medical gloves - in particular, any issues that exist with medical gloves.

I just have a few questions if any of you would available to answer whatever you can, that would be a massive help.

• Do you have a preference for a particular glove material? (if so, why?)
  
• Do you feel glove use affects your performance? (if so, how?)
  
• Which tasks do you most commonly wear gloves for? (including most common procedures)
  
• What bodily fluids are you likely to come into contact with?
  
• What are the main issues with glove use?
  

If any of you could answer these, that would be a great help.

Thank you!

[Rocknurse, MSN, APRN, NP]

Hi Guys, I am a PhD Student looking at medical gloves - in particular any issues that exist with medical gloves.

I just have a few questions if any of you would avaliable to answer whatever you can, that would be a massive help.

• Do you have a preference for a particular glove material? (if so, why?)
  
• Do you feel glove use affects your performance? (if so, how?)
  
• Which tasks do you most commonly wear gloves for? (including most common procedures)
  
• What bodily fluids are you likely to come into contact with?
  
• What are the main issues with glove use?
  

If any of you could answer these, that would be a great help.

Thank you!

• Do you have a preference for a particular glove material? (if so, why?) - Nitrile...I like the colors and they are flexible and easy to get on
  
• Do you feel glove use affects your performance? (if so, how?) - I do not feel like they affect performance
  
• Which tasks do you most commonly wear gloves for? (including most common procedures) - I wear gloves for everything
  
• What bodily fluids are you likely to come into contact with? - All the usual....blood, fecal and urinary waste, wounds, sputum
  
• What are the main issues with glove use? - I don't have any issues except for one hospital where I do per diem...they have vinyl gloves and I hate them. They're difficult to get on, ugly, uncomfortable and inflexible. I much prefer nitrile
  

[smf0903]

Do you have a preference for a particular glove material? (if so, why?)

...we just switched from vinyl to nitrile gloves. They are fantastic! They fit more snugly, feel thinner, and tape doesn't stick to them.

Do you feel glove use affects your performance? (if so, how?)

...The vinyl gloves did in that tape stuck them them something ridiculous. Also they were difficult to get on after washing hands when hands were still a bit damp.

Which tasks do you most commonly wear gloves for? (including most common procedures)

...The usual things? Blood draws, IV starts, cleaning up bodily fluids and such. I also always use them when wiping down stuff like surfaces and equipment.

What bodily fluids are you likely to come into contact with?

...All of them

What are the main issues with glove use?

...See above comments :)

[missmollie, ADN, BSN, RN]

• Do you have a preference for a particular glove material? (if so, why?)
  
  The nitrile ones. 1st, They fit so well. 2nd, I can tear off the finger to feel for veins before I stick.
  
• Do you feel glove use affects your performance? (if so, how?)
  Yes. See above comment
  
• Which tasks do you most commonly wear gloves for? (including most common procedures)
  Everyone is in standard precautions, so like...everything
  
• What bodily fluids are you likely to come into contact with?
  You name it, I've touched it (with a glove)
  
• What are the main issues with glove use?
  The vinyl ones are hot, thick, and difficult to work in. A small is too tight, but a medium is way to big.
  

[NutmeggeRN, BSN]

Nitrile,8 days a week. I do purchasing for my school health office so I get to choose! At my perdiem job in LTC, they use vinyl (due to cost). They suck.

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

•Do you have a preference for a particular glove material? (if so, why?)

Nitrile all the way. I HATE vinyl ones. They are hard to get on, they feel thicker so I lose some of the feeling in my fingertips, etc.

•Do you feel glove use affects your performance? (if so, how?)

Again the vinyl ones are a huge no no for me for a variety of reasons. Latex ones are just too dangerous to use anymore.

•Which tasks do you most commonly wear gloves for? (including most common procedures)

Just about everything.

•What bodily fluids are you likely to come into contact with?

Saliva, tears, urine, feces, blood, pus, who knows what is growing in that wound, etc.

•What are the main issues with glove use?

People not doing hand hygiene once they take their gloves off.

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

Do you have a preference for a particular glove material? (if so, why?)

Thin, surgical type (latex or polyurethane) because they do not disrupt sensation so much.

Do you feel glove use affects your performance? (if so, how?)

Gloves use absolutely affects physical exams - negatively. For example, percussion is not physically possible unless gloves fit really skin-tight.

I have very high level of physical exam skills and I cherish it - for this reason, I do not wear gloves for physical exams unless I would have to deal with bodily fluids or something on the level of Ebola. Or a particularly dirty patient.

Which tasks do you most commonly wear gloves for? (including most common procedures)

As a bedside RN, I wore them for "guaranteed" body fluids contact only (i.e for toileting but not for, say, repositioning alone) and all procedures. Now I am an NP and I only wear them for procedures.

What bodily fluids are you likely to come into contact with?

Everything you can think of. Including liquor and bile.

What are the main issues with glove use?

Missing things on physical exam. Spending those 5 sec (yes, it counts). False sense of security. Spending $ on something not needed. Unhealthy obsession with "safety" and "policies" as opposed to clinical assessment and critical thinking.

[mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN]

I actually prefer latex gloves, but too many people are allergic so we are basically a latex-free facility

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

I always preferred the nitrile gloves, and not just because they come in pretty colors (although that's a plus). They fit well and are easier to put on than the other kinds. I could also feel for veins through the glove better than with other types. I used them for any procedure that could result in exposure to bodily fluids, including repositioning because there was always the possibility that the patient could vomit, pee, or poop during the process. But to hold a patient's hand or physically assess them, I didn't don gloves but I did perform hand hygiene.

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

Do you have a preference for a particular glove material? (if so, why?) Nitrile, feel as natural as latex without the sensitivity/skin irritation

Do you feel glove use affects your performance? (if so, how?) only if I get the wrong size!

Which tasks do you most commonly wear gloves for? (including most common procedures) I work dialysis, so cannulation, foot checks, machine related issues

What bodily fluids are you likely to come into contact with? blood

What are the main issues with glove use? none really

[Neats, BSN]

•Do you have a preference for a particular glove material? (if so, why?) Nitrile-works better and I can feel for veins easier

•Do you feel glove use affects your performance? (if so, how?) There are times that I pull a glove finger tip off so I can feel for the hard sticks

•Which tasks do you most commonly wear gloves for? (including most common procedures) anytime I am in contact with body fluids

•What bodily fluids are you likely to come into contact with? all of them

•What are the main issues with glove use? People feel like they are wearing gloves they take them off and do not wash hands.

The above is when I was a floor nurse.

When I started out in Long Term Care age 14 we did not wear gloves and I assisted patient with their bathroom needs.

[DextersDisciple, BSN, RN]

Nitrile- easy to get on even with sweaty hands. No need for powder. I did love powdered latex gloves for this reason when latex/powder was ok.

The only way it affects my performance is when I have a tough stick and can't feel the vein as well with gloves on.

Gloves for IV starts, admistering drugs and fluids, cleaning surfaces, handling specimens and chemo

Blood, pus, urine, bile etc.

I'd much rather prefer to start an IV with my non-dominant Hand ungloved. Not always possible but it's just easier to palpate veins for me.