My Fear of needlesticks

[mrsharris81]

Okay so I have been avoiding finishing Nursing school like the plague after I heard several horrible stories about needle sticks well My gut has been telling me to finish so I did some research and found puncture proof gloves, you can slide your hospital gloves on top and no needle sticks....has anyone ever heard of these they help me at least get over the fear..What do you guys think?

Here is the link: http://www.warwickmills.com/Glove-Liners.aspx

[Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN]

Several issues, I don't know if these liners would work, you may loose flexibility or the may not be good for infection control.

I have been a nurse for 32 years and only have has 2 needle sticks both before needle less systems or needs with safety features.

I also know the majority of needle sticks occur in the OR.

[Jdog19s]

I have to say that likely the only time you may stick yourself with a dirty needle would be after unsuccessful IV placements and those are hard enough to place with hospital gloves on. You would lose all of your finger dexterity with thicker gloves on, not to mention infection control issues with using this set of gloves on patient after patient.

A good fear of needles will likely keep you safer, so just try to think of it as a healthy fear and head to work as an RN. It is easier to pick up MRSA or CDIF than it will be to catch something nasty from a needlestick!

[EDRN-2010]

The suggested use for these gloves is listed as "Electronics assembly, light industrial, light waste handling."

The pair that states sharps removal, turtleskin multiguard gloves, definetly wouldn't work for a nurse.

Okay so I have been avoiding finishing Nursing school like the plague after I heard several horrible stories about needle sticks well My gut has been telling me to finish so I did some research and found puncture proof gloves, you can slide your hospital gloves on top and no needle sticks....has anyone ever heard of these they help me at least get over the fear..What do you guys think?

Here is the link: http://www.warwickmills.com/Glove-Liners.aspx

[JB2007, ASN, RN]

Have a healthy respect and follow safety percautions you most likely will not have a problem. I have not had a dirty needle stick yet.

[Cyn2school]

I've had 2 dirty sticks in 20 years. One pt was chronic hep... Got the Gama globulin. The other, HIV, took the protocol prophylaxis... Weird vivid dreams @ night but didn't seroconvert. 8 years later , I'm still fine. Have respect for sharps, but those "catchers mitts" are for industrial use and you'd be laughed out of the work place. You cant palpate for a vein or feel a pulse with something like that! Consider spending some time in a lab and watch a very experienced CPT(Phlebotomist) or RN until you get more confidence. You need to get over it, unless you want to be ruled by fear.

[Da_Milk_of_Amnesia, MSN]

Honestly, as long as you are careful with what you doing and where your sticking the needle then you shouldnt have much to worry about. Yes they do happen so to say it will never happen to you or anyone would be a big fat like. But all you can do is protect yourself and be careful.

[CaLLaCoDe, BSN, RN]

With the advent of IV usage over IM usage for most meds and safety caps on syringes and sharps containers aplenty, rarely am I afraid of my safety regarding needlesticks.

However, I must report, earlier in my career working nights, I finished giving insulin to an elderly client when, in my haze (for nights can be quite hazy) I remember looking up to the patient's TV and carelessly poked myself with the needle.

Luckily following my looking through the patient's history frantically and blood tests, I was not at risk for a scary blood born illness. So I must emphatically say we are more safer today regarding needles than we ever were. Some errors are godsends when we think about them, mine certainly was, we rarely repeat the same death defying feat.