Needle stick

What did you puncture yourself with while drawing from an A-line? Does your system not have needleless devices? You were wrong (in my opinion) to not report this. You need to do the follow up required with needle sticks. It would be a shame if what you classified as "low risk" ended up carrying something that you are now infected with and go untreated.

Report it now. If you end up with something from this patient you will not be covered.

It can also help it from happening again (to you and others) if they can figure out what happened.

I too am curious how it happened.

Yeah, it's embarrassing, but it's happened to most of us.

You can't tell whether someone is low risk just by looking at them. Report it, it, they'll draw some baseline labs, and you'll have peace of mind.

How do you know the person doesn't have undetected HIV or Hep C? Do you really know everything about this patient to determine that the patient is low risk, especially on your first day in the MICU and with this patient? You need to report this. The longer you wait, the worse it gets especially if you really caught something. Not my purpose to scare you, just to make you aware of the gravity of this situation.

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Report it now. I'm not sure how a person can "look low risk." My former brother-in-law wears suits to work and looks very clean, prosperous and probably low risk. He has Hepatitis C. He was diagnosed with it in New Jersey but now lives in California where he admits that it isn't in his medical record for some of the specialists he sees. "If I have to tell someone, I will," he says. "But I don't want everyone to know I have it." Yes, that's irresponsible and just plain wrong on so many levels, but the guy is a jerk.

I am a new nurse too..and I have already made some pretty boneheaded mistakes myself. I know it is humiliating and nauseating to tell your preceptor you made a idiotic mistake - but you just have to do it. For your safety, the patients safety, and because being honest is the ethical thing to do.

You might be surprised by their reaction when you self report an error anyway. My nurse educator actually hugged me for self reporting one of my oopsies. LOL.

Sorry this happened to you. Please report it for your health sake.

I think you get the on going theme. Exposures happen to all of us. Report it and learn. Welcome to MICU and congrats on stating your career!

I too have had needle sticks but never from an A-line. How on earth? Did you stick your finger inside the vacutainer? That's the only needle involved. Anyway my last stick was an AIDS patient with a low viral load and I was on the cocktails for three days before I couldn't stand them. I ended up being fine. That was 4 years ago. You MUST ALWAYS REPORT. We are all embarrassed by our folly but hiding it helps no one least of all you. The hospital will be liable for your ongoing treatment should you come down with something. But not if you don't speak up. Please report and never ever cheat yourself, your health and well-being, due to a silly passing emotion.

I wanted to chime in (even though a little late) to say that our a-lines aren't needle-less either, so when I draw from an a-line, I use the same vacutainers that phlebs do when drawing from a vein. The draw port is small, and if you don't keep your eye on it, it would be very easy to stick yourself. I wish we did have a luer-lock system on these!

I'm sorry that this happened to you OP, I hope things turned out in your favor.