Needlestick Accident

[Rkp]

I was giving a patient her flu shot today and after I had given it to her, I accidentally poked my thumb. I work in a OBGYN office and on top of that, it’s my second week here! I reported it to my supervisor. Supervisor went in and talked to the patient. Patient got blood work done. Negative HIV but still waiting on hep b results. I have horrible anxiety. I felt bad that it was an inconvenience for the patient to have to go and get blood work done after she had told me while I was giving her flu shot that she hated needles. Also, the lab had her waiting for a very long time to get her blood work done because the patient ended up coming back up to our office complaining that she had to leave and how much longer she had to wait. (Lab is located in same building as our office) I feel relieved that hiv results came back negative. I do know now to be more careful but I’m more worried about the patient. I know I will run into her eventually in the future again.

[dianah, ASN]

Things happen.

You work daily with needles, -- could say they are an occupational hazard!

Sounds like you did the best you could explaining what happened, and why she needed to have labs drawn afterwards. Her needle phobia is what it is. You are not responsible for how she feels about the event. It's too bad she had to wait so long at the lab, perhaps that could have been avoided (but then again, you are not responsible for the lab's policies and their patient flow).

[brownbook]

As Dianah said it's an occupational hazzard.

I can't blame the patient for complaining about the wait. And you for not looking forward to seeing her again.

It may make you feel better if you keep a gift card handy and next time you see her apologize and present her with a gift card to make up for the trouble she had to go through. You will know you have made amends.

[ruby_jane, BSN, RN]

If it was your organization's policy that the patient be asked to submit blood after an occupational exposure, then it's not about you (or her, even). Hang in there and follow the OSHA occupational exposure protocol.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

On 2/26/2019 at 8:58 PM, brownbook said:

As Dianah said it's an occupational hazzard.

I can't blame the patient for complaining about the wait. And you for not looking forward to seeing her again.

It may make you feel better if you keep a gift card handy and next time you see her apologize and present her with a gift card to make up for the trouble she had to go through. You will know you have made amends.

In my practice this would be against the rules. This crosses the barrier of professionalism IMHO. No need to go further into this - things happen and no need to belabor this incident.

[brownbook]

4 hours ago, traumaRUs said:

In my practice this would be against the rules. This crosses the barrier of professionalism IMHO. No need to go further into this - things happen and no need to belabor this incident.

Yeah probably, but I'm one to go against the policy when it's in the way of what may be right at that time.

[TigraRN]

I once had a needlestick with a contaminated (patient's blood) needle. That patient had a whole array of liver problems. I felt like I went through hell waiting for results, but will not make the same mistake again.

Don't feel bad about the patient, they are probably already over it.

[FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN]

I had a needlestick injury once. When you see the patient, thank her for getting her blood drawn for you. Don't avoid her. After that, just smile and nod when you see her.

[dianah, ASN]

On second consideration, I hope my previous post didn't convey a sense of helplessness and fatalism. These accidents are why safeguards are in place, why needles are closed IMMEDIATELY after use, or if they don't have safety-close flip-tops, why an emesis basin or safety container is CLOSE, NEARBY, to reduce the amount of time staff are exposed to a contaminated/used needle.

Perhaps this is a time for your unit to review its safeguards and are they effective? Has the layout changed, necessitating a re-thinking of how to do things?? What is the latest literature on needle safety/disposal/and avoiding staff needle sticks? A learning opportunity!!

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

24 minutes ago, dianah said:

On second consideration, I hope my previous post didn't convey a sense of helplessness and fatalism. These accidents are why safeguards are in place, why needles are closed IMMEDIATELY after use, or if they don't have safety-close flip-tops, why an emesis basin or safety container is CLOSE, NEARBY, to reduce the amount of time staff are exposed to a contaminated/used needle.

Perhaps this is a time for your unit to review its safeguards and are they effective? Has the layout changed, necessitating a re-thinking of how to do things?? What is the latest literature on needle safety/disposal/and avoiding staff needle sticks? A learning opportunity!!

The fact that the OP is a new employee would account for some of the accident. Perhaps the safeguards are adequate but the OP wasn't familiar with them. She is certainly less than familiar with the layout.

In the olden days, before HIV, needle stick injuries were just a part of the job. Nobody LIKED them, but they weren't the potential health hazard that they are now. We've come a long way in reducing needle stick injuries since then, but as long as we need to use needles, I don't think we'll be able to eliminate them.