Nurses and Germ Warfare

[Joe V]

Nurses expose themselves to a host of germs every ... single ... day. To avoid catching something from patients, some Nurses have even developed obsessive-compulsive habits like, GASP ... HANDWASHING! LOL! Seriously, what type of infection control do you practice when caring for your patient?

[Joe V]

My wife shared a story with me...

She was at work yesterday (non-profit agency helping the poor) ... they had a meeting about COVID-19 precautions, etc. Towards the end of the meeting she coughed and EVERYONE gave her the deer in the headlights look.

Anything similar happen to you?

Are people walking away from you when you cough or sneeze?

[Kharis, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

Our huddles at the beginning of shift do not exactly meet Trump's "10 people or less" guideline. We meet in a moderately sized break room and 15 of us barely squeeze in there. Often it's standing room only on nights when we are fully staffed with nearly 20.

The manager was there last night helping relay the latest policy changes. She also addressed the rising panic, anxiety, and fear that is palpable among patients and staff. So...she led us in some deep breathing exercises. Yup. You get the idea: "In through the nose and out through the mouth." We were all darting our eyes at one another like..."Seriously? We're going to share our germs right here TOGETHER?!" It was almost funny. Several had very tight lips for the "...and out through the mouth" part of her relaxation routine.