Nursing and the Ebola Virus

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For those of us in unaffected countries, are you concerned about the ebola virus spreading? Would you care for ebola patients? I live in an area with a very high density of African immigrants and come into contact with these individuals regularly. We have a lot of African immigrants who bring back tuberculosis from their home countries and at my unit we end up caring for them. We take care of a lot of rare infectious diseases. I was reading an article and it dawned on me how plausible it would be for me to encounter this virus. And I admit, it's terrifying and I might refuse that assignment. Many healthcare workers in Africa are dying because of caring for the ill.

Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
Just for clarification, The Philadelphia Story was a movie with Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy that was released in 1940. Philadelphia was the Tom Hanks movie released in the early 90s that was a true story dealing with the bias AIDS patients experienced in the beginning of the AIDS epidemic.

You beat me to it! ;)

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
You beat me to it! ;)

Great minds and all that... ;)

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Specializes in L&D, Women's Health.
Great minds and all that... ;)

Yeah, yeah, yeah:shy: At least I got the city right:)

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OK, first of all, I can refuse any assingment I want, for any reason I want, and there's nothing the BON can do about it.

As long as I do not accept the assingment before it is handed off to me by the off-going nurse, it is not abandonment. I can't abondon a patient I never accepted in the first place. I could loose my job, sure, but not my license.

I don't know what I would do in this situation. It would depend on whether or not I felt the hospital had the technology and equipment available to provide some reasonable degree of saftey.

Right now we are just speculating about the situation but I guarantee you that those who think they have halos and would be more than willing to help these patients now would have a change of heart if the disease did become epidemic in this country and they saw first hand what ebola is about. It's easy to say what you would do and preach to others about how wrong they are when the disease is not yet on your doorstep.

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Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't there three types of the Ebola virus with Ebola Zaire being the deadliest with a 90% death rate while the other two were around 50%. And these patients are dying from massive amounts of hemorrhaging, compared to Tb I feel your chances with coming into contact with their blood are a lot higher. That's what makes me nervous about potentially taking care of these Patients. One microscopic rare in your PPE and you're at tremendous risk. I agree that we need to close the boarders to prevent a pandemic. Hopefully the experimental vaccines turn out to be effective at combating it so we can eliminate it before it mutates or becomes impossible to contain.

Knowledge is power.

The latest on this is that it is a new deadlier strain of ebola than the Zaire one. At least that's what I read last night. The people on the ground in those country are finally saying that. If I can find the link I will post it.

Also, someone in this country was interviewed for the same article and he said it is concerning that the medical workers caught it since they have taken all the precautions they are supposed to.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
I would like to sincerely thank whoever it was that recommended the book The Hot Zone. I started reading it yesterday. Last night, I was up at 0030, 0230, 0430, 0530, and then at 0700. Who needs sleep? ;)

Because you were scared or because you couldn't put the book down?

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If I were your manager, I would send you packing, and report you to the BON in case I could get your license in trouble. I recall seeing people flatly refuse to care for AIDS patients back in the day, and I still don't understand why they weren't fired and stripped of their licenses on the spot.

Because back in the day, at the time when no one knew anything about the disease but knew it to have high mortality after a short painful illness, people understood that many workers in health care were not going to take such a risk.

They didn't lose their licenses then, and NO ONE would lose their licenses or (I would strongly suspect) ever be "fired on the spot" now, in the face of ebola.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
Because you were scared or because you couldn't put the book down?

Because I was :nailbiting: .

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Specializes in Emergency.
I just think this is a huge mistake. I hope I'm wrong. Anyone ever read "The Stand?"

First thing I thought of as this story came out was "oh man, this is captain trips".

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Specializes in CVICU.
I tell you what. I propose this deal: give me the person that made the final decision to bring these patients back to America, have them suit up with me, even if to just hold their hand, and then I'll suit up too. "Oh, but they're not trained ... yada yada yada ... ". They made the call, let them stand behind their decision and risk themselves too. THEN, I'll suit up with 'em. :yes: :sneaky:

This is actually quite reasonable. How bout a photo op with the President in a hazmat suit shaking the doctors hand.

Really I wonder how many of the Physicians caring for this patient actually suit up and touch him? If it is like my hospital they stand in the doorway and ask the nurse' "How's he doin'".

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Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.
This is actually quite reasonable. How bout a photo op with the President in a hazmat suit shaking the doctors hand.

Really I wonder how many of the Physicians caring for this patient actually suit up and touch him? If it is like my hospital they stand in the doorway and ask the nurse' "How's he doin'".

Actually, the President is not the one you should be holding responsible.

You should hold responsible Franklin Graham (son of Billy Graham) and the leaders of the Evangelical Christian charity, Samaritan's Purse, that has funded and pushed for this transfer, and facilitated/arranged many of the details. The details that required State assistance mostly involve keeping public and the transfer as secure and safe as able, such as allowing the more secure use of a base for landing and getting the infected into a safe treatment situation generally reserved for biohazard exposed/infected federal staff.

And if you think the POTUS should have refused, can you envision the religious uproar that would have insued. The Christian community has complained about the government not intervening when citizens run afoul of apostasy and proselytization charges abroad, A sick citizen missionary refused reentry to US after the organization set it up and will pay for,.it ....guaranteed for a Faux News story in antiChristian bias.

If one attends a church that supports Samaritan's Purse and Franklin Graham and feel that you are too precious to care for ebola patients under isolation conditions, well, since you are supporting bringing these missionaries back by tithes and then requiring others to care for them.

Think about that.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.

I still wonder at the wisdom of transporting infected and contagious persons across the globe.

Having said that, I would likely participate in the care should there be infected patients in my areas. We work in a dangerous profession. We live in a dangerous world.

Heck, I could get killed by a bear while walking to lunch today. None of us get out of this alive anyway.

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