Nursing and the Ebola Virus

[0.adamantite]

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.

[sistrmoon, BSN, RN]

I'm reading multiple reputable sources saying to wear head to toe gear but my hospital says it's just droplet isolation- wear a plastic gown, gloves and mask with face sheild. I do not believe this. I am truly afraid for my life should I be forced to care for an Ebola patient under these conditions. I'm also expected to go home (to my husband, small children and dog) in my scrubs and shoes that were not fully covered. We won't be hosed down with chlorine or have a buddy to help us remove our PPE under the current guidelines.

Watch out for your dog. See my last link. They euthanized the Spanish nurse's dog after her diagnosis as dogs can be carriers.

[MassED, BSN, RN]

Watch out for your dog. See my last link. They euthanized the Spanish nurse's dog after her diagnosis as dogs can be carriers.

Why not just quarantine and test the dog? Craziness.

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

Correct me if I am wrong, but the HCW in Spain - she is not a nurse (though described as such in many news sources) but a technician or an assistant?

[Willow_RN]

Amen to that. We don't have full body suits or any specific buddy system in place. No way to dispose of waste, no dry runs of what we do when an Ebola-suspected patient checks in.. We are also told negative pressure rooms are appropriate. We are not prepared. Period.

See, we were told we don't even need to use negative pressure rooms! They told us it's "just droplet" like the flu. Ebola patients can go into a regular room. The lack of consistency on how to protect and isolate is really causing me to be concerned.

[Willow_RN]

Why not just quarantine and test the dog? Craziness.

I read an interesting interview where they were saying that they don't know if a dog can get Ebola. Furthermore, they wouldn't know how to test for it in a dog, they wouldn't know how symptoms may or may not present, if the dog would be contagious and for how long, etc.

[sistrmoon, BSN, RN]

Correct me if I am wrong, but the HCW in Spain - she is not a nurse (though described as such in many news sources) but a technician or an assistant?

I saw "auxiliary nurse." I don't know what position that translates to.

[BlueDevil, DNP]

I'm sorry that this man has died. But I can't help but wonder if he might have lived, if he'd told the ER staff on the first visit, that he'd had close contact with a dying Ebola patient in Africa.

To me it reaffirms the importance of being completely honest with health care professionals.

It appears he may well not have known anything other than what he did tell them- that he had come from Liberia. The woman he helped carry had been officially diagnosed with Malaria. She did not think she had Ebola, nor did the health care team that evaluated her and discharged her home.

Her diagnosis was changed post-mortem, after Mr. Duncan had already left the country.

[BlueDevil, DNP]

Quite a few nurses here do not demonstrate an understanding of the difference between airborne and aerosol transmission. I expect confusion from lay people, but not from RNs.

[Kyrshamarks, BSN, RN]

what surprises me is the blanket trust that nurses are giving the government and the CDC in general. they have proven themselves time and again not the be honest or trustworthy. The CDC does not want to create a panic so they downplay the deadliness of this virus.

[KRVRN, BSN, RN]

Gloves are the first PPE you remove. I wonder if the Spanish nurse/nurse assistant left soiled gloves on to take off her face mask or glasses and contaminated herself.

[Kyrshamarks, BSN, RN]

gloves are not the first thing you remove. you want to contaminate yourself? The first thing is the gown, by grabbing from the chest and pulling it away from your body, pulling the sleeves onside put so that the contaminated side is now folded on. the sleeves will help pull the gloves off your hands. then place clean gloves on and pull the mask off then the booties. then take off the gloves.

[Kyrshamarks, BSN, RN]

dreaded double post. ..continue on nothing to see here folks