Nursing and the Ebola Virus

0.adamantite · Aug 2, 2014

OP, why do you keep emphasizing race unnecessarily (and mentioning that you are the only European) and referring to Africa like it is a country and not a continent with MANY different countries? It makes it sound like you don't want to treat any of patients of African descent, regardless of their Ebola status. I hope that is not what you are implying.

Yes, I am a racist. You got me, ding ding ding :sarcastic: This ebola scheme is all part of my master plan to refuse care of all non-white patients. It couldn't be because this virus is spreading among particular African countries.

On a serious note, I do not want to identify which particular countries the immigrants are from, because it would identify my location. Also, I am an immigrant, too.

dnnc52 · Aug 2, 2014

met to reply to quote

dnnc52 · Aug 2, 2014

I don't see how or why refusing to take a pt should affect my license. If I never accept the pt, I'm not abandoning him or her. My manager might not appreciate it, however, and that could jeopardize my job. Why would the BON concern itself with whether or not I do what my manager says?
I think the staff that care for those folks should at least be told the details of how these two were infected. I mean, was it obvious? Like a blood splash to the eyes? Or is it a mystery and no one knows how they got it despite meticulous precautions?

First of all and I think its sad but the mission of the Nursing Board is to protect the public from the nurses. The BON has no concern about the safely of the nurse. Here in NC I reported a hazard condition to the BON. That's when I was informed of their mission. So I asked" who is there for the nurses" The employer was my answer...

uRNmyway, ASN, RN · Aug 2, 2014

I'm curious, how will the used linen be handled? How will lab specimens be transported and tests run? What special precautions will be taken for trash disposal? The patient may be in a protected, negative pressure room, but other hospital departments will be effected. Surely the patient will have radiology tests run, how will that be handled?
Not sure what I would do if I was assigned as the nurse, but I'd really have to think about it. Glad I'm not in that position. I can say though, I'm a nurse, not a martyr.

THIS!!! Seriously, I must have missed the part of my nursing school application or licensing paperwork where I agreed to be a martyr for humanity.

No one else watches out for us... Our employers? Um, riiiiiight... As someone else mentioned, it's not the BONs either. If I contract a deadly virus, will the hospital or BON care for my child? Will they provide her the guidance she needs from her mother? Of course not! We make so many sacrifices for this profession, like sleep, family lives, holidays, back injuries, you name it. But say that you would refuse to care for someone with a virus with 60-90% mortality rates, that we have no cure for, that we really don't even fully understand transmission about, and that's something we should have our licence yanked for?

Ugh... Sorry for the rant, but that holier than thou self-righteousness really upsets me.

Miss.LeoRN · Aug 2, 2014

I don't understand these Ebola threads. I seriously don't. It's an unnecessary panic. Really. We're all required to have taken Microbiology aren't we? Didn't they go over viral infections and how they spread? Why some diseases only infect certain species... stuff like that. I'll just repeat what I said in the other thread. It's not a matter of will ebola come to the US, it's a matter of when ebola will come to the US. Just like Dengue Fever, SARS, West Nile, and every other foreign born disease.. it will eventually migrate here. Ebola has been around since the mid to late 70's. It's not something new and when it does finally land here we won't see mass, uncontrollable contagion like in the movies or see a difficult, chaotic spread of the disease like in Africa. We are far better equipped and capable of doing so. Context of environment, and certainly a difference in culture, is one of the things that you have to look at when considering the dangers of possible outbreaks of anything.

aeris99 · Aug 2, 2014

She was the one who received the experimental serum. Dr. Brantley received a transfusion from a survivor. Though it's been noted that this has shown no signs of combating the disease.

She had been given a unit of blood from a recovered boy, so they wanted her first.

ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP · Aug 2, 2014

Yes, I am a racist. You got me, ding ding ding :sarcastic: This ebola scheme is all part of my master plan to refuse care of all non-white patients. It couldn't be because this virus is spreading among particular African countries.
On a serious note, I do not want to identify which particular countries the immigrants are from, because it would identify my location. Also, I am an immigrant, too.

You said it, not me!

Saying you don't want to want to treat "these patients" for fear of getting the virus is ignorant at best, discriminatory at worst. Africa is a massive continent (not country), and you keep repeatedly mentioning "these patients'" ethnicity (when it is irrelevant!) in regards to the virus. It rubs me the wrong way.

scross0613 · Aug 2, 2014

I am veryyyyy concerned over this. I'm sure I will get flamed for my opinion but I think if you make an educated / informed decision to go and participate in the care of these patients in the foreign country you also take on the risk of what medical facilities are available for your care should you become infected.

Our country is being inundated with problems brought to us via other countries. One facility right now housing illegal aliens is quarantined for a deadlier strain of varicella. TB is also being brought through these same sources. This latest Ebola situation will introduce a horribly deadly viral possibility that is extremely communicable to our country. Will the CDC allow any person who might possibly become infected in the future here in the US be one of their patients? I hardly think so.

I'm sure the CDC wants to gain knowledge from this in hopes of finding a cure. Well heck, you haven't found a cure for a multitude of diseases now plaguing Americans. If you wish to study Ebola, take scientists to those countries, don't risk Americans unnecessarily!

edmia, BSN, RN · Aug 2, 2014

I don't understand these Ebola threads. I seriously don't. It's an unnecessary panic. Really. We're all required to have taken Microbiology aren't we? Didn't they go over viral infections and how they spread? Why some diseases only infect certain species... stuff like that. I'll just repeat what I said in the other thread. It's not a matter of will ebola come to the US, it's a matter of when ebola will come to the US. Just like Dengue Fever, SARS, West Nile, and every other foreign born disease.. it will eventually migrate here. Ebola has been around since the mid to late 70's. It's not something new and when it does finally land here we won't see mass, uncontrollable contagion like in the movies or see a difficult, chaotic spread of the disease like in Africa. We are far better equipped and capable of doing so. Context of environment, and certainly a difference in culture, is one of the things that you have to look at when considering the dangers of possible outbreaks of anything.

Thank You! I understand the general public might panic because they are being fed these sensationalist news stories, but nurses? We should relax and rely on our knowledge -- or at least crack open the micro book and review

3rdGenRN · Aug 2, 2014

You obviously didn't read the news story in the other thread about the experiment they did with some animals. They apparently did get it through airborne transmission and no direct contact.

That was an airborne strain that was only as deadly as it was to the monkeys because of coinfection with another hemorrhagic monkey virus. While some humans test positive after exposure, no human has ever been symptomatic.

Proton · Aug 2, 2014

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.

As far as Ebola virus is concerned, it hasn't effected the continent of Africa as a whole (2014 outbreak), primarily four countries that make up part of west Africa (Sierra Leone - highest number of total cases, however not the highest death rate, Guinea, Liberia and Nigeria - the lowest number of cases, as of 2 hours ago, 1 reported case/death).

Many physicians and health care workers are dying across multiple continents and countries, due to treating 'the ill'. When you increase your risk/contact, the probability of contracting an illness, is generally higher.

TB has entered the US from many regions (Eastern Europe - MDR TB throughout Russia and the former Soviet Union, Central America, etc).

On forums, it's difficult to tell, but this is a genuine question:

If you don't mind disclosing, do you specialize in infectious disease? If so, I am curious about your decision making as to what assignments to refuse? Again this is not to spark conflict, what are your options as someone who is employed in that position. Anyone who can answer that, it would be much appreciated.

nandosport · Aug 2, 2014

Slightly off topic.. Or maybe not.. But for those of you interested in Ebola, read The Hot Zone. While terrifying, it's a marvelous book! Nonfiction also & very educational. You'll have a hard time putting it down!

Agreed. I had to read it for AP biology in high school. My friends don't even know what this means because they have not read any literature on the subject. Meanwhile, I remember thinking, at 16, how terrifying it would be if the virus resurfaced since they didn't really figure much out about the virus during the initial outbreak. And now...