Patients should ALL be swabbed tested for HIV

[Cathylady]

needle stick postings break my heart!

why aren't all patients given the swab test for hiv upon entrance to a hospital so nurses can take extra precautions?

i realize that the test is not difinitive but it would alert nurses for those that test positive.

i also realize that nurses take precautions with every patient but surely they would be more aware and more cautious with an hiv patient.

patients in labor are tested prior to birth, why not everyone?

[BluegrassRN]

This is a thread started by a member of the general public. Someone who is not a nurse, and does not profess any interest in becoming a nurse. And yet we let threads like this go for pages and pages.

[heron, ASN, RN]

This is a thread started by a member of the general public. Someone who is not a nurse, and does not profess any interest in becoming a nurse. And yet we let threads like this go for pages and pages.

But it was a good question and an interesting discussion ... so why not?

[bagladyrn, RN]

This is a thread started by a member of the general public. Someone who is not a nurse, and does not profess any interest in becoming a nurse. And yet we let threads like this go for pages and pages.

If this thread can help to allay the fears, increase the knowlege and reduce the prejudices of any member of the general public concerning HIV and persons with the virus then it's worth the time.

[GadgetRN71, ASN, RN]

In my last hospital- there was still fear and ignorance about HIV even with all the supposed education. One of the orderlies complained that we didn't put up signs on the ORs that had an HIV+ patient. You could tell them that it was against policy and that they should be taking precautions in every room but no.

Even the PACU nurses would get ***** if you didn't tell them the patient was HIV+ first thing in report. I actually told one of them one time that this was why we had Universal Precautions and he should be using them for everyone. I'm not against giving a heads up, but I am going to protect my patient too. There were lots of visitors in that PACU at the time, and there is still stigma about the disease. Maybe I'm sensitive to this because I have a relative who is HIV+. we as healthcare providers need to educate ourselves, and not let fear dictate our practice.

[GadgetRN71, ASN, RN]

the risks for actual hiv transmission from a needle stick are minute, per my medical surgical textbook. needle sticks are preventable, rare accidents, and i take every precaution to prevent them.

hiv testing during prenatal care is not for 'us', it is a precaution for the baby, to ensure the baby receives the best possible care for their situation.

you're right and it also depends on what kind of needle is is, i think suture needles pose less of a risk than the hollow bore ones.

[Grizz]

There are things I'd be WAYYYYYYY more concerned about than HIV, but if I let those fears dictate my life, why would I join the healthcare profession?

I'm a counselor (and pre-nursing student) and I work with patients who are newly diagnosed, pregnant, have new babies, or other situations where they made a little extra support. There is nothing more heartbreaking than seeing a patient discriminated against by healthcare professionals who learn of their HIV status. I've seen doctors and nurses blatantly avoid patients, avoid eye contact/speaking, put every material from the room in the biohazard bin when the patient leaves, you name it. We have even had instances of OB/GYNS advising HIV+ pregnant women to have abortions.

Singling patients out when you know (or should know) dang well that universal precautions are universal precautions is not what being a nurse is about.

Sorry to get all emo but I am very proud of my patients that we empower to be healthy, happy, successful mothers with equally happy and healthy (and 99% of the time uninfected) babies :redbeathe

[queenjulie, RN]

As recently as 2007, I was on an EMS program rotation at a large trauma center. I watched as an ER registration clerk donned gloves before approaching a patient (an HIV-positive patient very familiar to ER staff) to ask him for demographic information. After the patient signed some forms, the clerk held out a trash can so that the patient could throw away the pen without her touching it again.

I would have a very hard time not firing someone who humiliated a patient that way on the spot. Actually, I would probably have an even harder time not slapping them in the face. I just cannot imagine it.