BugsRme

Have you ever thought about combining your construction management background with Infection Prevention and Control? Most hospitals in the US right now and in the foreseable future will need significant faciliites upgrades to meet patient demand. It is expected that when the economy stabliizes, there will be significant building in hosptial and healthcare infrastructure. Hospital and healthcare construction is risky to patients- there are a number of regulatory standards relating to healthcare construction and infection control. This is something that I have struggled with in my carreer as an Infection Prevention Specialist. I know all about the bacteria and how it is transmitted, but I have very little knowledge about how an air handler works or how to read a blue print. My administration expects me to be able to review construction plans from an Infection Prevention and Control perspective, but they really did not teach the construction aspect in nursing school. I think this combo would make you an excellent infection prevention and control professional. Go for it!

There is a condition where the patient does not metabolize Carbohydrates correctly and they end up showing up as alcohol in the blood. I read about it servral years ago in a Genetics journal. As I recall it is a genetic condition and seemed to affect Japanese and Asian males. My understanding from the article is that it is very very rare. My understanding is these men usually suffer from being labeled as alcoholics and may often have developmental delays. As I recall they are often not correctly diagnosed until they end up with a yeast sepsis. I'll try to find the article.

Yep...this is the same Joint Commission that surveys hospitals on patient's rights. As I understand the standard, an employer can't punish you for refusing to take the flu shot, but they can make unaccented workers wear surgical masks during flu season when caring for patients. The declination statement is not real specific...it should just state "I choose not to take the flu vaccine because of (check one) religious reasons, or medical reasons. It really should not be asking for specific medical conditions unless you want to disclose the condition and have an Employee Health Nurse or Infection Control Nurse contact you to provide you with educational information. Just a word of caution- there are about 15 states and a few of the Canadian provinces that mandate flu shots for any one working in LTC. I understand the legislation in these 15 states makes it fairly difficult to get an exemption for medical or religious reasons- again this only applies to LTC.

This is not the whole truth. The Joint Commission introduced a new standard in Jan. 2007 that requires all accredited health care facilities to off the flu vaccine to all employees, physician and volunteers with patient contact. It must be offered at a variety of times and/or locations to make it convenient for staff who work nights/weekends/PRN, etc to get vaccinated. The standard does require that if an employee chooses NOT to get the flu vaccine, he/she must sign a declination statement with the reasons for refusing the vaccine. The Infection Control or Employee Health staff is supposed to keep track of the total percentage of health care workers who get the vaccine. Hope this helps.

Infection Control RN here. A previous poster gave a wonderful outline of TB infection versus active, contageous TB disease. There is a releitvely new blood test out called the Quantiferon Gold. In the CDC's most recent guidelines for TB prevention the Quantiferon Gold was suggested as good was to see if the PPD positive was a true positive for Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. Consider getting the Quantiferon Gold blood test done and if it indicates you may have been exposed to Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, you will want to consult with your doc or aTB clinic for advice. A positive PPD with a negative chest film should not hold you out of clinicals. Good Luck!