*rolling my eyes*

I wonder if there would be all this speculation about qualifications, blame about "break in protocol" using PPE, focus on Pinterest and focus on her personal life if it were a PHYSICIAN who contracted ebola.

I wonder if there would be all this speculation about qualifications, blame about "break in protocol" using PPE, focus on Pinterest and focus on her personal life if it were a PHYSICIAN who contracted ebola.

I'm sure it would sound more like, "Oh, that poor selfless doctor, risking his/her life to take care of patients with dangerous illnesses..."

I wonder if there would be all this speculation about qualifications, blame about "break in protocol" using PPE, focus on Pinterest and focus on her personal life if it were a PHYSICIAN who contracted ebola.

We only need compare the coverage of Dr. Brantley to that of Nurse Pham.

We only need compare the coverage of Dr. Brantley to that of Nurse Pham.

Good point!

And how could this nurse (or the new one diagnosed today, and whom they are blaming as well) have broken protocol when there WAS no protocol?

The report on the conditions they had to work in was shocking. For the first few days (at least), they wore regular old universal precautions garb. Their heads and necks were not covered. They did not have shoe covers. Linens, garbage and other contaminated items were "piled up to the ceiling." AND they had other patients to care for during the same shift.

"...when the nurses treating Duncan complained that their necks had not been covered by the gear, "They were told to use medical tape and had to use four to five pieces of medical tape wound around their neck," she said. "The nurses have expressed a lot of concern about how difficult it is to remove the tape from their neck."

They seem to be blaming the nurse's inexperience, certifications, and etc., now that another nurse in the same hospital has contracted the disease, I wonder if they will remain on the same trajectory? Hopefully they realize that most hospitals are not equipped to handle Ebola, and hopefully the blame is placed on the officials who thought that the hospitals would be able to, without the necessary training or infrastructure.

now that another nurse in the same hospital has contracted the disease, I wonder if they will remain on the same trajectory?

It's obviously a system failure. And we know that for sure now, after hearing nurse's reports of the working conditions and lack of appropriate PPE. To blame the infected individuals does nothing to solve the problem, Even so, Dr. Daniel Varga of Texas Health Resources, which owns the hospital, said this morning "I don't think we have a systematic institutional problem."

AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I do blame the second infected nurse for flying on a commercial airline 2 days after the ebola patient she cared for died. That makes no sense. I blame her and I blame the hospital. I blame the hospital for not recognizing the urgency, for not having protocol, and for having 76 health care personnel come in contact with the man who died.

Seventy-six.

And now they are getting on PLANES.

I do blame the second infected nurse for flying on a commercial airline

Never underestimate the power of denial.

I blame the hospital but the nurse used poor judgements. I actually dont know what i wldve done. i use PPE often like everyone else. I put up PPE removal instructions so that my aides know how to remove them. If I used my PPE and removed without error...I may not think twice about flying, either.

But I dont know. Ive never dealt with Ebola pts. id like to think that Id be hypervigilant and self quarantine in case.

Was the hospital monitoring everyone like it said it was?

Im so confused.

It cant all be chalked up to breaches in PPE.

I'm so confused. It cant all be chalked up to breaches in PPE.

No, it can't, because they didn't even have the proper PPE or the proper protocols. They wore regular isolation gowns, and their heads and necks were uncovered. When they complained, they were told to wrap their necks with surgical tape. They actually did that (!) and then complained it was very hard to remove. Medical waste was piled up to the ceiling. They were also assigned to other patients at the same time.

Nurses allege staff worked with ebola patient 'without proper protective gear' | BreakingNews.ie

It's obviously a system failure. And we know that for sure now, after hearing nurse's reports of the working conditions and lack of appropriate PPE. To blame the infected individuals does nothing to solve the problem, Even so, Dr. Daniel Varga of Texas Health Resources, which owns the hospital, said this morning "I don't think we have a systematic institutional problem."

THIS.

I'm going to say it again:

I said this on the other thread about Ebola, so here it goes:

If anything, something had to happen to reveal how poorly hospitals are managed and how they treat nurses; in the midst of all things, how nursing can band together and reveal to the public how corporized (my word) hospitals have been and how they care about the bottom line will be their downfall.

I knew it was going to happen, but I surely didn't suspect that it would come from an infectious disease.

The CDC is not like the Feds or National Guard; they cannot come and commandeer a private company, so no, I don't blame them entirely; however, the hospital said they had it under control, when obviously they didn't, and when corporate is refusing to approve proper PPE or even allow the CDC in, then the ire should be on how MANY hospitals are run.

This is a HUGE opportunity for nurses to step up and speak out in how facilities are run and allow the public to scrutinize how hospitals are run roughshod over how the front lines-especially NURSES are treated and ignored, and not supported...it has been prepared to happen, unfortunately it had to happen this way.