i just thought i would throw this out here, and thought it may get a few head shakes and giggles!
so here i was at work the other day as an agency nurse at a local hospital. i had my tubex with me which i carry around for injections when a very nice nurse kindly told me that because of infection control, those tubex are one use only (they are cleaned, not thrown away).
i thanked her very much for the info, and then grabbed the cbg machine..then thought??? ummmmm if a tubex is to be used once per room...then why do we use the same cbg machine for all rooms (hello direct blood on those)...or the vs machine? i giggled a bit. guess it all comes down to cost, washing tubex is easier than washing cbg machines..lol! (i clean my cbg machine with etoh wipes after each use by habit anyway....but still...lol!).
i mean...good rule..but kinda made me giggle a bit :chuckle
what other interesting rules do your facilites have that make you go hmmmmmm???
then why do we use the same CBG machine for all rooms (hello direct blood on those)...or the VS machine?
true story from my med-surg clinical. I was doing VS and one of the pts was on airborne... I think MRSA in his trach. {get gowned up}He didn't have a cuff in his room {take off gown and mask} asked the CNA if there was a dedicated machine, or something else to use for him. She looked at me like I was a frickin alien. Says to me "you know....I never thought of that.... just use the dinamap and wipe it down with alcohol swabs when you're done...." An entire dinamap, with 1x1 alcohol swabs......
Is it just my facility or are Isolation Precautions just for nurses, the MDs are exempt. My unit has 20 beds and we usually have 6 or 7 pts who are MRSA and/or VRE. MDs are under the impression that "if I don't touch anything, I don't have to gown up" BUT THEY ALWAYS TOUCH SOMETHING!!!!! It makes me crazy. Or nurses at the desk with gloves on...what the heck?
This infection control thing does baffle me a bit. I was in the ER with a family member and one of the housekeeping staff came in her cubicle to empty trash. She had come from room to room with the same gloves, emptied nasty cans, then put clean towels in the dispenser with the same glove on. It occurred to me that the nice nurse who came in the room and thoughtfully washed her hands was drying them on towels that were handled by contaminated glove etc. I hope I am not too anal retentive...
I once had orientation as a CNA on a med/surg floor. The gal showing me the ropes was getting ready to go into a precautions room. What does she do? She take a previously worn gown and mask off of the bathroom hook and puts them on. I was like - what the heck? She tells me that she reuses her gown/mask over and over because she figure that if she saves the hospital money on supplies, she'll get a raise. :uhoh21: Yeah, right. She said that I should do the same thing. I basically told her to get bent. Yeah, I'm risking my health so the CEO can put more $$ in HIS pocket. Geeeez. What are people thinking? :smackingf
Is it just my facility or are Isolation Precautions just for nurses, the MDs are exempt.
Don't forget the families. Yes, I know he's your husband, but he has PENILE GANGRENE and you are going to go home on the SUBWAY and walk through this fine hospital on your way out and maybe go to the store and pick up milk so just put on the FRICKIN GLOVES, LADY!!!
Whew. Sorry. That one's been festering since, like, September.
I decided a long time ago (after hearing the umpteenth new nurse/resident/fellow, whatever) say "Well, the way we did it where I come from...." that there was a right way, a wrong way, and the way they do it HERE!
In the O.R. prescription pads and doctors orders are locked up on the OR floor, yet any of the med-surg floors, they are all out in the open. Heck if i know why.
Our Rx pads are locked in the narc cabinet. When we sign them out, they are left in a drawer under the computer. Smart thinking??? :rolleyes:
I decided a long time ago (after hearing the umpteenth new nurse/resident/fellow, whatever) say "Well, the way we did it where I come from...." that there was a right way, a wrong way, and the way they do it HERE!
Try to pick the last one. JMHO!
:rotfl: :rotfl: We have a saying....This isn't Willis Center. A LTC in the area closed and we got most of their staff and pts...Well, of course we were doing everything wrong.
Don't forget the families. Yes, I know he's your husband, but he has PENILE GANGRENE and you are going to go home on the SUBWAY and walk through this fine hospital on your way out and maybe go to the store and pick up milk so just put on the FRICKIN GLOVES, LADY!!!
Whew. Sorry. That one's been festering since, like, September.
You know, I always wondered about that. Why aren't the families gowning/gloving up? Is is because we will be in contact with other sick people? Even if the family is not, like you indicated, its still kinda scarey.:uhoh21:
I encountered a lot of families that WOULD glove and gown, yet they'd trapse out of the room wearing that stuff, and touch the desk, etc. Completely defeating the purpose.
My understanding is that it's a progressive allergy. Mine popped up halfway through my A&P lab course. One morning, out of the blue, my hands turned red and puffed up. This after 20 yrs of medical procedures and a few years of using latex condoms without a problem.
Ooh, and FYI, we no-latex should also avoid mango. And maybe papaya. They are said (and no, I don't have solid info on that) to exacerbate the allergy bc the plants are related. Like I said, I don't have a good link, but I do know that mango makes my mouth all itchy.
Interesting the way the allergy response works.
I was not allergic to bee stings until my late 20's; in fact, the venon was not even particularly painful to me. Now, a minor sting feels like I have been shot and sends me racing for my epipen and the ER.
She tells me that she reuses her gown/mask over and over because she figure that if she saves the hospital money on supplies, she'll get a raise. :uhoh21: Yeah, right. She said that I should do the same thing. I basically told her to get bent. Yeah, I'm risking my health so the CEO can put more $$ in HIS pocket. Geeeez. What are people thinking? :smackingf
:rolleyes:
elizabells, BSN, RN
2,094 Posts
true story from my med-surg clinical. I was doing VS and one of the pts was on airborne... I think MRSA in his trach. {get gowned up}He didn't have a cuff in his room {take off gown and mask} asked the CNA if there was a dedicated machine, or something else to use for him. She looked at me like I was a frickin alien. Says to me "you know....I never thought of that.... just use the dinamap and wipe it down with alcohol swabs when you're done...." An entire dinamap, with 1x1 alcohol swabs......