scoop method for recapping

[michelecl]

i am an lpn in an assisted living facility. i am currently 28 days away from graduation for my rn. i have worked in this facility for about 8 mths and in that time i have asked for safety insulin needles from our don and rd. we are on our 3rd rd and i have been asking her for 2 mths for the same thing. i have been saying this is dangerous and it is the law, someone is going to get stuck, because i was taught in school to use the scoop method for safety of pts and visitors as well as yourself. . well this week the needle slipped on the table and jammed through the cap and my other hand was poked. my rd is writing me up for improper procedure, when everything i have researched says that the scoop method is to be used when needed(and in this case since this facility i work in says they do not have to provide us with safety needles). any advice is needed. i refused to sign the write up because the company is also in the wrong by allowing use to work in unsafe conditions.

[Wishinonastar, BSN]

Your facility can get fined if you are recapping. Then of course YOU could get canned or sued etc. DON'T do it. The sharps boxes are designed to handle needles and will protect anyone handling them unless they get overfilled which can break the safety mechanisms. DO NOT RECAP.

[MN-Nurse, ASN, RN]

So after you inject the pt, you don't activate the safetly mechanism? This sounds dangerous especially if the sharps container is not right there. At my first job they had a 'roving' inservice so that every RN could demonstrate how to use these devices as there had been a house wide increase in needlesticks resulting from nurses not using the safety mechanism.

Not the "manual" types of safety mechanism I don't. If I have to mess with the needle again, there is probably more chance of getting stuck rather than just dumping the frapping thing in the sharps container.

The only really effective types of safety mechanisms are the automatic ones. They engage after injection with no further intervention. We recently got some for our insulin pens too and they are really slick.

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

Not the "manual" types of safety mechanism I don't. If I have to mess with the needle again, there is probably more chance of getting stuck rather than just dumping the frapping thing in the sharps container.

The only really effective types of safety mechanisms are the automatic ones. They engage after injection with no further intervention. We recently got some for our insulin pens too and they are really slick.

I agree that the automatic ones are best...here is the problem though: we have wall mounted sharps containers in each room, so after the injection I have to turn to dump the needle in the sharp's box. What if I am executing my turn (sounds like a gymnastics move) and a tech or family member walks in behind me...now I can stab them with the needle that was just in the pt. I really cannot see how pushing up the needle guard more "dangerous" that going to the sharps with an open needle.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

i agree that the automatic ones are best...here is the problem though: we have wall mounted sharps containers in each room, so after the injection i have to turn to dump the needle in the sharp's box. what if i am executing my turn (sounds like a gymnastics move) and a tech or family member walks in behind me...now i can stab them with the needle that was just in the pt. i really cannot see how pushing up the needle guard more "dangerous" that going to the sharps with an open needle.

you would do the same thing you would do if your needle had no safety mechanisms. you would not blindly turn around with a needle in your hand, you remain aware of your surroundings, the people in the room, and the exposed needle. i did this thousands of times and never once did i even come close to sticking anyone. i'm not saying to disregard safety mechanisms, just that it is not hard to avoid sticking innocent parties if you remain aware of what you are doing and the implications of holding a needle in your hand.

[MN-Nurse, ASN, RN]

What if I am executing my turn (sounds like a gymnastics move) and a tech or family member walks in behind me...now I can stab them with the needle that was just in the pt..

We all have different strengths and weaknesses. I suspect I am a lot better at not stabbing bystanders with needles than you are. ;-)

[klone, MSN, RN]

I agree that the automatic ones are best...here is the problem though: we have wall mounted sharps containers in each room, so after the injection I have to turn to dump the needle in the sharp's box. What if I am executing my turn (sounds like a gymnastics move) and a tech or family member walks in behind me...now I can stab them with the needle that was just in the pt. I really cannot see how pushing up the needle guard more "dangerous" that going to the sharps with an open needle.

Don't walk around with a needle thrust out three feet in front of you. Problem solved!

[NicuGal, MSN, RN]

No scoop method here, as a matter of fact, I think that is a ding by the Health Departments and JACHO (or whatever they are calling themselves these days lol). We have sharps containers at each bedside or these red hard caps we stick the needle down into if we aren't using a safety needle. I know that we do have a written policy on not recapping...we all had to read and sign, so check your policy and procedures.

[wooh, BSN, RN]

Can one of those little portable sharps boxes be taken along? It seems if you're carrying around a capped and used sharp, you're upping the chance of not just sticking yourself or an innocent passerby, but getting confused and using a used needle on someone else that's supposed to get a shot of something or other. Once used, needles need to be GONE.

[michelecl]

According to our policy we are supposed to have safety needles but our RD is oblivious to this(well at least until tomorrow, I copied it and left it for her). Also the policy is to have a sharps in each room which I also fixed yesterday by ordering them(so saying that we do not have sharps in the rooms). The only sharps we have is on the med cart which is left in the hallway because the rooms are not large enough with all of their personal items in the room to bring in. My RD said that she would give the injection and walk to the hall to put in the sharps, meaning carrying an uncapped, used needle in a place where residents, visitors and staff are walking around, he reply was that it is a small needle and it would bend and not hurt. Well this is the same issue we started talking about, a stick with a used needle. According to CDC recommendations if a sharps is not readily available the scoop method is to be used. I am not upset about the write up, I want the company to take responsibility for not providing us with the proper equipment that is required by OSHA law. I agree if I had properly done the scoop method and did not have my other hand close to the needle this would not have happened, but if we had the correct equipment this also would not have happened.

[akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P]

According to our policy we are supposed to have safety needles but our RD is oblivious to this(well at least until tomorrow, I copied it and left it for her). Also the policy is to have a sharps in each room which I also fixed yesterday by ordering them(so saying that we do not have sharps in the rooms). The only sharps we have is on the med cart which is left in the hallway because the rooms are not large enough with all of their personal items in the room to bring in. My RD said that she would give the injection and walk to the hall to put in the sharps, meaning carrying an uncapped, used needle in a place where residents, visitors and staff are walking around, he reply was that it is a small needle and it would bend and not hurt. Well this is the same issue we started talking about, a stick with a used needle. According to CDC recommendations if a sharps is not readily available the scoop method is to be used. I am not upset about the write up, I want the company to take responsibility for not providing us with the proper equipment that is required by OSHA law. I agree if I had properly done the scoop method and did not have my other hand close to the needle this would not have happened, but if we had the correct equipment this also would not have happened.

If there's a properly assembled sharps container right at hand, I won't recap. The main thing for me is that I do NOT want a used sharp to be unsecured where it can be a hazard to anyone. I probably should have been more clear about the recapping. If I have to travel any appreciable distance (I can't see the container and/or it's outside the patient's room) then I'll recap if there's no safety device that can't be activated first to "safe" the needle before I "travel" to that sharps container. A container that is not assembled properly is not safe, therefore I will recap to go to one that is. My preference is to use safety needles and not have to recap. That was the other thing... recap=safe the needle...

[MN-Nurse, ASN, RN]

I agree if I had properly done the scoop method and did not have my other hand close to the needle this would not have happened, but if we had the correct equipment this also would not have happened.

I am missing something here. Were you recapping a used needle? If so, you should not have been doing that.

If the needle had not been injected into a patient, no safety device would have protected you.

What exactly is your beef here?

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

My RD said that she would give the injection and walk to the hall to put in the sharps, meaning carrying an uncapped, used needle in a place where residents, visitors and staff are walking around, he reply was that it is a small needle and it would bend and not hurt.

If I am reading this correctly, this person sounds not only misinformed and foolish, but dangerous.