Speaking of pregnant nurses...

CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN · Feb 9, 2004

I'm 28 weeks along and have refused to care for pt's in MRSA, VRE or other precautions. While there are no rules that say I cannot care for those pt's, when I asked my OB, he said "why would you want to risk anything". My unit is pretty good at NOT assigning us pregnant RN's (and there are 3 of us right now) pt's in isolation precautions. It's a common courtesy thing. It was the same at the other two hospitals that I worked at as well.

Well that would be about half of my LTC facility..Most are colonized some are active...

Elenaster · Feb 9, 2004

Originally posted by NicuGal
You pushed the contrast? We aren't allowed here..that is the techs job!

As long as the magnet isn't "actively" running...you know when it is making all those nutty noises, it is okay :)

I had to push it because the pt's maintenence fluids had K+ in them. The techs can only push with NS. They usually have their own RN down there to do it, but it was late at night and she was gone.

Thanks for the info, I feel better now. The magnet wasn't actively "taking pictures," or however the heck that thing works.

ratchit · Feb 9, 2004

Originally posted by mattsmom81
Savvy nurses know nothing is 100%. We use universal precautions and best judgment but there is also a chance something my go awry...something we're not prepared for. We aren't wearing spacesuits into rooms.

As a charge nurse I am protective of my pregnant nurses and will continue to be as much as I possibly can. Sorry if this is deemed not 'professional' to some.

I do see the point you're making, but...

There is a chance something can go awry with every nurse and every patient. As someone already pointed out, we often don't know what bugs a patient has for days after we've all been exposed to them. We've all had patients that had resistant bacteria before we knew about it. Every nurse has taken care of someone who should be on precautions before they were put on precautions. But I've only met one nurse who picked up a resistant bacteria from a patient. She never cleaned her stethoscope and got a topical MRSA infection on the back of her neck. Universal precautions would have prevented it, let alone contact precautions.

I have never heard of a baby being harmed by the mother being exposed to resistant bacteria and there have been so many exposures I think we would have heard about it.

As for not taking a chance... If universal, contact, and droplet precautions aren't enough, then is it safe for any nurse to go to work, let alone a pregnant one? If these germs are such a risk, then why is my health any less important than another nurse's? If being pregnant makes being a nurse so dangerous, then should that person be at work at all? How about the ER- they never know what's rolling in the door. Should pregnant nurses then not be allowed to work in the ER? There's no end to where this argument should go- unless we go with scientific data about disease transmission.

I help out my pregnant coworkers. Just the other day we had a code and mom-to-be was not allowed to do compressions- others stepped in. But to assign all isolation patients to non-pregnant nurses does not protect your pregnant nurses since the other patients just haven't been proven to need isolation yet, and it dumps on your non-pregnant nurses.

I have 4 pregnant coworkers right now. If they avoided isolation patients, I would have to take triple ICU assignments that were all on isolation every day. Not right. They are all smart, tough women- and no one has asked for special favors. (Except when they were very early on- a couple had nausea problems so we didn't give them the poopers or the stinky wounds. )

ratchit · Feb 9, 2004

Originally posted by Elenaster

Nicu gal,

I went in to push IV contrast between the two scans. They weren't actively shooting at the time, but the machine is always "on." Will you ask him if this was hazardous? I told the MRI people that I was pregnant and asked if it was okay if I went in there and they said it was fine.

Thanks for the info.

I have worked in Radiology nursing. I didn't deal with MRI much but my hospital's rule was no pregnant people allowed in the room whether scanning or no. The magnet is always on, but sometimes it has more power than others. The pregnant rad wouldn't go in the room.

My suggestion if you have to do this again is to change the IVF to something without K in it for the brief time in MRI.