So today I had the pleasure of seeing someone I already believed to be an idiot confirm it.
We have a serious issue with people maintaining proper sharps containers. They over stuff them, don't secure the tops to the bottoms, don't latch them when they are full, and stuff the storage container they go into once they are used. I have nearly been poked by a sharps on more than one occasion because of this. In fact I worked with our manager to create a policy about responsibility for these (sad that we are all "professionals" yet lack basic common sense).
I had serious suspicions this person was the cause of several of the issues, but could not prove it, until today. Said nurse dropped a sharps container when taking it to the already too full bin. She dropped it and sharps went all over the place. Why, because the top wasn't latched shut and the top wasn't connected to the bottom.. Guess who happened to see this as well... My manager who was right around the corner. Said nurse then started to pick up the used sharps with her bare hands.. Guess who doesn't take BBP seriously..
So not only was I proven right (my manger felt I was simply being a "bully" or NETY to this nurse), but now this issue can be fully addressed with this particular nurse - and hopefully we can all be a bit safer.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Why are the RNs messing with a housekeeping duty? Get a union. I havent touched a needle box in 30 yrs.
Only 16 percent of nurses in the US are employed at unionized workplaces. In addition, forget about unionizing in a Southern state...due to a deeply-rooted cultural antipathy toward unions, many nurses in the South will shout you down if you dare to even mention unionization.
As a transplant from the West Coast, I found these attitudes rather interesting. Meanwhile, the remaining 84 percent of us who lack unionization must manage the sharps in the safest manner possible with the resources we have.
I worked as a CNA where we were the ones to empty the sharps containers. Sometimes an RN would even ask me for the key the change it out. I am now an RN at a different hospital where housekeeping does it and I would MUCH rather have the CNA's do it as it can take SO long to get housekeeping to come to do it if they weren't checked by them in the morning.
BTW, I also now belong to a union which is a pretty big waste of money since we have a very weak union on the local level and nationally- the vast majority of their members ask "would you like fries with that?" at their jobs. A union is NOT the answer!
Not that I am excusing her actions, but panic can make you act rashly. Who is responsible for disposing and replacing your sharps containers? That is what I am most concerned about. Where I work, sharps containers are safely replaced 1-2 times a week in EACH patient's room. She's probably new and inexperienced. Cut her some slack. Regardless, management needs to find a SAFE way to dispose and replace your sharps containers.
Not that I am excusing her actions, but panic can make you act rashly. Who is responsible for disposing and replacing your sharps containers? That is what I am most concerned about. Where I work, sharps containers are safely replaced 1-2 times a week in EACH patient's room. She's probably new and inexperienced. Cut her some slack. Regardless, management needs to find a SAFE way to dispose and replace your sharps containers.
OP has already mentioned that the nurse is not new and the safe way to dispose of them is before they're over full after locking the latch. There is no excusing this.
Yes I did. I'm sick of being at risk due to laziness and lack of safe judgement. I'm sick of being told I'm a bully and making a big deal out of something so small (says the manager who isn't at risk).
I'm not chasing her down to make sure she does something she darn well knowns that she is supposed to do. Believe me, this isn't her only unsafe practice - just the one that puts me most at risk.
Hopefully now that I have proof of her behavior - something will be done. It's doubtful, but one can hope.
I worked as a CNA where we were the ones to empty the sharps containers. Sometimes an RN would even ask me for the key the change it out. I am now an RN at a different hospital where housekeeping does it and I would MUCH rather have the CNA's do it as it can take SO long to get housekeeping to come to do it if they weren't checked by them in the morning.
BTW, I also now belong to a union which is a pretty big waste of money since we have a very weak union on the local level and nationally- the vast majority of their members ask "would you like fries with that?" at their jobs. A union is NOT the answer!
Totally OT - if your union is weak, do something about it - it's your union. End of derail ... Carry on.
A coworker ended up getting a needle stick because of an overfull sharps container. When she placed the used needle in, another needle shot up and stuck her! It could have been me, but she used it first. She ended up having to take AZT to protect her since there was no way of knowing who the needle came from. Also had side effects from it. She ended up being ok but was very stressed out over it. It could have just as easily been me because I had the patient in the next bed and was giving IV meds for them too, back when we had double rooms.
The nurses don't remove the sharps containers where I work, housekeeping does. Sometimes they do get overfilled, I never forgot that incident and always check first before placing a sharp in to make sure it is not overfilled.
Yes I did. I'm sick of being at risk due to laziness and lack of safe judgement. I'm sick of being told I'm a bully and making a big deal out of something so small (says the manager who isn't at risk).
I'm not chasing her down to make sure she does something she darn well knowns that she is supposed to do. Believe me, this isn't her only unsafe practice - just the one that puts me most at risk.
Hopefully now that I have proof of her behavior - something will be done. It's doubtful, but one can hope.
How can you be certain she is the one overfilling the sharps containers? Doesn't everyone use them? Shouldn't you close them and change them if you notice them filled to the "fill line"? I wouldn't think you would try and stuff anything into an overfilled container either, so you should change them out if you discover they are full.
As you mentioned - common sense. If I go into a room with a full sharp container, I don't go around asking who filled it because we have a 24 hour unit and the sharps containers are used by everyone. Not only one person. And if I see it full I will lock it and change it out. Simple as that.
I fail to see the reason behind your annoyance with your co-worker over the sharps containers.
It's like an empty milk carton in the fridge. If you are the last person to use the item before it is unusable, then you should change it out.
*That's* why it's the coworker's issue.
If a colleague constantly leaves my work cart empty of supplies at the end of their shift/start of mine, I'm going to say something. Sane principle here.
It's like an empty milk carton in the fridge. If you are the last person to use the item before it is unusable, then you should change it out.
*That's* why it's the coworker's issue.
If a colleague constantly leaves my work cart empty of supplies at the end of their shift/start of mine, I'm going to say something. Sane principle here.
Exactly! Its like in the students section when they say they missed the one test and that gave them a B/C/D whatever. No the CUMULATIVE effort gave you the problem you have to address now.
So today I had the pleasure of seeing someone I already believed to be an idiot confirm it.
We have a serious issue with people maintaining proper sharps containers. They over stuff them, don't secure the tops to the bottoms, don't latch them when they are full, and stuff the storage container they go into once they are used. I have nearly been poked by a sharps on more than one occasion because of this. In fact I worked with our manager to create a policy about responsibility for these (sad that we are all "professionals" yet lack basic common sense).
I had serious suspicions this person was the cause of several of the issues, but could not prove it, until today. Said nurse dropped a sharps container when taking it to the already too full bin. She dropped it and sharps went all over the place. Why, because the top wasn't latched shut and the top wasn't connected to the bottom.. Guess who happened to see this as well... My manager who was right around the corner. Said nurse then started to pick up the used sharps with her bare hands.. Guess who doesn't take BBP seriously..
So not only was I proven right (my manger felt I was simply being a "bully" or NETY to this nurse), but now this issue can be fully addressed with this particular nurse - and hopefully we can all be a bit safer.
Wait a minute....she was doing the right thing by disposing of the full container and this proves what, exactly? Safety is everyone's responsibility, so if the lid wasn't attached to the base, I wonder how many other staff members failed to correct this before the container was full?
As far as BBP, if your skin is intact, you're at low risk of contracting anything simply from picking up a used syringe, and gloves will not protect you from a needle stick. As long as she washed her hands afterwards, she's probably fine. I'd be very concerned if she weren't practicing hand hygiene.
Attaching the lid to the base should be done by the person who sets up the sharps container, and if that fails, anyone who uses it and doesn't ensure this is done is also responsible. Attaching the lid to the base at the time of disposal is the very last link in the chain, and while this nurse failed in that responsibility, she is not the sole person culpable in the failure to follow safe sharps disposal practices, so I think it's a bit unfair to pin it all on her.
If the bin is full, it behooves the person who notices it to do something about it- report it to environmental services, or whoever is responsible for this. If you already knew the bin was full and didn't do anything about it, then how is it this nurse's responsibility?
It seems to me that you have an issue that is staff wide, not just isolated to this one nurse.
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TheCommuter, BSN, RN
102 Articles; 27,612 Posts
As a transplant from the West Coast, I found these attitudes rather interesting. Meanwhile, the remaining 84 percent of us who lack unionization must manage the sharps in the safest manner possible with the resources we have.