Tolerance not Ignorance.

Nurses General Nursing

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I walked to the front of the unit this morning and saw another nurse drawing blood without wearing gloves and just shook my head... again. I reached the front desk in time to see the secretary finish a phone call and hang up. She proceeded to tell me that the lab had just called asking for the name of the nurse who refused to draw stat labs on an HIV + patient saying she had no sympathy for people who go out and gets AIDS. This was the same nurse I saw drawing the blood without gloves.

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Specializes in Hemodialysis, Home Health.
I walked to the front of the unit this morning and saw another nurse drawing blood without wearing gloves and just shook my head... again. I reached the front desk in time to see the secretary finish a phone call and hang up. She proceeded to tell me that the lab had just called asking for the name of the nurse who refused to draw stat labs on an HIV + patient saying she had no sympathy for people who go out and gets AIDS. This was the same nurse I saw drawing the blood without gloves.

Whoa ! Wonder how she'd feel if she contracted aids this way, then had some nurse refuse to draw HER blood, because this nurse had no sympathy for those who "go out and get aids"... :stone

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Wow, It amazes me that there are still people out there with attitudes like this. Makes me feel like we're living in the stone age. :o

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Unfortunately nurses aren't immune to the ignorance bug.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Emergency, Infusion.

People never cease to amaze me.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
I walked to the front of the unit this morning and saw another nurse drawing blood without wearing gloves and just shook my head... again. I reached the front desk in time to see the secretary finish a phone call and hang up. She proceeded to tell me that the lab had just called asking for the name of the nurse who refused to draw stat labs on an HIV + patient saying she had no sympathy for people who go out and gets AIDS. This was the same nurse I saw drawing the blood without gloves.

I know it wouldn't have been an appropriate answer but after her saying "people that go out and get AIDS", i would have replied in all sarcasm "only thing i can think of that would be worse than having an ignorant mentality of AIDS is drawing blood with no gloves, which is ALSO against policy."

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Some nurses carry very human feelings to work with them. The title nurse doesn't qualify us for sainthood.

Personally, I believe its best that nurse should attempt to excuse herself from caring for the occasional patient he/she cannot demonstrate a caring attitude to due to personal prejudice or religious conviction, or whatever reason.. Every patient deserves a caring nurse.

For whatever reason, occasionally my coworkers and I will have a conflict: be it personality clash w family, etc. We all try hard to step in for one another for everybody's sake. Obviously, this cannot be abused. A nurse who constantly refuses anyone who is difficult and infectious will cause problems on the unit. But the occasional conflict should be accomodated amongst caring coworkers, IMHO. I'm fortunate to work with a fairly closeknit group who care enough about one another to do this.

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Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

To paraphrase Forrest Gump..."Stupid is as stupid does."

I can't fathom in this day and time ANY one not using gloves. I know you can't feel the vein as well, but a little learning how is better than a lot of disease because you refuse to learn how.

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I just think there is a difference in being human (cause I am too) and refusing to do your job. It's normal to have judgements and prejudices and irrational fears, but I can't find a place in my job description that says I am allowed to refuse to care for people I don't like. At the very least, this nurse should have found someone else to take over the care of this patient. Where I work, STAT labs are usually pretty important.

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I can find no tollerance for a nurse like this. She is dangerous. Please, do not let her care for someone I love. I agree she should not care for an AIDS patient. She should not care for patients.

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Specializes in HIV/AIDS, Dementia, Psych.

As I stated in a post in another thread long ago...

I have a DOH HIV unit at my facility. I was floated to that unit one day and had to do a fingerstick on a pt. I knew was positive. As I was walking down the hallway, my heart was beating out of my chest. I was scared to death, but I continued on and did my job. Subsequently, I have been assigned to that unit many many times and it's become one of my favorites. I am still cautious of course, but I don't get the butterflies anymore. I can't blame someone for being a little scared, but I can blame them for being prejudiced...I think this nurse was the latter by the comments she made about the patient. There's no excuse for that.

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Specializes in Community Health Nurse.

i agree that there is no excuse for that nurse's behavior. :nono: refusing to care for a patient with aids should not be tolerated on any unit in any hospital anywhere! :rolleyes: years ago, one of my travel nurse assignments was on a meds/surg unit that cared for mostly patients with full blown aids. once i arrived at the hospital, a team of medical providers taught an eight hour class on the care of aids patients that was mandatory for all staff at that hospital. i learned so much from that travel nurse assignment, and am not bothered to care for any patient with aids. :nurse:

i use the same universal precautions on aids patients that i use on any other patient, and do not treat them as if they are not worthy of my time. :)

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