I was shadowing a nurse yesterday at a facility who happened to be a veteran nurse ( 60 years or older). Well, a pt. fell and was bleeding from her had. I witnessed the fall, so I called for help and made sure the pt. stayed put until helped arrived. The nurse I was shadowing came and started to apply pressure to the pts. head without gloves, the pts. blood was all over the nurses' hand. I felt bad that I didn't do that... but ultimately my health comes first and I'm not touching blood without gloves.
As we were doing wound care she still didn't wear gloves. She said back in her day she has touched so many things with her bear hands that sometimes she doesn't wear them.
I understand that is how she is used to practicing.
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
I would also gather that the reason for the gloves if it is in the company policy is because if the nurse got stuck or contracted something then it's a workplace injury and the company is going to end up paying for it. So of course they want every method taken to prevent something happening to save them money. If the nurse decides to not listen to policy and not wear gloves it might be something the facility says "OK you refused policy, if you get contaiminated then we aren't covering it"
I am assuming every nurse on this board has taken some sort of pathology class, microbiology class and what have you. They should understand how transmission happens. The gloves are protecting the nurse. If it makes you feel better to think they are protecting the patient, then so be it. But until someone can show evidence on how in a needle stick it's protecting the patient I will continue to believe in science.
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
Was this patient subsequently posted for a colectomy after disimpaction by Nurse Wolverine from X-Men?
We had a few nurses who would grow two long nails on purpose so they could use them as a scoop to really get at those stubborn impactions!! Can you believe that? No? Good, because I just made it up. Yes, this is what my Saturday nights have devolved to.
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
How does the patient know that the person sticking them with a needle does not have hep, hiv, or anything else that could be passed on as soon as the needle enters the skin the protective barrier is broken, now if a latex condem has holes in it the diease can enter so it also makes sense if someone rips the fingertip off of their glove then the person is put at risk for anything the nurse may have on her hands but even worse the things that is running thur the nurses body. if it is not also for pt protection then why do we dress out with mask, gowns and gloves when a pt is on reverse isolation? To protect them from something that may be on our body clothes and in our lungs.
This is a completely different scenario then a needle stick. Here you are talking about someone with a compromised immune system that can pick up something from the air, contact, droplets and so on and contracting something could very well kill them.
That is NOTHING similar to wearing a glove for a needle stick. Again, all of this should have been covered in our required education.
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I don't step into my house wearing my hospital shoes. I take them off on the front porch, then go inside in my socks, retrieve my can of Lysol, then I spray the bottoms of my shoes til their soaked with Lysol, then put them in my shoe closet inside. Our nursing school teacher had a friend who regularly wore her hospital shoes in her house. Her diabetic husband developed MRSA on his toe - ended up with an amputation. They're pretty sure it came from her shoes.
My shoes NEVER enter my home. Actually they never leave the hospital. I change my shoes at work and then leave them in the garage and go in bare foot. When I think of hospital floors......it makes me sick:barf02:.
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I remember back in the early 80s there was near hysteria about HIV/AIDs because there was generally a lack of information all around. I remember the first young man who came into our clinic with the fear of exposure. We sent them to our downtown LA facility because we had no way to test in our primitive lab.
The main fear when I started was hepatitis. We had hep A, hep B and "other". The virus for hep C was not identified at the time.
I have to say as an aside I get a kick out of the view some have of what nursing was like in the olden days. I think some embellishment of the story must occur as it is told and retold.
I remember our first HIV patient we put them on airborne precautions.....we knew so little. When I graduated school in 1979, it was right on the cusp of a revolution of medical insights an advances. Things changed so fast there were times I didn't think I'd keep up. Amazing where we've come from in a very short peroid of time....
I don't think there is ever a good reason to put your health at risk for a patient. Even if this lady was losing massive amts of blood, she could always get fluids and a transfusion if it were that serious. You have your own life and family to be concerned about. HIV, HepC and some of the other things you might pick up aren't worth it at all! May sound selfish, but its real....you should always come first!
I was shadowing a nurse yesterday at a facility who happened to be a veteran nurse ( 60 years or older). Well, a pt. fell and was bleeding from her had. I witnessed the fall, so I called for help and made sure the pt. stayed put until helped arrived. The nurse I was shadowing came and started to apply pressure to the pts. head without gloves, the pts. blood was all over the nurses' hand. I felt bad that I didn't do that... but ultimately my health comes first and I'm not touching blood without gloves.
As we were doing wound care she still didn't wear gloves. She said back in her day she has touched so many things with her bear hands that sometimes she doesn't wear them.
I understand that is how she is used to practicing.
Any thoughts?
My first thought when I read the post title was and still is : NO WAY, NO HOW!!!
I had a nurse messing w/ my son's IV (it was leaking everywhere from the site) w/out gloves and it completely freaked me out. I don't want my son to be at risk because she may have just touched something she shouldn't have w/out gloves and not washed up well or Lord knows you can't kill all the bacteria.
I'm sorry...but they are going to have to bleed while I put my gloves on. For my safety AND theirs!
Specializes in Long term care, Rehab/Addiction/Recovery.
This post immediately made me think back to my med-surg 1 clinical instructor, an excellent nurse, a nun, (not drawing any conclusions). She admonished one of us for wearing gloves while doing colostomy care. She said it was "insulting to the patients to wear gloves". Of course this was pre-universal precautions. I also witnessed her with my own eyes diving right in ungloved when a pt was bleeding. When I used to start IVs, I always had my "works" in my lab coat pockets. I would wash my hands, palpate the pt 's arms,(find my site), then apply my tourniquet. Then I would prepare my sterile field. I always wore sterile gloves. As far as what this "seasoned" nurse did, I probably would have done the same. Assured the pt was safe, then wash my hands. No one put a gun to my head and forced me to take those Boards. Pt's rely on us. Yes, if I have time and there is a risk of blood exposure I glove. When inserting an IV properly, there is NO blood exposure. In fact, after inserting 1000's of IV's I have never been exposed. Don't knock the healing touch of skin to skin contact.
I change my shoes at work and then leave them in the garage and go in bare foot. When I think of hospital floors......it makes me sick:barf02:.
Is this just hospital floors? I would be curious if the hospital floors aren't actually cleaner than those in the grocery store, gas station, etc (of course outside of an obvious body fluid spill).
Can you believe that? No? Good, because I just made it up. Yes, this is what my Saturday nights have devolved to. 
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~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN
5,259 Posts
I would also gather that the reason for the gloves if it is in the company policy is because if the nurse got stuck or contracted something then it's a workplace injury and the company is going to end up paying for it. So of course they want every method taken to prevent something happening to save them money. If the nurse decides to not listen to policy and not wear gloves it might be something the facility says "OK you refused policy, if you get contaiminated then we aren't covering it"
I am assuming every nurse on this board has taken some sort of pathology class, microbiology class and what have you. They should understand how transmission happens. The gloves are protecting the nurse. If it makes you feel better to think they are protecting the patient, then so be it. But until someone can show evidence on how in a needle stick it's protecting the patient I will continue to believe in science.