Urgent: Need advice please?

[FutRNRock]

I am a new grad and just started in medsurg lastmonth. I moved out of the area with my 5 year old daughter and husband. Initially, I enjoyed working during my 2 weeks orientation during morning shift (fully staff), but transitioned to night shift which is always SHORT staff. I am on my 5th week orientation and super exhausted (I only had break during my lunch)...On my 3rd week, I got an alert of possible covid exposure (so terrified?...stressed out)...emailed my boss for advice, but no response! I was helpless?....luckily I was able to get a swab test from another healthcare provider.

I emailed my boss again and asked for n95, but response was they only provide regular surgical mask unless you’re taking care of covid!! I am not comfortable working at all with just surgical mask!! And risk of bringing covid to my family!!
 

I have an offer to work in Dialysis, higher pay and closer to family, non-covid pts bec they do robust testing for all patients. I’d love to get at least a year in med/surge, but with my current experience in the hospital (possible covid exposure, unsafe staffing, lower pay, bad management) I don’t know what to do? Please advice....I appreciate all your input!

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

We can all expect covid  exposure, from every patient,  in every setting. If your current employer will not provide you with the n95.. you must move on.

 

 

[hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I]

While it is not ideal you can now purchase KN95 masks on line. Heck the Chinese restaurant that I go to is selling them 2/$5.00. I do clean them by using vaporized hydrogen peroxide. I do it with a nebulizer. 

I have to say that I actually really appreciate my employer. When we have a Positive or PUI we get brand new PPE packets for each contact. Though we are encouraged to cluster care so that we get the most use out of the PPE. 

Like @Been there,done that I would tell you that the Virus is wild in the community and we are all exposed many times per/day. The best thing we can do is get what the rest of us are doing. Rest, eat right and take care of our immune systems so that our bodies can fight this off. No matter where you work you are going to have exposure. Even your dialysis clinic can't guarantee that there are no Covid + consumers. A test only proves that on the day it was done the person didn't have covid. 

In order to protect your family you can do what many of us are doing. I change out of my hospital shoes when I get to my car. Then I enter the house through the back door, strip and throw scrubs into the washer.  My husband is a control systems engineer and he put up UV lights in the laundry area. Once my scrubs are off I am into the shower then come in for hugs and dinner. 

I would encourage you to stick it out. Always wear a two regulare surgical masks. If you have a Covid positive make them give you an N95. If they won't supply one then yes; it's time to find a new job. 

Hppy

[JBMmom, MSN, NP]

If it helps allay anyone's concerns, I work in critical care and we have had at least three patients come into the unit not on precautions that ended up being COVID positive. I cared for three with only a surgical mask for the whole eight hours and didn't end up getting it. I do think that surgical masks can be sufficient for safety. I realize not in every situation, but at least for me it worked. And in all of these cases I was involved with the admission including full hex bath and skin check so we were pretty up in their business. 

I know it didn't really answer your question, but I don't really have any specific advice. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Wuzzie]

So just to clarify,  your employer will provide an N95 when you have a COVID + patient or PUI but you want to wear one at all times and you’re upset because your employer won’t provide you with one? Is this correct?

[Sour Lemon]

36 minutes ago, JBMmom said:

If it helps allay anyone's concerns, I work in critical care and we have had at least three patients come into the unit not on precautions that ended up being COVID positive. I cared for three with only a surgical mask for the whole eight hours and didn't end up getting it. I do think that surgical masks can be sufficient for safety. I realize not in every situation, but at least for me it worked. And in all of these cases I was involved with the admission including full hex bath and skin check so we were pretty up in their business. 

I know it didn't really answer your question, but I don't really have any specific advice. Good luck with whatever you decide.

I've cared for a covid patient for 12 hours with a surgical mask, hand washing, and occasional gloves. She was total care, demanding, and very hard of hearing- so I was up in her face quite a bit. People seem to think this virus has some sort of super power, but it can be avoided much the same way other viruses are avoided.

[FutRNRock]

Hi Wuzzie,

Yes, my boss said they only distribute N95 unless you have covid+. It upsets me because my boss was wearing N95 on floor!? Obviously she’s not doing direct pt care on floor.

[Corey Narry, MSN, RN, NP]

22 minutes ago, FutRNRock said:

Yes, my boss said they only distribute N95 unless you have covid+. It upsets me because my boss was wearing N95 on floor!? Obviously she’s not doing direct pt care on floor.

LOL, leading by example.  Anyway, it would be hard to find an employer who will wholeheartedly tell you to grab an N95 mask at will for any patient you care for.  However, I find that employers do vary from ones who have N95 masks available for staff use in a regular stock room to those where you have to give the last 4 of your SSN for the manager's lock box of N95 masks to open so you can get one (exaggerating here!).  I am a provider and you will see some providers and nurses wear the N95 with all patient encounters and no one complains at work.

It's inevitable that you will have a patient test positive even after they had a negative PCR on admission even in a hemodialysis setting.  PCR's are very time sensitive and infectious viral particles aren't detected early in the viral disease.  Best way is to wear the surgical mask and eye protection which is pretty standard in all healthcare facilities.  Be glad your employer has a system of tracking which nurses cared for a patient who could have exposed the staff.

[Wuzzie]

I’m fairly certain that most hospitals do not provide N95s for daily use in units not specified as COVID units because they haven’t been found to be necessary. A surgical mask, eye protection in the form of goggles or face shields and good hand washing has found to be successful in minimizing the spread of COVID from accidental exposure. While I understand your concern I think you are suffering from the same panic we did when this first started. We all thought we were going to catch it and die and spread it to our families and kill them. That hasn’t happened. While it’s true that 12% of all COVID positives have been health care workers, and that’s a high number, the vast majority have been the so-called “front line” workers especially those working in ICUs where there are a large number of aerosol generating procedures going on. I’m not trying to be unkind but you are being a little unreasonable in your outrage. If you want to wear one at all times just get your own and slap a surgical mask over it. That is what our at-risk staff do (I happen to be one of them but I do not do that) and the hospital allows it, although they didn’t at first because they didn’t like the optics. FTR, your supervisor is a complete tool for using limited critical supplies in a non-patient care role and should be called out on it. 

[FutRNRock]

Appreciate all your responses☺️ Thank you

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

52 minutes ago, Wuzzie said:

FTR, your supervisor is a compilete tool for using limited critical supplies in a non-patient care role and should be called out on it. 

Unless she is supplying her own as well

[Wuzzie]

18 minutes ago, Hoosier_RN said:

Unless she is supplying her own as well

Touché ?