What to do if you prick yourself with used needle?

[xmilkncookiesx]

Hi all.

If you're working as a nurse and give a needle injection (insulin, lab draws, etc.) and you prick yourself, what do you do? I understand it may depend on the hospital policy, but I just want a baseline knowledge of what steps is to be done immediately after it happens.

I do know you'd have to have blood drawn of course, to check for HIV, Hep C, check CBC, I'm not sure what else you'd have to get check for and what other labs (maybe all labs just to be extra safe?) they really look into.

Also, what if the lab is short staff and you need labs drawn stat for either your patient (when getting blood drawn) and when you prick yourself during or after the process? what to do?

What medications would you have to be put on right away? What injections, etc.?

I'm a second semester nursing student, and I worry this might happen to me and would at least like to be prepared and know what to do for both the patient and I.

Thank you :)

[SaltySarcasticSally, LPN, RN]

I had my first needle stick when I was 15 weeks pregnant, employee health literally looked at me and said "We aren't sure what to do"....that was fun lol! I got lucky with my mine because it was low risk (Immunization, small gauge needle, was wearing gloves, patient hardly bled after injection) and I knew who it was. The patient gladly agreed to be tested once my nurse manager relayed I was pregnant and otherwise would need to consider preventative medications that aren't necessarily the best to take in pregnancy.

So I got my blood drawn was offered the preventative drugs but turned down based on what we knew about the patient and that the patient agreed to be tested. The patients blood work came back negative so I had one follow up test a few months later and that was it.

That is a strange SIM question lol. Our hospital policy is to notify management, then they are to make sure your patients are covered, then report to occupational health ASAP. Even if there were budget cuts, hospitals have to give employees the testing no matter who is there or not.