Who reads your mantoux (PPD) test?

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

Last week, I had my PPD placed. The employee health nurse who placed it said "now you have to come back Thursday or Friday to have it read." I asked him if I could just take the form and have it read by an RN on my unit? He told me that it was "policy" that it had to be read at employee health. My question...why? Why could it not be read by an RN in the ED or by my PCP or the nurse at her office? I know that I have read them/signed forms for individuals employed at other facilities. I understand that policy is policy, but (like so many other policies) what sense does this policy make?

(The ironic part of all of this, the secretary/MA at employee health read my test/signed my form, not a nurse.)

[PediLove2147, BSN, RN]

Someone at work (on my unit) read and signed for mine. I've done the same for others. Your facility's policy doesn't really make sense, especially since it's not even a nurse reading it!

[Acbell]

In our facility Employee health places and reads employees and IV thearapy places and reads inpatient. I believe the reasoning is we would not place that many where we are as individuals and it is better to narrow the chance of error and they know exactly what needs to be done every time with the results. It is nice to have low volume things streamlined, even though the facility may place 100 a month (made up number) me as a nurse would only maybe read 1 every year. But our unit may have that 100 placed. So, I would rather someone read it and proceed to next step if needed that are frequently reading them. We don't even do employee PPD tests yearly any more, which lowers the chance to see them and we are in an area where TB is tested due to travels more frequently than other areas, we have a smaller population than big cities though.

[klone, MSN, RN]

At our facility, it's also policy for Employee Health to read it.

Luckily, they just changed the policy last year so that nobody has to have the PPD test anymore, unless they work in a high-risk area (ED and Flight For Life). We still have to have the mask fit done every year.

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

Employee health or someone in nursing management.

[klone, MSN, RN]

I do remember fondly that reading and signing off on my best friend's PPD was the very first thing I did as an RN! The very first time I signed my name with "RN" behind it. :)

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

any RN in our facility can read it. I think the employee health nurse is making extra work for him/herself. Maybe they want to be sure the paperwork is done correctly.

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

I think the employee health nurse is making extra work for him/herself.

It seems to be extra work for the secretary.

[NICUmiiki, DNP, NP]

We can get ours read by any nurse manager or the house supervisor. The house supervisor is often the most convenient for the night shift.

[vanilla bean]

At my place of work RT places and reads all inpatient PPDs. For staff, placement can be done by employee health or RT and it can be read by EH, RT, or an RN.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

I think this varies by state law and/or facility P&P. In my last facility, any nurse could place and read PPDs. In this facility (different state), Employee Oc Health places them...they can also read them, or there are designated nurses who can read PPDs if EOH is closed.

[applewhitern, BSN, RN]

I have never worked anywhere that someone other than employee health or lab personnel could "read" it~ no matter if it was an RN or not. At my current facility, we don't have an employee health "nurse." We have an employee health "officer," who isn't a nurse, but can read it, and our lab personnel can read it, even though they aren't nurses, either. But we RN's can't! Go figure.