maybemaybenot
Posts: 2817
Joined: 9/22/2005 Status: offline
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General reply to no one specific: I really think people are being extrememly hard on DFB, sorry I do. She had an error in judgement. Yes, it *may*, repeat * may *, have a consequence, but it is extremely small. We don't even know if she touched the feces, let alone got some in an open sore on her hands/arm. It's very hard for a healthy person to contract it and her chances of having spread it to another resident are slim to none, as she scrubbed her hands and arms after changing the resident diaper. She isn't Typhoid Mary here. She isn't a irresponsible, negligent person, as a result of her mistake either, IMO. It's C Diff for goodness sake, not hepatitis or HIV. Yes, I know it * could * have been but it's not, thank goodness for her. There is an old saying I learned when I first got out of nursing school : "Nurses eat their young " and sadly some are doing just that. She said she didn't know what C Diff was, she said the employer did not provide adequate PPE, she said the infection was not known at the time. I suspect if she had known the residents waste was contaminated she would not have acted with her bare hands. And, btw, washing your hands with soap and H2Oshould always be done after caring for a patient with C Diff, even when wearing gloves as soap and H2O kill the spores and antimicrobial foams/gels do not. So altho she did not know it, her actions were the most appropriate given the situation. I also suspect she learned a huge, very hard lesson. The girl is concerned, she's scared she may have contacted a disease she doesn't know much about or spread it to some one else. Perhaps a little empathy and education is more appropriate than a battering ? I seriously doubt she would get fired for this situation. I cannot imagine it, after 30+ years in the nursing field, I really just don't see it amounting to a termination situation. Inservice and education, * perhaps * a warning, but I think that is a bit over the top too, since the company she works for actually IS negligent. They did not suppy the appropriate equipment needed to perform her job. DFB could be a real A Hole and report it to OSHA or DPH. But I don't think that's what she's looking for, I think she was looking for guidance and got a scolding. I think some of you need to really take a good hard look at yourselves and ask yourself if you have ever broken universal precautions. I will raise my hand and say, Yes, I have. It's not my practice and it's not my habit, I don't even use that antimicrobial gel/wash. I use soap and H2O. But there has been that rare emergency situation when I reacted quickly. And I find it hard to fathom that anyone who has been in the field more than a few years or has worked outside of a very very controlled area hasn't, on at least one occasion, " slipped up ". I know I have felt worse and beat myself more than anyone could on the couple of occasions it has happened and I am grateful I had supportive co workers and managers. mbmbn
< Message edited by maybemaybenot -- 2/21/2011 4:21:29 PM >
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Tolerance of evil is suicide.- NYC Firefighter When tolerance is not reciprocated, tolerance becomes surrender.
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