An honest mistake?
Healthcare workers are now giving the GAD (Geithner and Daschle) excuse. A mistake. They've been reusing needles and syringes, according to a story in the WSJ today. I guess we haven't heard much about it since it wasn't AIDS, just
Hepatitis C.
"It isn't that health-care professionals have malicious intent or a desire to shortchange the patient, but they just aren't thinking through and understanding how they are putting the patient at risk."
And that was said by a victim of hepatitis C. Wonder what excuse the administrators of the clinics give? And honest mistake? I didn't know? Well, it was only reused once or twice? Will this hurt my confirmation for Surgeon General?
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2 comments:
Nonsense. Reusing a needle or syringe is not a mistake it is criminal. If I saw another nurse reusing a needle on different patients I would report them to the board and inform the patient so they could have the appropriate testing.
Reusing a syring and needle on the same patient is allowed (although most nurses don't do it) it is possible to fill a syringe of flush and flush the same patient's IV a few times, more common is giving a few mg of a prefilled medication (morphine demerol something like that generally) and then assessing the effect and perhaps giving a few more - titrating the dose, but that is done over a short time, and the prefilled syringe goes into IV tubing of one patient only!
If I see anyone reusing a needle or syringe not only will I report them to the board but I'd probably hit them before they could get it into the second patient.
That is a criminal assualt and violation of the nurse practice act. Those people deserve emergency suspensions of their licenses.
Oh and the WSJ article is http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2009/02/04/beware-of-reused-syringes-when-you-get-a-shot/
I don't know how many male nurse librarians there are, but I'm sure you are the best informed.
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