News today that the Texas nurse Nina Pham is doing well. That is great to hear. She has been in all nurses thoughts the last couple of days.
It feels like things are starting to move in a good direction with caring for ebola patients. Meetings with infection control are scheduled in my department. I wish they were mandatory.
The CDC is starting to recognize that, NO, nurses and other hospital personel are not prepared for this. Their protocols are very nice but we need practical experience with equipment and practical instructions on how to care for the patients. I still think that the government should make it mandatory for all hospitals to do this. You can't trust hospitals to do it. Maybe its cynical but its realistic.
The CDC will dispatch an emergency response team within hours of a patient being positive for ebola that can help with all the practical aspects of ebola. Great idea.
It still scares me as a person who works in a department that will have first contact with the patient. There won't be anyone to help us initially. The thing about all of it is: I welcome training, but we are all human and do the best we can, but sometimes things happen that we don't intend and could contaminate ourselves. In the ER, we have to rely on each other and watch each other very closely when putting the isolation gear on and off. Fortunately, apparently the plan, at least in my hospital is to do little with the patient in ER. Hopefully that will be possible.
2 comments:
Why should the meetings be mandatory? Shouldn't your co-workers want to go and speak with infection control if you are concerned about catching it yourself? Why should your employer have to mandate you to protect your own life and that of your family?
Anonymous said...Why should the meetings be mandatory?
Because it costs time and money.
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