Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...
i need your collective wisdom
my infusion center had slip ups with wearing gloves either putting in or taking out my lines. when I politely reminded i would hear about not having proper size of gloves, i would hear about alcohol being used on a port or any number of such things.
I had a heart to heart with director of nursing area or excellence quality control area and it got a little better, but not always....when not always I speak up. I am tired of speaking up. and this newest thing left me so dumbfounded that I have not formulated a response yet.
this past infusion, I looked up to see my nurse separating a plunger (to be used on me) with one end in her mouth. well, yes not the end that would go in my line but nonetheless in her mouth clenched between her teeth....
what would you have said? I am disheartened. i want to think that there is a standard operating procedure and it is rote to the point of maximum safety for all. I do not want to be an irritant or whiny but here I go having to call the director of excellence....again with anonymity of course. I want to keep things upbeat since i have NO other options. sticking me has become a chore lately vein wise there, I feel vulnerable
do you have any advice?
please keep in mind that i have no other option for any other infusion venue. so please don't tell me to hit the road. I can't. my rheumie knows but has only commiserated, she has admitting privileges there.
thanks
my infusion center had slip ups with wearing gloves either putting in or taking out my lines. when I politely reminded i would hear about not having proper size of gloves, i would hear about alcohol being used on a port or any number of such things.
I had a heart to heart with director of nursing area or excellence quality control area and it got a little better, but not always....when not always I speak up. I am tired of speaking up. and this newest thing left me so dumbfounded that I have not formulated a response yet.
this past infusion, I looked up to see my nurse separating a plunger (to be used on me) with one end in her mouth. well, yes not the end that would go in my line but nonetheless in her mouth clenched between her teeth....
what would you have said? I am disheartened. i want to think that there is a standard operating procedure and it is rote to the point of maximum safety for all. I do not want to be an irritant or whiny but here I go having to call the director of excellence....again with anonymity of course. I want to keep things upbeat since i have NO other options. sticking me has become a chore lately vein wise there, I feel vulnerable
do you have any advice?
please keep in mind that i have no other option for any other infusion venue. so please don't tell me to hit the road. I can't. my rheumie knows but has only commiserated, she has admitting privileges there.
thanks
When dealing with my doctors (and there are a few), it's straight boy talk - no jibber jabber or BS - I think I would have looked at nurse with the thingy in her mouth and said something like "Is your mouth clean?" or "Do we know where your mouth has been?"
I can see that you feel like being between a rock and a hard place and wish I could waltz in there just once and share my sensitivity with her.
Hope your smilin'
Bluedogs2
Lynne
As51% says, the risk of infection is low, but that doesn't mean non-existent, and you do have a lousy track record with infections. It's also just plain gross- in her mouth? Yuck.
racerunner thanks for taking the time. yeah that's correct that there is a one size all box kicking around in the unit, somewhere. i wasn't sure if using the mouth was just a default when rushing and out of hands. I appreciate your patient guidance and your perspective as someone who earns their living as a nurse.
Lynne, that is basically what the others in my rhematoid in person support group have said. constructive feedback they have given in the past, helps those after you. so good point.
thanks for remembering alto that i spend too much time with infections in hospitals :) and maybe I have just gotten infection shy. I am not however, without good etiquette and a thankful attitude. Besides sharing kale in the infusion unit....I have come up with many ways to be kind and generous with everyone who has treated me.
depot
I always wear gloves, but will pop a finger out if I am having trouble finding a vein. I always followup any finger touch with alcohol. Where I work NOT wearing gloves at all all get you one step toward being fired.
You have to be an octopus sometimes. When I run out of hands, I'll put things in my mouth that will never touch you or your IV ports, like ends of syringes (the "plunger") and ends of needles (IV catheter or "angios") especially, because I don't want to set the clean end down. The contamination would come from anything that touches you or your IV/access site port. I have seen doctors do this too.
In a way gloves are just protection for us... gloves aren't sterile at all. Frankly, they're probaly just as bad as your skin. (Unless they're using sterile gloves, and that's like surgery technique to keep those clean.) Thus the alcohol/prep pad.
Opinions will vary, but they're opinions... including mine... unless they have set rules...
Depot