On Being Aware
I was driving back from a meeting at work this morning and was noticing how beautiful the fall leaves and trees were on Meridian Street in Indy; a couple of weeks ago I had noticed that the leaves were beginning to change, but now they are beautifully colored with reds, oranges, and yellows like you can hardly imagine. Meridian Street looked as beautiful as I'd ever seen it, and I wondered when it suddenly changed. I've been driving up and down that street for days and wondered if I had been so busy with other thoughts and focusing on getting to and from places that I forgot to look around at what was happening around me. I just wasn't aware of all of the beauty surrounding me, and in a tiny moment today, I suddenly was.
This is how I feel about national news right now, too. I will be completely honest with you: I don't keep up with the news. I find politics to be depressing and cut-throat and the media to portray everything with extreme exaggeration. To be very honest, most of what I know regarding world and national events is from social media. I don't read the newspaper or check CNN daily, and I only occasionally look into local news online. But at some point recently, I realized I needed to wake up and be aware of what is going on in the world.
And more specifically, I needed to be aware of what was going on in healthcare. Most of you probably know about this whole Ebola Virus outbreak that's going on right now. Many people are scared and panicked and outraged by it all. The sad thing is, I'm realizing how American this is of us. Ebola isn't some disease that was eradicated and just popped up on the world radar after years and years of lying dormant. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has been going on since December of 2013, and outbreaks in other parts of Africa have been occurring in places like the Democratic Republic of the Congo for quite a number of years. The disease has taken the lives of many in these countries, yet the handful of cases here in the US have us all ready to protest the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the powers that be who aren't doing what we think they should be doing.
I'll admit to my fear of this disease. It's unknown and new to us here in the US, and we aren't really sure what to make of it. The CDC recommendations for how to prevent its spread are different from those of the World Health Organization (WHO), hospitals aren't sure if they're using the right personal protective equipment for their employees, and nurses are calling in sick daily in Dallas to avoid having to confront the scary disease.
I've spent probably 2-3 hours each day this week reading about Ebola. I've read the CDC recommendations and the WHO recommendations; I've read the American Nurses' Association's e-mails and articles about best practice for nurses, and I've read the media posts and blogs that people have written either in defense of Texas Presbyterian or in critique of the hospital.
What I'm finding is that it's simply a matter of being aware and being vigilant in promoting best practice. I read a blog that several nurse-friends have shared regarding this, and at first I clapped my hands and thought "YES! This is true!" In the blog, the nurse tells a story about how they held the bloody hand of an HIV patient without gloves on. I liked this quote from the blog:
"You don’t want a world of RNs who will walk past you in the restaurant as you choke because she doesn’t have personal protective equipment. Or the one who won’t apply pressure to your child’s wound after a car accident for lack of gloves. You want us to be careful and yet, willing to take risks on your behalf."
I see the point here. And I think this is true. However, I must disagree with the basic point for several reasons. I will not hold the bloody hand of an HIV positive patient without gloves on. I will not hold the hand of a C.diff positive patient without gloves on. I will not hold the hand of a MRSA positive patient without gloves on.
Not because I'm not a compassionate nurse. Not because I think they are deadly or disgusting or because I am scared of them or label them by their disease. I will not do these things because it is unethical for me to do so, and it is against my hospital's policy for me to do so. In a court of law, my hospital would not stand behind me if I tried to explain why I did not wear gloves when in contact with a patient with an infectious disease; they would cite their policy on infection control and reference the points where it explains personal protective equipment that personnel should wear when in contact with a patient with certain conditions. I think there is a big difference in applying pressure to a wound at the scene of a car accident out in public without gloves on and holding someone's hand in the hospital where it is part of my job expectations for me to maintain infection control and standard precautions.
I will not do any of these things because I do not want to then walk into the room of an immunocompromised patient and pass along the germs to them. I will not do any of these things because I do not want to bring MRSA home to my husband when he has an open cut on his leg. Someday when we have children, I will do not these things because I don't want my newborn to be exposed to c.diff and have diarrhea for weeks that causes dehydration and electrolyte imbalances.
To be clear, I am not saying that the two nurses who are now testing positive for Ebola did these things. I know all of the complications of infection control, of donning and removing personal protective equipment in a hospital room. I do not blame these nurses because I do not know their circumstances-- did their hospital's infection control department tell them to wear one type of protective equipment that proved to be wrong? Did they run in real quick to give the patient something and forget to put on all of their gear? Did they accidentally brush their scrubs with the contaminated gloves/gown/mask when removing them?
I think it's important to recognize Ebola and to know what's going on with it, and I think it's important to be proactive, especially if you work in healthcare. Be aware of the signs and symptoms, vague as they may seem (hello, seasonal influenza. You sure do look a lot like Ebola in the US this year), and know what you should be doing to help prevent the spread of this and other diseases.
Wash your hands. Scrub them while singing Happy Birthday and know that it's all for good measure, for your other patients and for your family and your own personal well-being. Read articles and recommendations with a sharp mind and a critical eye. Just because something is printed somewhere doesn't mean that it's true.
That's all I'll say about Ebola for now. I will live with faith and not in fear, and I will practice nursing to the best ability that I am able to. Please pray for those in healthcare who are on the front lines right now, it's a frightening place to be for many. But do not feed into the scare tactics of the media. They want to point fingers and make you feel like you should wear a full body suit everywhere you go, but know that this is all being presented to you by people who do not know what they are talking about. Awareness and education, those are the things to focus on when panic arises.
Lots of love and sorry to post on something so random. It's been close to my heart lately as a nurse.
Love,
C.
An addendum: This article is a great read about Ebola. I find it to be written by someone very level-headed and who did their research to avoid scare tactics that other journalists and news broadcasters are employing. The Indy Channel
This is how I feel about national news right now, too. I will be completely honest with you: I don't keep up with the news. I find politics to be depressing and cut-throat and the media to portray everything with extreme exaggeration. To be very honest, most of what I know regarding world and national events is from social media. I don't read the newspaper or check CNN daily, and I only occasionally look into local news online. But at some point recently, I realized I needed to wake up and be aware of what is going on in the world.
And more specifically, I needed to be aware of what was going on in healthcare. Most of you probably know about this whole Ebola Virus outbreak that's going on right now. Many people are scared and panicked and outraged by it all. The sad thing is, I'm realizing how American this is of us. Ebola isn't some disease that was eradicated and just popped up on the world radar after years and years of lying dormant. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has been going on since December of 2013, and outbreaks in other parts of Africa have been occurring in places like the Democratic Republic of the Congo for quite a number of years. The disease has taken the lives of many in these countries, yet the handful of cases here in the US have us all ready to protest the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the powers that be who aren't doing what we think they should be doing.
I'll admit to my fear of this disease. It's unknown and new to us here in the US, and we aren't really sure what to make of it. The CDC recommendations for how to prevent its spread are different from those of the World Health Organization (WHO), hospitals aren't sure if they're using the right personal protective equipment for their employees, and nurses are calling in sick daily in Dallas to avoid having to confront the scary disease.
I've spent probably 2-3 hours each day this week reading about Ebola. I've read the CDC recommendations and the WHO recommendations; I've read the American Nurses' Association's e-mails and articles about best practice for nurses, and I've read the media posts and blogs that people have written either in defense of Texas Presbyterian or in critique of the hospital.
What I'm finding is that it's simply a matter of being aware and being vigilant in promoting best practice. I read a blog that several nurse-friends have shared regarding this, and at first I clapped my hands and thought "YES! This is true!" In the blog, the nurse tells a story about how they held the bloody hand of an HIV patient without gloves on. I liked this quote from the blog:
"You don’t want a world of RNs who will walk past you in the restaurant as you choke because she doesn’t have personal protective equipment. Or the one who won’t apply pressure to your child’s wound after a car accident for lack of gloves. You want us to be careful and yet, willing to take risks on your behalf."
I see the point here. And I think this is true. However, I must disagree with the basic point for several reasons. I will not hold the bloody hand of an HIV positive patient without gloves on. I will not hold the hand of a C.diff positive patient without gloves on. I will not hold the hand of a MRSA positive patient without gloves on.
Not because I'm not a compassionate nurse. Not because I think they are deadly or disgusting or because I am scared of them or label them by their disease. I will not do these things because it is unethical for me to do so, and it is against my hospital's policy for me to do so. In a court of law, my hospital would not stand behind me if I tried to explain why I did not wear gloves when in contact with a patient with an infectious disease; they would cite their policy on infection control and reference the points where it explains personal protective equipment that personnel should wear when in contact with a patient with certain conditions. I think there is a big difference in applying pressure to a wound at the scene of a car accident out in public without gloves on and holding someone's hand in the hospital where it is part of my job expectations for me to maintain infection control and standard precautions.
I will not do any of these things because I do not want to then walk into the room of an immunocompromised patient and pass along the germs to them. I will not do any of these things because I do not want to bring MRSA home to my husband when he has an open cut on his leg. Someday when we have children, I will do not these things because I don't want my newborn to be exposed to c.diff and have diarrhea for weeks that causes dehydration and electrolyte imbalances.
To be clear, I am not saying that the two nurses who are now testing positive for Ebola did these things. I know all of the complications of infection control, of donning and removing personal protective equipment in a hospital room. I do not blame these nurses because I do not know their circumstances-- did their hospital's infection control department tell them to wear one type of protective equipment that proved to be wrong? Did they run in real quick to give the patient something and forget to put on all of their gear? Did they accidentally brush their scrubs with the contaminated gloves/gown/mask when removing them?
I think it's important to recognize Ebola and to know what's going on with it, and I think it's important to be proactive, especially if you work in healthcare. Be aware of the signs and symptoms, vague as they may seem (hello, seasonal influenza. You sure do look a lot like Ebola in the US this year), and know what you should be doing to help prevent the spread of this and other diseases.
Wash your hands. Scrub them while singing Happy Birthday and know that it's all for good measure, for your other patients and for your family and your own personal well-being. Read articles and recommendations with a sharp mind and a critical eye. Just because something is printed somewhere doesn't mean that it's true.
That's all I'll say about Ebola for now. I will live with faith and not in fear, and I will practice nursing to the best ability that I am able to. Please pray for those in healthcare who are on the front lines right now, it's a frightening place to be for many. But do not feed into the scare tactics of the media. They want to point fingers and make you feel like you should wear a full body suit everywhere you go, but know that this is all being presented to you by people who do not know what they are talking about. Awareness and education, those are the things to focus on when panic arises.
Lots of love and sorry to post on something so random. It's been close to my heart lately as a nurse.
Love,
C.
An addendum: This article is a great read about Ebola. I find it to be written by someone very level-headed and who did their research to avoid scare tactics that other journalists and news broadcasters are employing. The Indy Channel
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