i came home late from work this morning.
i was going to give report to a float coming from another unit. when she found out that one of the patients i was givng her was being treated for meningitis, she said she will not take the patient because she is 20 weeks pregnant and she already arranged with staffing that she will never be given a patient on isolation. according to her, she had a miscarriage caused by taking care of an isolated patient and she will not risk her baby this time.
i totally understand her sentiment, so i said okay. what made me uncomfortable was the way she said all this. she had this condescending, demanding tone that almost made me feel like i was being questioned for not thinking about her situation. thing is, we don’t even know who the floats are until they get to our unit. most of the times, we just know what unit they’re coming from, and we are not psychics to know if they are pregnant. i shrugged my negative reaction off, because yes, i understand pregnancy hormones like i understand how chocolate cakes melt in my mouth.
anyway, when the charge nurse arranged for a switch in list, she was again given a patient with VRE of the sputum (a case that most if not all of our pregnant staff have been taking care of), she then raised her voice, i assume to evoke a sense of irritation, and said, i quote: “i will not take ANY isolation patient, and if you want i will call staffing to fix THIS.”
i have worked during my two pregnancies. since our unit has always been swamped with isolated patients (VRE, MRSA, scabies, lice, meningitis, suspected TB, etc), i found it unfair not to take “safe” isolated patients for nine months when everybody has 2 or 3 isolations. i did this after my OB told me that there really was no study done that concluded being exposed to isolated patients exposed fetuses at risk. she told me it would be best to stay away from isolated patients as much as possible, but if unable, just make sure i strictly observe the precautions. which i did, and both my kids are okay. and so are all the kids delivered by my coworkers who all took care of a lot of isolated patients.
this of course 5 years ago, and i am not updated with he new studies about the subject, so i don’t know anything. to be clear, i am not questioning the fact that she wanted to be excused from taking care of an isolated patient. what i was uncomfortable with was the attitude. it would have been easier if she was a little nicer in expressing her request. i have always believed in “it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.” i mean, she may have the right to demand a privilege because she was pregnant, but would it hurt to be nice about it? i just thought there was no reason to raise her voice and appear all snappy about it because after all, she is still asking for some sort of a favor. or i could be wrong.
anyway, i almost forgot the question: i want to know what any of you know about the whole isolation-affecting-unborn-babies issue. what is new out there, and what do you think about pregnant nurses being exposed to isolated patients?
i apologize i had to dump this question to you guys, but i have no time to research. i’m a few minutes away from getting ready for my third and last shift before i go on a 6 days off. we’ll be away for three nights, and yes, i’m easy, because really, i’m drooling with excitement.
i just have to get this question out there.
THANK YOU!
i came home late from work this morning.
i was going to give report to a float coming from another unit. when she found out that one of the patients i was givng her was being treated for meningitis, she said she will not take the patient because she is 20 weeks pregnant and she already arranged with staffing that she will never be given a patient on isolation. according to her, she had a miscarriage caused by taking care of an isolated patient and she will not risk her baby this time.
i totally understand her sentiment, so i said okay. what made me uncomfortable was the way she said all this. she had this condescending, demanding tone that almost made me feel like i was being questioned for not thinking about her situation. thing is, we don’t even know who the floats are until they get to our unit. most of the times, we just know what unit they’re coming from, and we are not psychics to know if they are pregnant. i shrugged my negative reaction off, because yes, i understand pregnancy hormones like i understand how chocolate cakes melt in my mouth.
anyway, when the charge nurse arranged for a switch in list, she was again given a patient with VRE of the sputum (a case that most if not all of our pregnant staff have been taking care of), she then raised her voice, i assume to evoke a sense of irritation, and said, i quote: “i will not take ANY isolation patient, and if you want i will call staffing to fix THIS.”
i have worked during my two pregnancies. since our unit has always been swamped with isolated patients (VRE, MRSA, scabies, lice, meningitis, suspected TB, etc), i found it unfair not to take “safe” isolated patients for nine months when everybody has 2 or 3 isolations. i did this after my OB told me that there really was no study done that concluded being exposed to isolated patients exposed fetuses at risk. she told me it would be best to stay away from isolated patients as much as possible, but if unable, just make sure i strictly observe the precautions. which i did, and both my kids are okay. and so are all the kids delivered by my coworkers who all took care of a lot of isolated patients.
this of course 5 years ago, and i am not updated with he new studies about the subject, so i don’t know anything. to be clear, i am not questioning the fact that she wanted to be excused from taking care of an isolated patient. what i was uncomfortable with was the attitude. it would have been easier if she was a little nicer in expressing her request. i have always believed in “it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.” i mean, she may have the right to demand a privilege because she was pregnant, but would it hurt to be nice about it? i just thought there was no reason to raise her voice and appear all snappy about it because after all, she is still asking for some sort of a favor. or i could be wrong.
anyway, i almost forgot the question: i want to know what any of you know about the whole isolation-affecting-unborn-babies issue. what is new out there, and what do you think about pregnant nurses being exposed to isolated patients?
i apologize i had to dump this question to you guys, but i have no time to research. i’m a few minutes away from getting ready for my third and last shift before i go on a 6 days off. we’ll be away for three nights, and yes, i’m easy, because really, i’m drooling with excitement.
i just have to get this question out there.
THANK YOU!