I can officially say that I am burned out and exhausted. I had a Calculus and Chemistry II test on today back to back, and the amount of information that I had to cram put my mind into overload. I spent an entire week studying for these tests, and I feel as if I failed both of them. It is sad to say that I get excited to go to work because that means I do not have to do any school work. I am counting down the days to spring break!!!
Question of the week
I did this assignment last minute because I was unsure about what I would do. I wanted to share with you the REAL thoughts that were streaming through my head when I first read the QOTW. First, I was debating whether or not I would actually pull over. I have heard so many bad stories about the “Good Samaritan” getting sued by the victim or their family because of improper first aid. I do not want to be responsible for anyone’s life, let alone have the guilt on my shoulders if that person did not make it. The death of that person would haunt me for the rest of my life because I would constantly be thinking about what else I could have done. Also, the fact of possibly being infected by HIV from a complete stranger scares me. I am an extremely cautious person, but under stress and panic I am sure to make mistakes because I am not thinking straight. Seeing as my career is in healthcare, I am sure if this situation were to happen I would put all thinking aside and help this victim. I always drive myself crazy thinking about the “what if’s” in life, and I think that if I just kept driving I would always wonder if help ever came to the accident scene.
Did You Know?
If a healthcare is accidently pricked by a needle, the first step is to press the wound under running water for a minimum of 5 minutes and clean with chlorhexidine ("Needle prick injury," 2009). Next, the patient history needs to be looked up to see if they are HIV positive ("Needle prick injury," 2009). If they are, a prophylaxis treatment will be applied to the healthcare worker ("Needle prick injury," 2009). According to wisegeek.com, prophylaxis is a term used to describe measures taken to prevent symptoms of the disease (Grosvenort, 2010). The healthcare worker needs to also take note of the exact day, time, location, and description of the incident.
Needle prick injury. (2009, July 7). Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/17273646/Needle-Prick-Injury
I have to be honest and say that I would not stop if I drove by an accident. First of all, I have always been taught to never get out of my car by myself when no one is around. That is just not safe. Also, I would not want to be that close to anyone's body fluids. They could carry any number of diseases and I find nothing wrong in protecting yourself. I guess people might think I'm selfish but regardless of what I do, it is not my fault that the girl is in that situation. It is the fault of the driver who caused the accident. I agree with you in your concern about being a good samaritan. I realize there are laws that protect good samaritans but if I caused more damage to a person because of my lack of medical knowledge, then it really would be my fault if something happened to that girl.
ReplyDeleteI am also counting down to spring break! Although I won't have school, I will still have plenty of school work to do. I guess it's still good because I can sleep in. I think this question of the week was the best yet because it got us really thinking and practically debating. I think everyone's answers are all over the place, exactly how it might be in our own minds is this actually happened to us. I'm glad your final decision would be to help out. I think it is very honorable.
ReplyDeleteI'll keep my fingers crossed for your Calc and Chemistry test results...I'm sure you'll do fine. Being a cautious person is okay...as long as you do what seems right to you, that's all that matters. We all have to live with ourselves, and like you said, you'd probably drive yourself mad with wondering if anyone else stopped.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post about the needlestick injury...FYI, description of the incident, time, date, and location are all requirements in needlestick injuries due to OSHA requirements, as well as some worker's compensation requirements. So unless you want a big fat fine, that data better be in order. Thanks for the informative post.
PS - Stop worrying about the test results and go feed Rosco. He looks hungry!
Cindy
Please watch the colors you use. Remember I have 63 year old eyes and some of the lighter shades are very difficult to read.
ReplyDeleteIf you drove by you would watch the TV to see if it made the news. And if you found out that there were people who died and perhaps your stopping could have saved their life you still will drive yourself crazy. Better to stop and worry about what might happen after the fact. Could be she is a wealthy young lady and she gives you a large check for saving her life. You just never know.
You will not always know if the patient is HIV positive or not. They are not required to give you that information when they are in the hospital and not every chart will have that info. So treat the wound as if the person is positive. They would have to make a decision to take or not take Post Exposure Prophylaxis. They have 24 hours to decide.