Needle Stick Injury Essay

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Needle stick injuries (NSIs) raise a health hazard amongst many health care workers. NSIs are predominant in nurses due to the fact they work diligently with patients and handle needles regularly. NSIs occur when a needle stick or sharp instrument pierces the skin, causing a break, or when body fluids from the needle stick are expelled and come in contact with an open wound on the skin. There are many blood-borne pathogens that can be transmitted via needle sticks, the most common being hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, and Zika. Despite numerous safety regulations and protocols to prevent NSIs, blood-borne pathogens continue to occur worldwide. According to recent reports from the Exposure Study of Occupational Practice, “bloodborne pathogen …show more content…

They must report their exposure to blood or any bodily fluid contracted following an NSI, evaluate the seriousness of the exposure, and treat them appropriately. The NSI can be reported to the accident insurance doctor. It is essential to note that even if the doctor states that the patient or patients were not infected with any diseases during the time of the NSI a course of injections and blood work should be administered to the healthcare worker to ensure they doesn’t obtain a disease regardless. EPINet (Exposure Prevention Information Network) is currently being introduced worldwide; it is the largest surveillance system that provides a standardized method for recording NSIs and establishes identification of how future injuries of this nature can be prevented (Wicker, Walcher, Wutzler, Stephan, & Marzi, 2012). Having this exposure prevention network is essential to handle NSIs because many times nurses and healthcare workers do not want to report the injury because they may feel embarrassed or think they may be punished for handling a needle or sharp device incorrectly. This should never be the case, mistakes happen and it is very important to address and speak out about these mistakes or incidents so they will not happen again. Since the EPINet system records NSIs and establishes methods of how injuries of this nature may be avoided reporting NSIs will only benefit other healthcare workers from making the same mistakes others have

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