exposure to blood/body fluids during school?

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hi. i'm starting as a p1 next month and i'm wondering how often i'll be in situations where i could potentially be exposed to blood of patients (via needle sticks or however). i heard that someone was stuck recently at the school i will be attending and, not knowing the details, it's got me wondering about the risks of exposure.

i know it varies based on the school's curriculum, but i'm looking for personal experiences here. how often are you in that type of contact with patients during the classroom years, and how often are you administering/testing with needles during the final year? i am under the impression that it's just a handful of times, but now i'm curious about whether that's true. on hospital rotations, do you stick to the pharmacy or do you spend time with patients?

i will probably be in retail when i get out, and while i know that it's still a possibility there, the risk seems much smaller (supposing that i am not administering vaxes as a pharmacist) than while in school.

 

[dezokitty]

That'll probably depend more on your individual experience, as you've said... Personally, I've seen patients, but not in a setting where I would be exposed to their bodily fluids. In the hospital, as an intern/tech, most likely you'd be staying in the pharmacy most of the time, except during deliveries (and then you usually just go to nurses stations). On rotations or other learning experiences, you might go on rounds or see surgeries and stuff, but so far I haven't heard of people getting in situations where they are in danger of being exposed to bodily fluids. In retail, you may get the occasional patient who shows you some sort of bizarre wound and asks you what it is and how to treat it... But that's usually not too risky either. The IV room is probably the most likely place for a pharm student to get stuck, and USUALLY the if you're stuck by a needle it hasn't touched a patient's bodily fluids. The biggest risk is if you are in the IV room using a blood product, which may include IgG, antibodies used for chemo (such as bevacizumab), etc. In that case, if you were stuck with a needle exposed to these products, you would have to go to the ER. However, because people know about these risks, they usually take extra precaution with these medications. Oh, and if you're in a state that allows pharmacists and/or pharmacy students to immunize, you may end up dealing people and blood products if you want to vaccinate people. Soooooo in summary, I would say the risk of exposure to blood products is not very high for a pharmacy student.

 

[pinkyrx]

This is really going to depend on your school specifically, but we only had to deal with needles on two separate occassions during the didactic portion of our curriculum. Now, when you're on rotations, depending on what rotations you take, you'll likely be exposed to patients all the time. There are some rotations that are actually in the hospital pharmacy, but I think the majority you will be out on the floor with the patients actually working directly with them. Again, it depends on your rotation schedule.

I'm guessing if you have a huge needle-phobia that you can avoid that stuff for the most part. For me, I like giving vaccinations... it's the receiving them that gets me weak in the knees.

 

[pancreas]

As others have said, it will depend on your school. However once you start rotations you may see quite a bit of blood/bodily fluids. If you do an anticoagulation clinic for your ambulatory rotation, you'll be seeing blood a LOT, and you'll be exposed to blood a lot. On most of your other rotations it probably shouldn't be much of an issue.

 

[njac]

I had a bleeder during a flu shot clinic. but that was 1 out of like 50.

and I had gloves on.

 

[button]

thanks for the replies.

i don't really mind needles, particularly if i'm not on the receiving end, but then again pharmacy appeals to me because it's not such intimate contact as other health care providers give.

are anticoagulation clinics found all over, or are they mostly in bigger areas?

njac, how much blood are you talking? and was it difficult to stop the bleeding/what did you do?

 

[njac]

anticoag clinics are a relatively specialized job - if you don't want to work in one you don't have to. In a retail setting you might show patients how to use their glucometer and inject insulin, but it shouldn't be too bad.

As far as the vaccination blood bath - It was a very fast, thin trickle. In the time it took me to get some more gauze it was almost to his elbow but it was very thin, so not much volume. once I put some pressure on it the bleeding stopped and I just had to clean up the mess.

If I were more coordinated and could have had the gauze right there as I took out the needle it probably would've prevented the mess. But I'm a spaz.

 

[FruitFly]

I've been exposed to a lot of body fluids. Mostly at parties...

 

[FruitFly]

For me, I like giving vaccinations... it's the receiving them that gets me weak in the knees.

That's not fair... Just not fair... heh

 

[ItsOverZyvox]

Post exposure prophylaxis for HIV and/or Hep B should be effective...and Hep C is rarely an occupational hazard.

But you should get Hep B vaccination. So with the risk of HIV occupational transmission, I wouldn't be too paranoid.

Just be careful.

 

[GatorRxGirl]

You get exposure to your classmates' body fluid but that's usually till 1/2 way through P1 year when everyone starts hooking up.

 

[njac]

You get exposure to your classmates' body fluid but that's usually till 1/2 way through P1 year when everyone starts hooking up.

hahahahaha.

that was beginning of P1 at our school.

thank god that settled down...