I was stuck twice in one week during gyn surgeries, in fact, the same kind: vaginal hysterectomies. I could say more about it but it wasn't my fault, I was just holding a retractor, and yes, paying attention.
Anyway, I always double glove. Except when needles are not involved, for example, during a D&C. You just get used to the feeling of it. I'm negative so far (six month test coming up in May). I'm not that worried about it, actually, because the needle was solid- and neither patient had any disease.
But I wouldn't have known if the patient & I hadn't been tested.
Inspecting the gloves was interesting. On the first occurance, there was a hole in the outer glove but not in the inner. There was a mark on my hand when I took the second glove off. Fluid was between the gloves: this is evidence of the aforementioned squeegee affect. Pain faded within a few minutes. During the second occurance, there was also a visible hole in the glove and pain persisted for about an hour. It's easy to look for holes in gloves because they enlarge when the glove is stretched.
Both times, the surgeons told me, "she looks clean, don't worry about it." But I did. As a student, I felt strange trying to figure out whether I should press the issue or not. You feel that you should be part of the team and follow the surgeon's direction, you should defer to his/her judgement, you want a good recommendation. But then I remembered my wife- there is someone else involved here, and being cavelier affects not only myself. So I decided, in both instances, to push for the test.
It appears to me, and perhaps this is not quite right, that scrub techs are the stewards of safety and sterility in the operating room. I strongly feel that scrub techs should be charged with always activating the stick protocol when a student is involved, because students have too much at stake and many are scared to stick up for themselves.
Anyway, I'm still going into surgery even with the risk of getting infected. I just have to become a surgeon, and I feel the risks are low enough. By reporting a stick and going to the clinic, you will learn a lot about the risks and management of transmission.