Switch gloves between flu shots?

[ldiot]

When a family/couple comes in for flu shots I've seen pharmacists not switch gloves between the family members. If it is two people who are not associated with each other they switch gloves. Is this acceptable? I know you technically don't have to wear gloves in the first place if you wash your hands but I figure if you would wash hands between patients you should also switch gloves...

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[zelman]

NO!


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[FlavyFlav]

Never.

 

[Monsterdaddy]

The gloves are for your protection not theirs. You don't need to switch or wash in between.

 

[zelman]

The gloves are for your protection not theirs. You don't need to switch or wash in between.

NO!

 

[BenJammin]

Texas law requires me to change gloves after each patient.

 

[wagrxm2000]

Wearing gloves must be a young pharmacist thing.

 

[RxPreceptor]

No you do not even need to wear gloves; however, I always wear gloves & switch between persons (even if family members) simply for maintaining that "professional" image. The general public is not going to know what is necessary & whether the person calls you out for not having proper hygiene or not, he or she will still have an impression of your cleanliness (might just realize your cleanliness or lack of until after the vaccine).

 

[zelman]

No you do not even need to wear gloves; however, I always wear gloves & switch between persons (even if family members) simply for maintaining that "professional" image. The general public is not going to know what is necessary & whether the person calls you out for not having proper hygiene or not, he or she will still have an impression of your cleanliness (might just realize your cleanliness or lack of until after the vaccine).

You can (if company policy allows) not wear gloves. You can wear gloves and change them. You cannot wear gloves and not change them.

 

[zelman]

Wearing gloves must be a young pharmacist thing.

I didn't do it my first year, but then company policy changed, so I do it now. The only advantage to wearing gloves is it's another thing to do to waste 20 seconds while the alcohol prep is drying.

 

[ldiot]

Yeah I'd rather just wash my hands but apparently it's for patient perception. Though I doubt the people asking me to give them the shot through the drive-thru window really care.

I'm guessing the pharmacist just forgot to change gloves or something since she was trying to explain everything to me. My old preceptor didn't even watch me do the shot and never really went through the form with the patient but my current preceptor spends like 5 minutes going through every question with every patient and watches me give every shot. I think a lot of it is unnecessary, I just like to confirm the vaccine and patient name, ask if they have ever had the shot before or if they have every had an allergic reaction to eggs/other vaccines and ask if they have any questions.

 

[RxPreceptor]

http://blogs.hcpro.com/osha/2012/01/ask-the-expert-gloves-for-injections/

 

[87asu]

Texas law requires me to change gloves after each patient.

Not so in my state

The gloves are for your protection not theirs. You don't need to switch or wash in between.

pretty much this. I couldn't image running a flu clinic and having to change gloves for every patient. I'd change periodically (ever 5 probably), but with people flying in one after another, there's just no way you could change between. I'm describing a clinic in which you have someone doing paper work and someone vaccinating. As the person vaccinating, I would check the paper work and record the lot and exp before the stick and move.

I didn't do it my first year, but then company policy changed, so I do it now. The only advantage to wearing gloves is it's another thing to do to waste 20 seconds while the alcohol prep is drying.

wait, you're prepping barehanded then putting on gloves? even at a slow community site i'm gloved before the alcohol and will make small talk while I wait for it to dry.

 

[zelman]

wait, you're prepping barehanded then putting on gloves? even at a slow community site i'm gloved before the alcohol and will make small talk while I wait for it to dry.

Yup. I'm not wasting time. I swab as soon as I confirm the vaccine is appropriate. Then do the gloves, bandage, and needle attachment. By then it's dry.


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[a student]

I usually don't wait for the alcohol to dry, is that bad? So far haven't gotten any complaints.

 

[zelman]

I usually don't wait for the alcohol to dry, is that bad? So far haven't gotten any complaints.

It doesn't kill most bacteria until it dries.

 

[ldiot]

I'm probably guilty of giving it before the alcohol dries completely so I'll fix that. It must not make it hurt any worse though because most of the people tell me that they didn't feel anything at all, though this could be because I look like I'm 16 years old and they assume I'm a student and want to be nice or something.

 

[wagrxm2000]

No you do not even need to wear gloves; however, I always wear gloves & switch between persons (even if family members) simply for maintaining that "professional" image. The general public is not going to know what is necessary & whether the person calls you out for not having proper hygiene or not, he or she will still have an impression of your cleanliness (might just realize your cleanliness or lack of until after the vaccine).

No gloves actually gives the impression your more comfortable with the patient. I've never been asked where my gloves were or if I could put them on. They probably don't even notice.

 

[FlavyFlav]

Not so in my state
pretty much this. I couldn't image running a flu clinic and having to change gloves for every patient. I'd change periodically (ever 5 probably), but with people flying in one after another, there's just no way you could change between. I'm describing a clinic in which you have someone doing paper work and someone vaccinating. As the person vaccinating, I would check the paper work and record the lot and exp before the stick and move.

It's company policy to change gloves between each patient, no exceptions, for us. I recently did a clinic and was able to do 90 patients in 2 hours with one person helping get the forms filled out and was able to change gloves between each person. It really doesn't waste more than a few seconds of time.

I don't do it, but one of my friends will wear two pair of gloves. One he keeps on constantly, one he changes between patients so he doesn't keep having to alcohol his hands over and over.

 

[CUninja]

On the chance that one patient has a skin infection such as MRSA, and you give it to another patient, you can be held personally liable for the costs of treating the infection, or worse, a hospital stay. It would be extremely easy to prove that not changing gloves while giving an injection is outside the accepted standard of practice (just ask the Joint Commission.)

Is not changing gloves worth that risk???

 

[lord999]

On the chance that one patient has a skin infection such as MRSA, and you give it to another patient, you can be held personally liable for the costs of treating the infection, or worse, a hospital stay. It would be extremely easy to prove that not changing gloves while giving an injection is outside the accepted standard of practice (just ask the Joint Commission.)

Is not changing gloves worth that risk???

Agreed.
http://www.who.int/injection_safety/6card_gloves_web.pdf?ua=1

Although, I guess you all don't deal with Tuberculosis patients at all?! You realize that the PPE rules date from the old Title 42 laws on TB and general infection control.

https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/hospital/hazards/tb/tb.html

So those rules for gloves and such, you don't get the option in an institutional setting to do it barehanded. OSHA requires workers in an institution that has contact with TB to wear gloves and other required personal protective equipment (PPE) to prevent the transmission of TB to other patients (which is also why you change gloves between patients at a minimum, but also change your gloves when you are dealing with an open lesion so you don't cross-contaminate other areas).

 

[PharmDBro2017]

I always put gloves on to give me another 15-30seconds of warming the vial in my hand. People don't feel it nearly as much that way (it seems).

 

[txpharmguy]

If vaccinating a family, I typically don't change gloves unless I draw blood. Otherwise, I change between patients