If you spend any length of time in EMS, you will get cuts, scratches, bruises, and even the occassional needle stick. You can be the most careful person in the world, and someone will forget to say something and you will end up getting injured.
I live in a small rural area. Most people would think that would make me less likely to deal with Hep pts, HIV pts etc. Unfortunately, this isn't the case. We have several frequent flyers that are Hep + and HIV+. It's just a fact of life. I make sure I wear ppe. If I've done an IV stick, I take care of my sharps and am very verbal about where they are at all times.
The first stick I got was from a sharp used to do a blood sugar test. It was in the ER and the nursing staff had laid the sharp on the sheet on top of the blanket. I was grabbing up the garbage, didn't know it was there, and got stuck.
It doesn't worry me alot. I know that I am doing the best I can to do to minimize that happening. But it's like any other job....... stuff happens.
