Student Nurse Selection

Re: Student Nurse Selection

Julian Earl — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 09:57:33 GMT

I am told by my nurses that they are taught to wear gloves even when handling tablets that are in foil. Yet some of them refuse to wear masks when involved in dentals.

Re: Student Nurse Selection

Martin Atkinson — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:55:06 GMT

[quote user="Malcolm Ness"]

Try leaving the seat up and practice your aim!

[/quote]

Ha ha. Did you read my article in Vet Times then?

Re: Student Nurse Selection

Gerry Henry — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:42:03 GMT

[quote user="Hannah Wynne Richards"]

Seriously anti-discrimination and other employment protection legislation has swung so far in favour of the employee, that I'm sure it's a factor inthe reluctance of individuals to take on practice ownership responsibilities-and the same thing applies to lots of other small businesses-which is part of the reason for the dearth of craftsmen-no one is prepared to take on apprentices

Wynne

[/quote]

Without a doubt; we never recruit 'cold' i.e. we only offer employment to people we know; as with most things, the law of unintended consequences works against the very people it was intended to help. This will be the last year we take nurse trainees, too much hassle for no return.

Re: Student Nurse Selection

Hannah Wynne Richards — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 09:41:53 GMT

Wynne

Re: Student Nurse Selection

Malcolm Ness — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 07:48:57 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]One of my nurses is reluctant to clean up piss without a full biological warfare suit because she doesn't like the smell of it and 'there may be germs in it'! You just can't get the staff these days[/quote]

Try leaving the seat up and practice your aim!

Re: Student Nurse Selection

Ian Mostyn — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 22:55:49 GMT

[quote user="Evelyn Barbour-Hill"]Because nobody asked?

[/quote]

Martin is correct - you are not allowed to ask about any health issues during an interview or even after a job offer. You can't ask how many sick days they have had or any medical treatment planned. Rightly or wrongly it is discriminatory. You can always suggest she wears gloves, as long as she doesn't have a latex allergy as well. I am allergic to rabbits, something that has developed since I started work. It makes life difficult as we see a lot of rabbits but piriton helps and I manage just fine.

Ian

Re: Student Nurse Selection

Catherine Hemingway — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 19:31:44 GMT

I'm a vet and clinical coach and am allergic to penicillin. I also have 2 trainee nurses who are allergic to penicillin. We all wear gloves when handling it and try not to stab ourselves with any associated needles! We also have 2 vets at our practice that are allergic to rabbits so the other vets see them where possible or they dose up with anti-histamines. There is always a way around these things

Re: Student Nurse Selection

Martin Atkinson — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 19:24:48 GMT

Because you cannot discriminate against someone on the basis of a disability. In any case I think you're over-reacting Gerry, it is after all only one very small part of her job. One of my nurses is reluctant to clean up piss without a full biological warfare suit because she doesn't like the smell of it and 'there may be germs in it'! You just can't get the staff these days

Re: Student Nurse Selection

Hannah Wynne Richards — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:29:33 GMT

Because a lot of senior people in the colleges have no practice management experience

Wynne

Re: Student Nurse Selection

Marie Kubiak — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:58:45 GMT

I would suggest to her that she should not eat the tablet herself but use gloves to give to to the cat. If she actually has a severe allergy then you need to draw up a proper risk assessment for her and get her doctor to advise on this. It's not something that prevents her doing her job but there need to be measures to make sure she can do her duties safely but fully.

I'm allergic to cats/dogs/horses, should I have been excluded from training? Or perhaps been given a bye that involved me skipping all parts of the course that involved fluffy things on grounds of my health...

Re: Student Nurse Selection

Gareth Dowdeswell — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:46:15 GMT

[quote user="Gerry Henry"]

Just asked our (1st year) nurse trainee to pill a very nice in patient cat (she's watched the 3rd year do it TID every day this week). 'Can't' came the apologetic reply, 'I'm allergic to penicillin'.

Forgive me for being 'allergist' but why are our colleges admitting students who are allergic to the most comonly used antibiotic in general practice?

[/quote]

I only found out I was allergic to penicillin as a 4th year vet student after a cat scratch on EMS, should I have stopped my training then? Admittedly it hasn't occured to me not to handle tablets, I'm just aware that I should be a bit more careful for any needle sticks from Synulox. Given the variation in how severe allergic reactions can be I don't think it'd be practical to filter applicants.

Re: Student Nurse Selection

Malcolm Ness — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:18:14 GMT

[quote user="Gerry Henry"]I take all your points but my point was why admit someone to a hugely oversubscribed course when there is a possibility she can't handle a staple such as penicillin nor animals that are currently on it.[/quote]

??? because VN training has got nothing to do with training people to work in veterinary practice and everything to do with training companies claiming funding.

Re: Student Nurse Selection

Alan Tevendale — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:12:12 GMT

I reacted to penicillin as a baby and officially have been allergic to it all my life. Never seem to have had a problem at all. I suspect many allergic people would be in the same boat as me and are not at any great risk. I have to admit that I was never asked about allergies when applying to vet school - maybe we should be asking such questions.

I asked my GP if there was any way of assessing the severity of an allergy such as this and was told that he knew nothing about how that could be tested.

If I had problems with it I wouldn't be too worried anyway - always got some adrenaline nearby for anaesthetic emergencies.

Re: Student Nurse Selection

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:04:21 GMT

[quote user="Gerry Henry"]

I take all your points but my point was why admit someone to a hugely oversubscribed course when there is a possibility she can't handle a staple such as penicillin nor animals that are currently on it.

[/quote]

Because nobody asked?

Re: Student Nurse Selection

Gerry Henry — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:59:21 GMT

Re: Student Nurse Selection

Bob Russell — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 11:40:59 GMT

Get her to give a Smartie to check her pilling skills!

If she is extremely allergic then she should not be giving penicillins and might be at real risk (a bit like someone with a peanut allergy working in a biscuit factory!) and needs to decide if the risk is worth it! Is she really allergic or has she just had reactions to oral antibiotics?

Mild reactions to penicillins wear gloves! Perhaps get her GP to assess the real risk to her. If it is high you are running a risk continuing to employ her but I suspect the genuine risk through occasional skin contact would be small.

We keep a book with emergency contact information and it includes a box for allergies!

Re: Student Nurse Selection

Mark Hedberg — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 11:38:05 GMT

Gloves?