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I accidentally stuck myself with a dirty needle, now what?
I accidentally stuck myself with a dirty needle, now what?
It wasn’t the most fun way to end an overnight shift yesterday. After I finished placing my last epidural, I was cleaning up my tray when I mishandled the used epidural needle and punctured the glove of my right index finger. Blood started welling up inside the glove. I immediately ripped it off and poured betadine all over my finger. I quickly had a discussion with the patient and she confirmed that she didn’t have any blood-borne diseases of which she knew. However, to be safe, she agreed to have her blood drawn and tested.
Times like this remind me how fragile our careers and lives are. One careless mistake or accident can have lifelong consequences. As doctors, we’re focused on helping others in harm or pain, but we forget sometimes that we put ourselves and our families at risk in the process.
So of course my thoughts immediately turned to my family - are they ultimately protected financially if something happens to me?
Here are a few things to consider:
Circling back to the story, I checked the patient’s records this afternoon and thankfully, everything was negative as she stated. I made it through this situation unscathed, but I shouldn’t let it come to something like this to make sure everything is in order.
Hope you’ve thought these things through as well. If not, today is a good day to start.
Oh and I made sure to give my wife and kids an extra tight hug tonight. Don’t forget to do that as well...
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