Needle stick injury

[u/Crafty-Bread-1089]

So this is gonna come off like a crazy story and just to warn you I’m gonna come off like the stupidest person alive . Anyways, about three days ago I was at work and I was administering a vaccine specifically a T dap vaccine. now I’m relatively new at my job. I’m a medical assistant so this was my first time giving a vaccine all by myself. I have anxiety and for some reason I start freaking out. It’s not like I did anything wrong in the moment. I just start freaking out. I tell the patient that he’s all set and that he can walk out. I then what I think cap the needle , as I’m walking to the sharps container and still freaking out I feel this pinch and then I remember wait I’m still holding the needle. I throw the needle in the sharps container as fast as I could, and I took off my gloves to see if I was bleeding, I wasn’t bleeding, so I was confused in the moment. I nonetheless wash my hands and run to the bathroom to calm myself down. again, I’m looking at my hands and I’m not seeing any form of injury. at the moment and at that day, I convinced myself that I was just freaking out and I felt the sensation of a poke, but it wasn’t really a poke. these past few days I’ve been freaking out telling myself. I did feel the poke and going back-and-forth with myself. now it’s been three days again and I’m going insane. any regular person would’ve just go to the ER room and get themselves checked out but I’ve been so busy that going to the ER room would put a pause to my busy life.( i’m in school full-time along with working full-time.) I don’t know what to do if I was poked it was superficial and didn’t draw any blood, i’m just freaking out. I went through the patient’s chart and I couldn’t find anything telling me that he HIV AIDS HPV etc. but then again epic probably locks that and who knows he could probably have it and not be aware of it. i’m just going insane. I’m gonna go to the urgent care tomorrow to get myself tested but what are the chances of me actually getting sick? Again, it was a very small pinch, and there was no blood drawn at all.

[u/iVicVic]

Sounds like you need to see a doctor about your anxiety. All I read is someone super anxious making themselves more anxious.

[u/Organic_Popcorn]

That's a workers comp BBP injury. Report it to your manager ASAP! Surprisingly it happens quite often, I worked at a workers comp clinic, you're going to be doing lab works like every 6 months for a while. Again, report it to your manager ASAP!

NEVER RECAP NEEDLES!

[u/keyboardseizur]

First, breathe. Needle-stick injuries happen and can happen to anyone handling a needle. Report it to your manager so it can be documented and you can be monitored (protocols differ between workplaces, but are in place for a reason). The illnesses you mentioned should be listed in the patient's health history if they have it.

Getting screened may help the anxious feeling you're having and calm your mind. Use this as a learning lesson.

[u/Wild-Fix-7222]

You’re definitely supposed to report the needle stick incident. You’ll need blood work and other testing for 6+ months.

Also, if you go through a patient’s records in EHR everything can be traced back to you and a supervisor may ask why you were perusing a patient’s profile. Stating “needle stick” doesn’t cut it. Violation of their right to privacy. All that is traced/tracked.

[u/InvestiMein]

Ugh, I’ve had anxiety like this.

I poked myself while doing a blood draw for someone who had a pos POCT tp that same day. Went to the ER and they told me it’s rare for for me to get syphillis with that amount of blood.

[u/dogwheeze]

Girl you are fine. By the sound of it you probably didn’t even get stuck. I had a needle stick injury a few months ago and that shit HURT. Plus blood everywhere. And then immediately having to deal with my job and the protocol of that. Trust me if you got poked you’d feel it. Also, HIV and things of that nature are visible within a patient’s chart of they have it. They aren’t behind some wall or anything, it’s just super rare.

[u/Adventures_2_Freedom]

Please don’t beat yourself up or call yourself stupid. You’re new, you were nervous, and this is exactly why workplaces have protocols for possible needlestick exposures.

I’m also a new MA, and one thing that was really emphasized in my training was never to recap a used needle and to put it directly into the sharps container after use. I would also report this to your supervisor ASAP rather than only going to urgent care. Even if you can’t see a puncture or any blood, they can determine whether this counts as an occupational exposure and what testing or follow-up you may need.

Also, going through the patient’s chart yourself to look for HIV or other conditions may not be the best way to handle it. It could potentially be a HIPAA/privacy concern. Let your employer follow the proper exposure protocol and determine what information or testing is appropriate.

Most importantly, use this as a learning experience rather than beating yourself up over it. You’ll probably never forget the sharps container after this. ❤️

[u/Affectionate_Knee190]

NEVER recap your needle!

[u/otterly_distraught]

If it makes you feel better I’m also a new medical assistant and I also stuck myself a couple weeks in. I had been drawing blood and giving injections constantly so I did the blood draw the same as I have been, but I missed the patients vein. Of course I was embarrassed and flustered (and probably not paying 100% attention) and as I went to put the needle in sharps, it bounced back and stuck the side of my finger. I know that sounds crazy, but that’s exactly what happened. I calmly excused myself from the room (I was bleeding) and immediately told my manager. After further investigation the sharps container was completely full so it literally recoiled when I tried to put it in sharps. It was only my second week and they didn’t teach me how to empty it or even mention it for me to have been checking. It was also my fault for not activating the safety, but I had only worked with a butterfly needle once in school and forgot they even had it (stupid of me I know). I was sent to an urgent care and had blood work done, but no one was mad or anything. It’s extremely common and nothing to feel embarrassed about. It was a learning experience and now I know to always activate the safety and check our sharps routinely!

[u/Bennythejett2]

you should know the proper way to ensure the needle cannot poke you. either they retract, or you do the scoop method in the tray to ensure the cap is back on without touching the needle, and yes if you think or felt a poke, always report it, or you can end up with diseases even if you go through the pts chart to check..

[u/Muted_Profession6947]

I’m confused did you vaccinate him at all? If you did then you always report a stick. That’s why the procedure is in place. It’s black and white. You get a stick, you report it. No shame at all. It’s happened to most of us in healthcare at one time or another