Question

imagine youre working in an emergency department of a large hospital. the paramedics call the ed to tell them they are about to arrive with an unconscious woman who suffered severe injuries in a car accident. the woman is a patient at the hospital and you have easy access to her medical records. as you check them, you see that she is being treated for hepatitis a. fortunately, the hospital requires all employees to be vaccinated for hepatitis a. thus, when you ask a nurse to help stop the patients bleeding and he begins to treat her without wearing gloves, you dont bother saying anything since you know he must be vaccinated and has no risk of contracting hepatitis a. why is this the wrong action to take? a. protective equipment like latex gloves helps protect health care employees against cuts from sharps, and its likely the nurse will be handling needles as he treats the patient. b. its possible that the nurse lied on his application when he was hired at the hospital and has not actually received his hepatitis a vaccination. c. even though the nurse is protected against hepatitis a infections, it is possible that the patient is carrying other infectious pathogens, such as hiv, for which he may have contracted them since her last visit to the hospital. d. even though there is no risk to the nurse himself, he increases the risk of transferring the hepatitis pathogen to others in the hospital by not wearing gloves.

Explanation:

The question is about a healthcare - related scenario where a nurse is at risk due to lack of vaccination and improper use of protective gear (not wearing gloves). In healthcare settings, not using protective equipment like gloves when handling potentially infectious materials (such as in the case of a patient with possible infectious diseases) is a wrong action. Vaccination is an important preventive measure, and not being vaccinated against common infectious diseases like hepatitis A increases the risk of infection.

Answer:

A. Handling needles as he treats the patient without using protective equipment like latex gloves helps protect health care employees against cuts from sharps, and it's likely the nurse will be at risk.