Safety and infection control measures

Safety and infection control measures

This first reflection should be about observed safety and infection control measures: the nurse recapped needles correctly when giving Heparin I witnessed. Every room he was hands before and after pt even when we left the room he would hand sanitize. Wore gloves when appropriate. He passed medications correctly following the 6 patients’ rights. I followed an PCA (Patient Care Assistant) she followed great hand hygiene. Especially when handing urine specimens and cleaning fecal from a pt who had dementia and alzhmiers.

Steps taken for preservation of human dignity: when the nurse I was shadowing when to check on his pts he would make sure to have the peri area covered to show dignity to the pt. would close the door or bring the curtain around for privacy.

Expectations addressed in orientation related to safety, infection control and human dignity.

How does what you saw and learned compare with what you are learning in your other nursing courses?

Healthcare facilities, whether hospitals or primary care clinics are an area with an elevated risk of disease transmission due to the presence and relative ratio of susceptible individuals. One in ten patients get an infection whilst receiving care[9] yet effective infection prevention and control reduces health care-associated infections by at least 30%[9]. In a healthcare setting, the three components required for infection spread are the following[10]:

Source – places where infectious agents survive (e.g. sinks, hospital equipment, countertops, medical devices).
Environment – patient care areas, sinks, hospital equipment, countertops, medical devices.
People – patients, healthcare workers, or visitors.

Susceptible Person – Someone (Patient, Healthcare Worker, or Visitor) who is not vaccinated or immune to a particular infectious

disease, or an individual with a compromised immune system / immunodeficient [10].
In addition, susceptibility can be heightened in individuals due to underlying medical conditions, medications, and necessary treatments and procedures that increase the risk of infection (For Example; Surgery).

Transmission – The way in which germs are moved to the susceptible person
Touch, including via medical equipment or a susceptible person (For Example; MRSA or VRE)
Sprays or splashes (For Example; Pertussis)
Inhalation of aerosolised particles (For Example; TB or Measles)
Sharps injuries introducing blood-borne pathogens (For Example; HIV, HBV, HCV)
Controlling Infectious Diseases Within Communities
Infection control and prevention is a global issue and there are many protocols and guidelines that can be followed to minimise the spread of infection between people, within a population and globally[2]. Identifying at-risk groups such as children, older people and those with chronic conditions can also help guide relevant strategies to protect these vulnerable groups. The first step when looking at infection control can start at the community level by changing behaviour, including:

Regular hand washing
Appropriate use of Face-masks (Protect from and Prevent spread of Respiratory Infections)
Using insect repellents
Ensuring up-to-date routine vaccinations and participating in immunisation programmes
Taking prescribed medications, such as antibiotics, as directed by health professionals
Social Distancing – avoiding contact with others
Using condoms when having sex, especially with a new partner

Other steps that can be taken to control the spread within communities include environmental measures such as:

Modifying Environments
Surveillance of Diseases
Food Safety
Air Quality
Medical Interventions
As well as simple steps to prevent and control infections, there are biochemical interventions that can be implemented to speed up the recovery process and in some cases prevent viral infections completely.[11] The development of antibiotics, antivirals and vaccinations have been shown to speed up recovery, slow down the progression and in some cases eradicate infectious diseases from entire populations.

Antibiotics
Antibiotics are prescribed for bacterial infections and support the body’s natural defence system to eliminate the disease-causing bacterial agent. They are designed to either kill bacteria or stop them from reproducing, however poor use of antibiotics, over-prescribing and the mutation of bacteria has led the development of resistant bacteria[12]. In these cases, either stronger doses are required or the combination of one or more antibiotics.

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation

Welcome to class

Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to

I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you.

Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted.

If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations.

Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements.

Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.

I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

• Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
• There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
• Include in-text citations in your response
• Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
• Follow APA-7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

• A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
• Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
• Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
• Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
• Follow APA 7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

• Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
• Here are some helpful links
• The is a great resource