i am a nurse and i work in a hospital. it looks like i need IV antibiotics but i am worried the hospital may not allow me to do patient care if i have a central line or picc line. anybody out there know anything about this or have an suggestions. i live alone so i support myself and am not able to take anymore time off. i appreciate any input
Posted by NP40 (Member # 6711) on :
I don't think a PICC would be that restrictive. Certainly, they don't want you doing any heavy lifting.
I know many folks who carried on their normal employment with either a PICC, or port.
Posted by np (Member # 938) on :
thanks. i guess i should clairify a bit more. i am concerned about infections, both my own and any the hospital might think i could pass to my post operative patients. thanks!
Posted by char (Member # 8315) on :
Hi,
Well, I am not a nurse, but my child had picc.
As far as you infecting others, I think if you keep your site covered there wouldn't be a problem. There are some products available that cover site for showering just as an example.
Hopefully, that would also protect you from getting infections from someone there.
I, too would be concerned about bumping it, but that can happen anywhere.
The good thing is that this IV should really help you get better!
Char
Posted by np (Member # 938) on :
thanks char i am also worried they may not let me work with one i just dont know
Posted by tootie (Member # 1780) on :
I am a nurse working in a hospital setting. I had a PICC line in for 3 months to receive daily IV Rocephin. I was off work the first 6 weeks with my new diagnosis, but the last 6 weeks I worked full time, doing my usual patient care. The hospital I worked at had absolutley no problem with that. I usually did wear long sleeves during that time just because I thought it would be better to have it covered as much as possible. I also kept a netting over it. As an oncology nurse, most of my patients have some sort of central line so I could in some ways relate better to them on any concerns they had about their lines. Hope this helps.
Posted by np (Member # 938) on :
tootie thatwas just what i wnted to hear. i work with jointreplcements and you kkkknow how freaked the surgeons get if the pt even has a pre op uti.
i wish i couldkeep it secret, but i dont wear a uniform and my usual clothing isall short sleeved. do you know anything about the privacy laws for this sort of thing?
Posted by tootie (Member # 1780) on :
Sorry, but I don't know anything about the privacy laws. I would think though that if your doctor gives you a release to return to work, they can't really say much. I don't know if ortho docs know much about PICC lines, but if they do, they should know you couldn't possibly cause any "infection" problems. I work with immune compromised, neutropenic oncology patients, and none of the oncology docs cared about my PICC at all. In fact, it was one of them that successfully treated me for my Lyme Disease. Hope this helps . . .like you, I needed to work!!