In: Nursing
Case Scenario # 1
Your patient has been undergoing outpatient treatment for leukemia and was hospitalized in the critical care unit last week with pneumonia and respiratory failure. His pneumonia was diagnosed as community-acquired MRSA. He was transferred to your oncology floor 2 days ago. Before you enter the room, you perform hand hygiene and don an isolation gown, gloves, and a mask. As you enter the room, your patient says, “Finally, someone comes in here. I feel like an alien, and you are dressed like one.”
1. How do Contact Precautions differ from Standard Precautions?
2. Identify reasons staff members may want to avoid taking care of this patient or entering his room.
3. Reflect on possible ways to respond to this patient. What are his concerns? What might he be feeling? How might you communicate with him considering these things?
4. Decide how you will talk with other members of the healthcare team about the patient’s observation and concerns. Explore possible ways to approach the subject with other staff members.