Needles and Pins: A Case Study in the Management of Occupational Exposure to Percutaneous Injuries - Case Study Collection - National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science

Needles and Pins

PART II - JENNIFER'S DILEMMA

by Lynn D. Austin
Western Kentucky University

Jennifer frantically runs to the nearest sink. When she looks at her finger, she sees blood under the glove; when she takes the glove off all she can see is what looks like a lot of blood on her finger. She begins washing her finger with soap and squeezing it to extrude blood from the puncture wound. Meanwhile, back at the chair, George calls over Dr. Daly, the closest instructor on the floor. Dr. Daly is a 60-year-old retired Navy prosthodontist who has been at the dental school on a volunteer basis for about six months. When George tells him what happened, he tells them, "Don't worry about it. I've been stuck more times than I can count. The risk of getting anything is negligible. Just go ahead and keep working."


Answer the following questions:
  1. Were the students given the correct advice about continuing their work?
  2. Were the students given the correct advice about the risk of disease transmission being negligible?
  3. Was Jennifer in compliance with post-exposure protocol?


Go to Part III -- Ralph's Response