Help me cope with sharps

[Onceamedic]

I have hit a stupid snag in my paramedic career. I am brand new in the field and I have had 3 incidents in the last month where I have improperly disposed of my sharps. There are many reasons for this but obviously it is something I need to fix RIGHT NOW. I am looking for any tips, suggestions,etc that will help me remember to ALWAYS properly dispose of the sharp. Anything you can contribute will be much appreciated.

 

[scottmcleod]

I have hit a stupid snag in my paramedic career. I am brand new in the field and I have had 3 incidents in the last month where I have improperly disposed of my sharps. There are many reasons for this but obviously it is something I need to fix RIGHT NOW. I am looking for any tips, suggestions,etc that will help me remember to ALWAYS properly dispose of the sharp. Anything you can contribute will be much appreciated.

I had the same thing when I started as an SR-P on top of my EMR certification.

My thing: constantly think to myself: "Is it pointy" (y/n?) if yes, "Have you finished with it on the patient?" (y/n), if yes, dispose, if no, why is it still in the patient?

Just make sure wherever you're working, there's a sharps case handy. It's a habits/patterns thing. When you're administering drugs / running lines / taking BGL / etc... it's all a series of steps and patterns. Takes 21 days to develop "flawless" habits. Every morning when you start your shift, practice with training-syringes or capped sharps, without opening any equipment (or real ones if your dept will let you). Repeat it until you can do it with your eyes closed and humming the national anthem.

Alternate idea: get your equipment officer (or whoever manages ordering gear) to get you a box of Sharps Shuttles (looks like a dildo with an orange/brown/red cap on the end...). Keep one in your pocket at all times and use it when you're not conveniently close to your "master" disposal.

(and you get to use the line "It's a sharps shuttle." in response to "Is that a sharps shuttle in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?")

Just my $0.02... I don't normally pipe up around here, people usually shoot me down, but I think this might be able to help?

 

[Hastings]

During my internship, I had a nasty habit of placing used IV Catheters on the bench next to me so I could use the blood from the flash to test the glucose level after I finished securing the IV.

And then one day I sat on it.

That was the end of that.



I don't suggest sitting on it though. You just need to place the container closer, I guess.

 

[triemal04]

What exactly are you doing, and what are you doing it with? If it's something like a lancet for getting a cbg it's not as big a deal as if it was a needle (still not good though).

Without knowing the specific sharp's trap's you use, only advice is to always, no matter what, drop the needle into it immedietly after starting your IV; don't wait, occlude the vein and take the extra second to drop it right then. If you use smaller containers that don't stay in a fixed spot, open it and place it next to you as part of setting up an IV; should make it easier to remember to drop the needle right away.

 

[ffemt8978]

There's some good advice that's been given here, but one thing that helps me (and my crew) is that as soon as the needle is uncapped, we say, "Sharps out". This means that everyone now pays a little bit more attention until it is placed in the sharps container.

 

[stephenrb81]

I use to have a partner that was HORRIBLE at disposing his sharps.....He told me when we first partnered up that he was bad at it, trying to break the bad habit, but told me to be a little carefull if he fudges up.

If this was his "working on it" i would have hated to see what his "bad days" were like. There would be jelcos and syringes all over the floor. One day I brought in some small styrofoam cubes rammed them in between cushion of the bench seat . A stray one would still end up in the floor every once in a while but it helped wonders. Just remember that once the needle went into the cube, the cube itself became a biohazard.

 

[mycrofft]

Kaisu use that shuttle, position sharps containers, think ahead.

My coworkers have become used to my announcing "sharp sharp sharp" whenever I have a used sharp in my hand, which, if it is crowded, I raise and point at the ceiling until I can safely lower it and stash it in a sharps jug. They laughed and got offended when I called for a sharp account ("Where are the sharps?") after they started an IV,and then their pt stood up and the angiocath sharp rolled out of a crease in his orange top and onto the floor.
I got my needle stick in 1986 from a nine year old boy's suture set. Get religion now, not like I did.

 

[Onceamedic]

Super good suggestions from you all. I am going to use all of them. And Mycroft, I believe - I believe... -_-

 

[mycrofft]

Lemme hear ya say ...AMEN!

..........

 

[BossyCow]

I think fear helps!

 

[Onceamedic]

I think fear helps!

LOL - it does.. unfortunately, fear fades...