 Hi guys in today's video I want to talk about the time that I got a needle stick and how it felt how it happened What I did afterwards and all of the above but before we get started You need to know that this video is sponsored by Dynavax a manufacturer of vaccines So it was a couple of years ago when I was for kind of a new nurse in the ICU when I got my first needle stick It's actually my only needle stick and I hope it's my last But this was the first time that I stuck myself with a dirty needle and how it happened was I was giving a patient an Insulin injection like a subcute insulin injection and I was holding their skin In my left hand and administering in the injection with my right and I was just going too quick I was like in the motions of things and not being as careful as I should have But what I did was when I pulled the needle back Instead of doing what I should have done which was slide the safety gauge up with the hand that I administered with I decided to bring my hand that was holding the skin back and I was going to slide the safety gauge up but because I Kind of at the same time was coming back. I happened to nick my finger with the dirty needle and Immediately when it happened I I froze and every single thought ran through my head like oh my gosh I just stuck myself with a dirty needle. What do I do? What if this patient, you know has had be HIV now? I just exposed myself to those things I was newly married at the time and now if I have it then I have to worry about exposing my husband to it And we were talking about potentially starting a family. So now I got to worry about my future kids Just every single thought was running through my head and I was like What do I do next and my first thought was like I was kind of embarrassed like I was embarrassed to speak up and say anything because I was like I'm a newer ICU nurse are people going to judge my nursing skills based on this Are they going to think I'm reckless or careless? But I knew that like I needed to say something because like the patient needed to get tested now for HIV Be all of those different things and I wanted to make sure that like Whatever I stuck myself with that I potentially was going to get treated or covered for it So I immediately went and told my charge nurse what happened She was very understanding and then we went ahead and contacted occupational health and notified them of the event I drew some labs on the patient so that way we could test them for all the different things and those lab results came Back very very quick. I want to say like within six hours or so and fortunately the patient was negative for everything So I could not get anything if the patient, you know, didn't have anything But I still had to follow up with occupational health and I wanted to get my labs drawn to make sure like that I didn't have HIV that I didn't have Hep B or any of those things at occupational health. They drew my labs to test me for Like HIV Hepatitis B and C and also my antibodies to like Hepatitis B because I had received the traditional three-dose vaccine for Hep B and Unfortunately, I wasn't positive for you know, like an active infection of anything But I was shocked to find out that my Hep B antibodies were actually negative I didn't even realize that this was a thing because I had received the traditional three doses of the Hep B vaccine and a timely matter. I didn't realize that I could still Test negative for antibodies and I actually learned that there are a lot of people that are considered non-responders to the Hep B vaccine Meaning that if they get the vaccine They still potentially don't form the antibodies which means that you're still at high risk for Contracting these things if you're exposed to them. So occupational health offered me a booster vaccine and I got that but then recently a couple months ago, I got my labs routinely drawn for something else and Come to find out that I am still a non-responder for the Hep B Vaccine and I have no antibodies against it This makes me a bit anxious and definitely extra cautious knowing that I am Exposed to bodily fluids and whatnot in my profession like every single shift and that now I'm at higher risk for Hep B and learning this made me wonder like how many other health care workers are out there who are either One non-responders like me or two didn't receive all three doses of the traditional Hep B vaccine It's estimated that around 40% of health care professionals did not receive all three doses of their Hep B vaccine Leaving them potentially at risk to contracting Hep B and Hep B has been on a 11% Increased rise over the last five years. This should be very alarming to those health care professionals who are working because Even though we're vaccinating against something It's not showing to be adequately protecting health care workers. Also health care professionals experience 600 to 800,000 Potential exposures to hepatitis B and other diseases through needle sticks and splashes as a nurse myself I would like to encourage you guys to Ensure that you are protected against Hep B the traditional three dose Hep B vaccine can fall short and leave nurses and other health care professionals in a very vulnerable place and Nurses need to know that there are newer vaccine options available We also need to demand a closer look at the Hep B vaccination options that are being currently offered to us If any of this strikes a chord with you I highly recommend going to the link question my protection calm Which will be in the description box below to learn more about hepatitis B there You can also sign a petition to encourage decision makers to better protect health care workers against hepatitis B Thank you guys so much for watching this video I know so many of you probably have clicked on this because you also have experienced a needle stick or it's a fear of yours I think any health care professional is always Nervous about potentially being exposed to things and I know that I was and I am and I forever will be extra cautious and careful Please know that if you get a needle stick or have an exposure like It happens it doesn't mean you are a bad nurse a bad health care worker But please let your charge nurse know or whoever the next appropriate person is to let them know so that way You can make sure that you're safe and the patient can get tested and whatnot and most importantly Please know your vaccination status to make sure that you are Adequately protected against any potential exposures that you may have make sure you visit the link in the description box And I'll see you guys in my next video. Bye