A patient is admitted to the emergency department after a motor vehicle accident. The nurse sustains an accidental needlestick injury while performing a venipuncture on the patient. What is the nurse's priority?

Question

a. Determine whether the needle was sterile.
b. Follow agency policy for employee inju-ries.
c. Inform the provider to screen the patient for antibodies.
d. Obtain patient history of communicable diseases.

Answer 1

B
The nurse's priority after a needlestick injury is obtaining immediate treatment as outlined in agency policy. He or she needs baseline testing and, depending on the patient's history and test results, administration of preventive treatments. The needle cannot be sterile after a venipuncture. The nurse's priority is his or her own safety and receiving prompt treatment; informing the pro-vider and gathering subjective data are secondary in importance.