Exposure to Communicable Disease/Needlestick Protocol

A student who experiences an accidental exposure to a communicable disease during a clinical experience must notify his/her clinical instructor immediately. The instructor will advise the student on the procedure to follow. The student is responsible for the cost of any treatment/medications/lab tests incurred. If the infectious disease physician on call deems lab testing and medication necessary, treatment will be initiated, and the student will be billed at a later date. Mount Carmel Health will cover the cost of any patient testing necessary if the incident occurred at a Mount Carmel Health System facility.

Any student that is exposed to blood or body fluids WITHIN a Mount Carmel Health System facility, faculty should follow the steps below. Students who do not follow the proper procedures may be responsible for costs associated with their treatment (ER Visit, etc.)

STUDENTS INVOLVED IN INCIDENTS AT NON-MOUNT CARMEL SITES SHOULD FOLLOW ALL SITE-SPECIFIC PROTOCOLS AND NOTIFY THE COLLEGE DIRECTOR OF Compliance and Community Affairs IMMEDIATELY.

1. The student should notify the clinical instructor immediately if the faculty member was not a witness to the event.

2. Initiate testing on source patient by utilizing lab requisition on @MC > Colleague Safety > Blood and Body Fluid Exposure. Contact the nursing supervisor for guidance if needed. 

   • 1. • If, after lab is confirmed by Colleague Safety/Employee Health, the source patient is positive for HIV, report to the MCHS site ED. An ED visit is required and classified as - an unknown source, known HIV + source, and or positive Hep B source and may also be necessary if medical attention such as sutures is needed.

3. The clinical instructor will contact the unit manager and course coordinator.

4. Care is to be taken to ensure that  the process outlined in the following MCHS policy is followed:

• • • •  Mount Carmel Infection Control Blood and Body Fluid Exposures (See Link)

        • MCHS blood and body fluid exposure

      • @MC SharePoint Resources (must access on a Mount Carmel workstation): 

        • Blood/Body Fluid Exposure (sharepoint.com)

      • Note: The process is different based on the HIV status of the patient.

      • Unknown HIV status may require consent from the source patient for HIV testing (Contact the nursing supervisor for assistance if needed)*

5. The exposed student, with assistance from their Clinical Instructor, needs to complete a THEIR online accident report.  This form will alert Colleague Safety/Employee Health that the exposure occurred and give the follow-up information needed to provide source results and consultation to the exposed individual.

   • 1. • The THEIR report is on @MC at the top of the home page. This report goes to colleague safety and risk and will serve as contact information for the exposed Student.

        • A copy of the THEIR report will be shared with MCCN Compliance and Community Affairs to be kept on file with the College. The involved student or instructor must inform compliance@mccn.edu with all relevant details of an event to ensure the College receives notice of the report from MCHS Colleague Safety. 

        • A  MIDAS report is required ONLY if the patient has experienced harm or exposure from the event.

        • Mount Carmel Colleague Safety & Risk will send a reporting form to be completed by the College Director of Compliance acknowledging the needle stick and any follow-up required.

6. Colleague Safety and Risk will follow up with the student regarding testing results. 

Clean Needlestick exposure:

Exposure to a clean needle stick that occurs in the MCHS clinical setting or the MCCN lab setting requires a THEIR report only and medical care with Employee Health as indicated for the injury e.g. sutures. No source testing is required.