Case Study, Chapter 71, Management of Patients With

Infectious Diseases

1.The hospital employee health nurse launches a campaign to educate the

hospital healthcare workers about the benefits of being vaccinated against
various common communicable diseases. The nurse searches the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Web site for the latest guidelines for
healthcare worker vaccinations at
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p2017.pdf. (Learning Objective 3)

a. What vaccinations are recommended for healthcare workers?

b. What are the benefits to a health care worker of having the

recommended vaccinations?

2.A new graduate nurse has been hired to work in an acutecare unit with a
large population of patients with infectious diseases. During orientation,
isolation precautions, and infection control measures were reviewed.
(Learning Objective 4)

a. Because the most important aspect of reducing the risk of blood

infection is avoiding needle-stick injuries, what are the interventions
initiated to decrease this type of injury?

b. All inpatients are on standard precautions. What actions does this

require by the nurse?

c. The nurse incorporates effective handwashing principles into her

practice. What do these include?

d. The nurses are instructed that artificial nails or extenders are not
allowed in this setting. What is the rationale for this restriction?