Question for all nurses?

Question

I went to a lab yesterday where I had blood drawn for a blood test. The nurse took a needle from the drawer, uncapped it then attached it to a vacutainer and drew my blood. Then she recapped the needle, and threw it in the disposer.

My question is, does it happen that sometimes the nurse may forget and by mistake recap the needle and put it in the drawer with the new needles and then reuse it again by mistake? Or will it show that the needle has been used before when she attempts to use it again (due to blood stains and other things)?

I am worried since none of the needles in the drawer were wrapped so how to know that they were new..

I am a bit worried since she recapped the needle. Although she threw it away in the disposer but she could have made a mistake and put it back in the drawer along with the non used ones.

But I guess she would know if she was using a used needle right?

Thanks for the replies

Answer 1

First of all it was not a nurse, it was a phlobotomist. 2nd most needles this day and age have caps that cannot be removed once they are put back on. 3rd she would have to open the new needle drawer to put it back and habit makes her put it into the red bio-hazard container. 4th next time ask for a wrapped needle, she will get one and unwrap it in front of you, no problem. I am a nurse and have done so many times for people that are concerned when I am running a flu shot clinic. The reason they are already unwrapped is it is a huge time saver..the needle itself remains sterile until the cap comes off and it is used.
My hospital has caps that are attached to the needle and you flip it up and the cap locks in place, never to come off again, In 30 years of nursing I have never known any one to reuse a needle..

Answer 2

First of all: some needles have a reservoir where the blood places a very small dab into them. THe nurse knows she is in teh veing because that blood appears there. ON a fresh needle she would not even know it was in the vein if there was already blood there.

Second of all: they aren't really supposed to re-cap, but I am sure there are some people in the world that do that. most are disposed into a sharps container especially designed for needles.

Also: when the seal is broken on a new needle, it cannot be replaced the same way in most cases.

after many years, and thousands of patients I have never seen someone attempt to use a needle that was already used.

Answer 3

I am an RN and we are taught to NEVER cap a used needle. The exceptions are few. In a lab there should be "Sharps" containers ( containers that are required by law for the disposal of needles- they are made of hard in-penetrable plastic or metal ) these should be readily available in a lab- it is very unlikely that this would happen. By the way, most labs use lab technicians such as Medical Assistants and/or Phlebotomists. These workers are not nurses and do not have the extensive training that nurses do. But, they are trained on the proper usage and disposal of needles- and they often draw blood way better than us nurses because that's what they do! It's really unlikely, to answer your question- but the recapping of a used needle puts the technician or nurse at risk and he/she shouldn't be doing that.

Answer 4

Didn't you already ask this question the other day? If you are worried the needle was reused, you need to ask the nurse who drew your blood. Or, you can express your concerns to the Administrator of the facility where it was drawn. Nobody on the internet is going to know if that particular needle was new or not. You are only going to drive yourself into a panic thinking about it. Ask the people involved.

Answer 5

VERY GOOD QUESTION,I TOO HAVE BEEN TO GET BLOOD WORK DONE AND THE SAME IS @ MY DOCTOR'S OFFICE.THE ANSWER ALL DEPENDS ON THE BRAND OF NEEDLE.SOME NEEDLES HAVE A RESERVOIR AT THE END AND IT FILLS WHEN THE NEEDLE IS INSERTED INTO THE VEIN.OTHER VARIOUS TYPES HAVE END CAPS THAT "CAN BE REPLACED" BUT ONCE THE CAP/SEAL IS BROKEN,YOU'LL KNOW IT HAS BEEN USED.MOST OF THE TIME ONCE THE PROCEDURE IS FINISHED,THE NEEDLE AND OR OTHER EQUIPMENT USED WILL BE PLACED ON THE COUNTER AND THE NURSE WILL KNOW TO THROW EVERYTHING AWAY THAT WAS USED.

Answer 6

When u put the cap back on the needle inside breaks....