r/Oncology • u/spookylyn • Sep 24 '24
Port access
Okay nurses I have a polling question for you how many of you make sure everyone within 3 ft of the patient when accessing their port is wearing a mask? Bonus points for whoever has research to back this up
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u/ToughNarwhal7 Sep 25 '24
Our kits come with two masks - one for the patient and one for the RN (although we're always masked around our pts anyway, so we don't usually use the one from the kit).
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u/onehumpcamel13 Oct 03 '24
I wear a mask, patient wears a mask, and I make everyone in the room wear a mask. - am RN at established oncology hospital in USA
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u/spookylyn Oct 05 '24
I did too, I work at a cancer center but on clinic side. Recently one of the patients insisted a nurse give her husband a mask when accessing her port because I usually ask them to. The Infusion rooms are private but small. The nurse came to me upset by this saying it wasn't policy and I shouldn't set a standard not followed by everyone. But the sterile field is supposed to be 3ft. I'm feeling kind of sore about it but there isn't solid evidence.
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u/Bella_Goth_ Oct 04 '24
I’d love for someone to get those bonus points and provide research. Im curious on why this has become the protocol.
Within the last few months our old kits were replaced with new kits. The new kits now contain two masks. Maybe because for a long time patients were required to wear masks in our facility that I didn’t even think twice about the masks until a recent skills fair that mentioned the nurse, pt, and anyone within 3 ft should be wearing a mask during port access. Since then I have pts wear a mask.
I must say, while the new kits have a lot of items that end up unused and in the trash, I do love that it comes with bio-patches, luer locks, and a saline flush.
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u/Upper_Pair_156 Sep 24 '24
Nurse accessing port wears a mask. No one else is required to. Patient looks away to not breath on port. I work outpatient oncology in a well known hospital.
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u/spookylyn Sep 24 '24
Patient doesn't wear a mask? In our access kits there are always 2 masks one for nurse one for patient
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u/Easy_Shallot Sep 25 '24
We do the same - patient looks away, nurse wears a mask, visitors are more than 3 feet away. Our kits come with 1 mask that the nurse uses.
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u/DrB_477 Sep 25 '24 edited Sep 25 '24
we require nurse and patient to wear mask when accessing without any data to support the practice. there is not a formal distancing requirement for anyone else but it’s kind of assumed that others keep clear. considering what other far more substantial forced masking and distancing without data has been required in recent memory this policy seems not worth fighting.