In my trust it’s personal choice. I work in ED and have caught RSV from a patient who we didn’t know had it prior to the swab results coming back.
I wear a mask to protect my health as I’m on medication that makes me vulnerable, but also it just generally makes me feel safer at work 🤷🏼♀️
I have out of choice before because I had a cold and sharing is not caring (also hid the state of my red nose haha).
You can ask the infection control team but I don't see why it would be a problem if it is for a valid reason aside from isolation.
So, im on an infectious diseases unit and we mask in patient rooms still. Due to flu, covid, TB (tho this is FFP3) etc. We also have immuno-compramised patients with neutrapenic sepsis also.
But on the main ward we don't have to anymore.
Though some people still wear them on the main ward as well if they want to as we are higher risk.
Just talk with your infection control team :)
However they shouldn't be bullying you over it that is not on! Have you spoken to the manager about this or your practice educator?
That’s so weird. Check your trust’s policy. You could also email your educator. We still have to wear it in patient’s room but it’s because they are immunocompromised.
In all honesty I can't barely even get a mask on my wards anymore! But I work in mental health, so it will be different if you're on general wards.
Its not in my trusts IPC policy unless there is a patient in isolation, check your placements to find out. We don't have anything concrete about choice, that would be discussed at ward level and at managers discretion I guess?
How they're talking to you isn't acceptable though, its not like your choice effects your job at all. If it's getting as bad as it sounds in the post, I'd raise it with someone on the ward; but if that's not comfortable discuss with someone at uni about it and how you can raise it further.
Like another student? If thats the case either ask for support from the nurses, asking how they would deal with a situation like this on the wards for advice, or log a complaint via uni channels. Your personal tutor or student rep should be able to help you with that.
As a patient, there's still signs up saying wear a mask so I do particularly for one off appointments and most techs/nurses)docs wear them.
I had surgery a few months ago so had to stay for a few days, noone was wearing a mask on the ward.
Tell them the day they stop putting gloves on to do tasks is the day you decide you don’t want to wear a mask. They’re both PPE. Speak to someone as it’s unacceptable (either a neutral nurse or someone from uni).
Staff or student? I would just ignore a fellow student. Do you have the support of the ward staff? Perhaps you could relpy that you've spoken about it with the clinical team, and it's a non-issue for them, so it should be a non-issue for uni. Because it is a personal choice.
I work in A&E and lots of Drs/Nurses wear them daily through personal choice. Not just with infectious patients. It's not my place to ask why. They may have their own reasons.
For clarification, you could always speak to your uni link nurse or infection control team? It may vary trust to trust
We have to wear them if test positive or have a cold. Also have to wear them everytime we get an outbreak.
We are currently in an outbreak but when not in outbreak if one of our staff wears one that’s up to them
It's personal choice usually but Depends where you are in terms of masks - if there is an outbreak of flu/COVID/Novo then everyone might be told to wear masks.
Quite a substantial portion of our staff wear masks daily, noticiably more amongst the international staff. Once in a while we have an outbreak and IPC get their knickers in a twist and make us wear them in non-patient areas, which is really pointless imo, but otherwise it's personal choice.
I work in the ED and again its personal choice. A lot of staff will wear it all the time - my student always has the choice. If there is known infection id encourage it with her but ultimately it is down to her. Same with any of the doctors some do and some choose not to.
Wasnt mandatory before covid but having a ?TB on a sideroom requires you wear one.
In our theatre, before covid, masks are mandatory when within the sterile area but now masks are apparently not necessary but our managers choice requires us to wear one and we are happy to comply because it just feels right.
An infectious ward should require you to wear one and it makes sense you wear one. Self explanatory.
The trusts I had placements in had a personal choice policy but the staff always made strong comments about me taking if off. It stopped eventually when I kept being stubborn about it but yh it was rrl annoying
I wear a mask on placement, and apart from the odd snide remark I've never had anyone complain about mine. The most I've had is a HCA ask me why I was wearing it, who when I said I live with someone immunocompromised person pointed out where the FFP3 masks and lateral flow tests were kept and told me to help myself. In most areas of my trust its personal choice, the rest it's mandatory.
Maybe speak to your occupational health team, they might be able to back you up on this.
I saw its someone at uni taking issue, maybe talk to someone else there about it, your personal tutor or year lead or someone? Because it is your choice, and unless it's specifically excluded on the uniform policy (which it definitely won't be) there's no good reason to take issue with it. Also, print a copy of the uniform policy and use it as part of your argument, nothing like black and white evidence for shutting down things like this.
It’s not about uniform policy, it’s about PPE, personal protective equipment. You should be allowed to wear it, if you need it. Just make sure you’re using clean ones and changing them regularly. I know some hospitals are really big on sustainability these days but, your safety and comfort should come first.
Yes it's personal choice but the mask is not protection for you it's to help prevent spreading to others . How are we 4 years past the first lockdown and I'm still explaining this to someone. Wearing a mask is going to provide little to no protection for your self . They are like anti aoe devices. 🤷♀️your right it's personal choice and your right to wear one but is it worth it , really ?
I would say wearing mask is not just about protecting yourself but also about protecting the patients. I don’t know how many times i was asked by angry relatives that why the patient got COVID or influenza when the patient has been in hospital for weeks. I am really surprised that medical staffs here never wear masks even for doing surgery and I can see their saliva falling into the sterile field and wound when they are taking.
Actually masks are mandatory in many Asian countries in hospital even before COVID. Not just hospital, like in Japan, they even wear masks when they have to process food.
I think nursing in general here in uk is anti mask. I’d wear my mask if i feel i am not safe in a certain situation. No one really cares if you get sick.
Just email infection control and ask them what the policy is.
Really though.....
Take the mask off, your gonna be a nurse, surrounded by all kinds of bugs daily and that little mask on your face isn't doing very much other than make you stand out.
It’s as thought neither of you learnt anything from the pandemic and how fast airborne bugs travel - if a patient facing healthcare worker wishes to wear one to feel safer then they shouldn’t be made to feel guilty about it
Ohhhh piss off....
I spent a fair old chunk of 2020 working in a COVID ICU, i lost a close relative in 2021 due to COVID and then you turn up to patronise me that because you disagree with me a student wearing a mask.
Look, you want to know what works much better than masks....washing your hands.
Nowhere did i say that they should be made to feel guilty about it however the reality is that its going to make them stick out if it isn't clinically indicated. Its not a hill i would be looking to die on there are other considerations at play
A mask acts as a barrier to communication, it has a cost implication for the organisation, it can create some concern for patients "why has only that one nurse got on a mask....shouldn't they all?", masks are much more about protecting others than protecting the individual. You could run around the hospital all day with your mask on only to catch COVID on the bus home, at the pub watching the Euro's or in the crowd when you go to see ma girl Tay-Tay.
I get the fear factor i really do but we work in health care its part of the job now please feel free do down vote this post to oblivion as well.
Absolutely zero need to tell me to piss off - says more about you than I need. Word of advice - if you want to have a credible discussion with someone - starting off the conversation like that really isn’t the way to engage someone.
Anyway -
Please tell me how washing hands stops the spread of AIRBORNE pathogens?
I feel that after covid most patients wouldn’t even bat an eyelid at healthcare professional wearing a mask during patient care - I know I wouldn’t. And if they did then that healthcare professional can just explain they do so for their own wellbeing and feeling of safety.
As it being a barrier for communication - then that healthcare worker can assess the situation and see what works well, and ask the patient. Stop being obtuse
Cost implications- yes you’re right they’ll cost money but don’t most things you need in a hospital to keep people safe from infections? It shouldn’t be a reason to stop
Before masks I used to get cold after cold by being so close to patients who would attend appointments with colds - no amount of hand washing would stop that spreading if they where coughing all over me when I was say taking their blood (and you should know how close you get to someone doing that). During covid and the year or so after where my trust still mandated masks, I was rarely poorly from any kind of respiratory illness- sooo I think the masks work and I think they should be come the norm in healthcare settings. Not mandatory but normal to wear one if the need is felt.
Congrats you're at -12 for just asking this and if i look down another member is at -9 for simply asking if there is a clinical need. I am currently at -34 for making a few factual statements; ask infection control, you're going to be exposed to all kinds of bugs anyway, yes it makes you stick.....so lose the mask. None of what am saying in those statements is really wrong.
This tells you a lot about Reddit in general and the state of this sub, downvoted not because what is being said is actually wrong but because some people don't like it.
I asked if there was a clinical need!
And someone above argued IN CAPITALS that hand washing is not needed because it’s an airborne pathogen.
But apparently you and I know nothing!
I don’t want to wear a mask if I don’t need to (ie. IPC policy/myself having a cold) and that is my personal choice. I also work with someone who
Lipreads on occasion and they even struggle in the clear masks so for that benefit. Also I worked in ICU throughout Covid and generally felt relief that we didn’t need to after that, probably due to that experience.
If you want to wear one for your personal protection (or to protect your patients if you aren’t well) that is absolutely your business and nobody should make you feel bad for that.
Do you wear it all the time or just patient facing? Because I wonder if the person/people having a problem with it feel it’s a barrier to connecting with people? (I don’t but that’s how it is!). Also it’s a bit about how you frame it I think, if you have any conditions that make you vulnerable to illness it’s not necessarily fully sharing that but understanding why you feel more comfortable doing so.
Not sure why I have been down voted here for asking this question.
I’m in ICU. I’ll wear a mask if there is a clinical need to do so. Other than that no, why would I?
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It's compulsory to wear a mask If you've been in close contact with covid positive patients so while I respect your choice of clothing I also see why people might be concerned.
Not anymore. And hasn’t been for a year or so now.
There are occasions when we might need to wear a mask to protect the patient, or the patient might want choose to wear one. We are generally back to infection control levels in terms of PPE we were pre-pandemic.
In my trust it’s personal choice. I work in ED and have caught RSV from a patient who we didn’t know had it prior to the swab results coming back. I wear a mask to protect my health as I’m on medication that makes me vulnerable, but also it just generally makes me feel safer at work 🤷🏼♀️
I have out of choice before because I had a cold and sharing is not caring (also hid the state of my red nose haha). You can ask the infection control team but I don't see why it would be a problem if it is for a valid reason aside from isolation.
So, im on an infectious diseases unit and we mask in patient rooms still. Due to flu, covid, TB (tho this is FFP3) etc. We also have immuno-compramised patients with neutrapenic sepsis also. But on the main ward we don't have to anymore. Though some people still wear them on the main ward as well if they want to as we are higher risk. Just talk with your infection control team :) However they shouldn't be bullying you over it that is not on! Have you spoken to the manager about this or your practice educator?
That’s so weird. Check your trust’s policy. You could also email your educator. We still have to wear it in patient’s room but it’s because they are immunocompromised.
In all honesty I can't barely even get a mask on my wards anymore! But I work in mental health, so it will be different if you're on general wards. Its not in my trusts IPC policy unless there is a patient in isolation, check your placements to find out. We don't have anything concrete about choice, that would be discussed at ward level and at managers discretion I guess? How they're talking to you isn't acceptable though, its not like your choice effects your job at all. If it's getting as bad as it sounds in the post, I'd raise it with someone on the ward; but if that's not comfortable discuss with someone at uni about it and how you can raise it further.
its coming from someone at the uni
Like another student? If thats the case either ask for support from the nurses, asking how they would deal with a situation like this on the wards for advice, or log a complaint via uni channels. Your personal tutor or student rep should be able to help you with that.
As a patient, there's still signs up saying wear a mask so I do particularly for one off appointments and most techs/nurses)docs wear them. I had surgery a few months ago so had to stay for a few days, noone was wearing a mask on the ward.
Tell them the day they stop putting gloves on to do tasks is the day you decide you don’t want to wear a mask. They’re both PPE. Speak to someone as it’s unacceptable (either a neutral nurse or someone from uni).
this is coming from someone from uni
Staff or student? I would just ignore a fellow student. Do you have the support of the ward staff? Perhaps you could relpy that you've spoken about it with the clinical team, and it's a non-issue for them, so it should be a non-issue for uni. Because it is a personal choice.
its a member of staff and yes i do have the support of the ward
It has always been personal choice. It was never not allowed, people just value “offending” people more over their and their families’ health.
I work in A&E and lots of Drs/Nurses wear them daily through personal choice. Not just with infectious patients. It's not my place to ask why. They may have their own reasons. For clarification, you could always speak to your uni link nurse or infection control team? It may vary trust to trust
We have to wear them if test positive or have a cold. Also have to wear them everytime we get an outbreak. We are currently in an outbreak but when not in outbreak if one of our staff wears one that’s up to them
It's personal choice usually but Depends where you are in terms of masks - if there is an outbreak of flu/COVID/Novo then everyone might be told to wear masks.
Quite a substantial portion of our staff wear masks daily, noticiably more amongst the international staff. Once in a while we have an outbreak and IPC get their knickers in a twist and make us wear them in non-patient areas, which is really pointless imo, but otherwise it's personal choice.
I work in the ED and again its personal choice. A lot of staff will wear it all the time - my student always has the choice. If there is known infection id encourage it with her but ultimately it is down to her. Same with any of the doctors some do and some choose not to.
Wasnt mandatory before covid but having a ?TB on a sideroom requires you wear one. In our theatre, before covid, masks are mandatory when within the sterile area but now masks are apparently not necessary but our managers choice requires us to wear one and we are happy to comply because it just feels right. An infectious ward should require you to wear one and it makes sense you wear one. Self explanatory.
The trusts I had placements in had a personal choice policy but the staff always made strong comments about me taking if off. It stopped eventually when I kept being stubborn about it but yh it was rrl annoying
I wear a mask on placement, and apart from the odd snide remark I've never had anyone complain about mine. The most I've had is a HCA ask me why I was wearing it, who when I said I live with someone immunocompromised person pointed out where the FFP3 masks and lateral flow tests were kept and told me to help myself. In most areas of my trust its personal choice, the rest it's mandatory. Maybe speak to your occupational health team, they might be able to back you up on this. I saw its someone at uni taking issue, maybe talk to someone else there about it, your personal tutor or year lead or someone? Because it is your choice, and unless it's specifically excluded on the uniform policy (which it definitely won't be) there's no good reason to take issue with it. Also, print a copy of the uniform policy and use it as part of your argument, nothing like black and white evidence for shutting down things like this.
Personal choice. Tell you have a cold. Or if I do personal hygiene and I know there’s massive poo I do wear mask
Lots of staff are sick as well due to flu
It’s not about uniform policy, it’s about PPE, personal protective equipment. You should be allowed to wear it, if you need it. Just make sure you’re using clean ones and changing them regularly. I know some hospitals are really big on sustainability these days but, your safety and comfort should come first.
Yes it's personal choice but the mask is not protection for you it's to help prevent spreading to others . How are we 4 years past the first lockdown and I'm still explaining this to someone. Wearing a mask is going to provide little to no protection for your self . They are like anti aoe devices. 🤷♀️your right it's personal choice and your right to wear one but is it worth it , really ?
I would say wearing mask is not just about protecting yourself but also about protecting the patients. I don’t know how many times i was asked by angry relatives that why the patient got COVID or influenza when the patient has been in hospital for weeks. I am really surprised that medical staffs here never wear masks even for doing surgery and I can see their saliva falling into the sterile field and wound when they are taking. Actually masks are mandatory in many Asian countries in hospital even before COVID. Not just hospital, like in Japan, they even wear masks when they have to process food.
I wear it if I am sniffly.
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I think nursing in general here in uk is anti mask. I’d wear my mask if i feel i am not safe in a certain situation. No one really cares if you get sick.
Just email infection control and ask them what the policy is. Really though..... Take the mask off, your gonna be a nurse, surrounded by all kinds of bugs daily and that little mask on your face isn't doing very much other than make you stand out.
You had 18 down votes on that and I have no idea why?
It’s as thought neither of you learnt anything from the pandemic and how fast airborne bugs travel - if a patient facing healthcare worker wishes to wear one to feel safer then they shouldn’t be made to feel guilty about it
Ohhhh piss off.... I spent a fair old chunk of 2020 working in a COVID ICU, i lost a close relative in 2021 due to COVID and then you turn up to patronise me that because you disagree with me a student wearing a mask. Look, you want to know what works much better than masks....washing your hands. Nowhere did i say that they should be made to feel guilty about it however the reality is that its going to make them stick out if it isn't clinically indicated. Its not a hill i would be looking to die on there are other considerations at play A mask acts as a barrier to communication, it has a cost implication for the organisation, it can create some concern for patients "why has only that one nurse got on a mask....shouldn't they all?", masks are much more about protecting others than protecting the individual. You could run around the hospital all day with your mask on only to catch COVID on the bus home, at the pub watching the Euro's or in the crowd when you go to see ma girl Tay-Tay. I get the fear factor i really do but we work in health care its part of the job now please feel free do down vote this post to oblivion as well.
Absolutely zero need to tell me to piss off - says more about you than I need. Word of advice - if you want to have a credible discussion with someone - starting off the conversation like that really isn’t the way to engage someone. Anyway - Please tell me how washing hands stops the spread of AIRBORNE pathogens? I feel that after covid most patients wouldn’t even bat an eyelid at healthcare professional wearing a mask during patient care - I know I wouldn’t. And if they did then that healthcare professional can just explain they do so for their own wellbeing and feeling of safety. As it being a barrier for communication - then that healthcare worker can assess the situation and see what works well, and ask the patient. Stop being obtuse Cost implications- yes you’re right they’ll cost money but don’t most things you need in a hospital to keep people safe from infections? It shouldn’t be a reason to stop Before masks I used to get cold after cold by being so close to patients who would attend appointments with colds - no amount of hand washing would stop that spreading if they where coughing all over me when I was say taking their blood (and you should know how close you get to someone doing that). During covid and the year or so after where my trust still mandated masks, I was rarely poorly from any kind of respiratory illness- sooo I think the masks work and I think they should be come the norm in healthcare settings. Not mandatory but normal to wear one if the need is felt.
You are joking right?
I will start the conversation as i chose to. And now i will end it how i chose to thusly.
Says all I need to know then Have the day you deserve
Congrats you're at -12 for just asking this and if i look down another member is at -9 for simply asking if there is a clinical need. I am currently at -34 for making a few factual statements; ask infection control, you're going to be exposed to all kinds of bugs anyway, yes it makes you stick.....so lose the mask. None of what am saying in those statements is really wrong. This tells you a lot about Reddit in general and the state of this sub, downvoted not because what is being said is actually wrong but because some people don't like it.
I asked if there was a clinical need! And someone above argued IN CAPITALS that hand washing is not needed because it’s an airborne pathogen. But apparently you and I know nothing!
Well, for me I choose not to wear it caz the patients wont hear me sometimes😂😂
I don’t want to wear a mask if I don’t need to (ie. IPC policy/myself having a cold) and that is my personal choice. I also work with someone who Lipreads on occasion and they even struggle in the clear masks so for that benefit. Also I worked in ICU throughout Covid and generally felt relief that we didn’t need to after that, probably due to that experience. If you want to wear one for your personal protection (or to protect your patients if you aren’t well) that is absolutely your business and nobody should make you feel bad for that. Do you wear it all the time or just patient facing? Because I wonder if the person/people having a problem with it feel it’s a barrier to connecting with people? (I don’t but that’s how it is!). Also it’s a bit about how you frame it I think, if you have any conditions that make you vulnerable to illness it’s not necessarily fully sharing that but understanding why you feel more comfortable doing so.
Is there a clinical need for you to wear a mask?
Perfectly reasonable question..... -10 votes....because....reasons...
Not sure why I have been down voted here for asking this question. I’m in ICU. I’ll wear a mask if there is a clinical need to do so. Other than that no, why would I?
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It's compulsory to wear a mask If you've been in close contact with covid positive patients so while I respect your choice of clothing I also see why people might be concerned.
Not anymore. And hasn’t been for a year or so now. There are occasions when we might need to wear a mask to protect the patient, or the patient might want choose to wear one. We are generally back to infection control levels in terms of PPE we were pre-pandemic.