It really is. Let me explain. I am a Phlebotomy student. Yes, we practice on eachother. We have an instructor, and an assistant. Well, our assistant got stuck tonight, with a used needle. Why? Short answer...student who was doing the sticking was STUPID, CARELESS, and INCOMPETENT.
Apparently, Assistant reached across to release the tourniquet, and when she pulled down to release it, she was stuck with the needle. There are MANY things wrong with this situation. I'm sure many people would think that Assistant shouldn't have reached across. Perhaps not, but if STUPID girl hadn't been CARELESS and INCOMPETENT, she wouldn't have had to. Number one, the tourniquet should not have still been ON the arm. Number two, had the tourniquet been PROPERLY tied, Assistant wouldn't have had to pull DOWN to release it. Number three, and most importantly, the NEEDLE SHOULD HAVE BEEN CAPPED WITH THE SAFETY DEVICE THAT IS ATTACHED TO IT! Was that in large enough letters, need it be said AGAIN?!?!?
What's worse, STUPID STUDENT didn't want to own up, and TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for her actions. She just kept saying it was an accident, that Assistant shouldn't have reached across her, wah wah wah. Did you ever stop to think, STUPID STUDENT, that she was reaching across to fix YOUR MISTAKES?! Furthermore, and again, more importantly, the needle was in YOUR HAND. YOU HAD CONTROL OF THAT NEEDLE. It was in your hand, it was NOT in the other student's arm, and therefore, the needle should have been CAPPED. There is a safety device on these needles FOR A REASON. We've been doing this for several weeks now. It should be automatic, not EVEN REQUIRING THOUGHT...you remove the needle, you activate the safety. It's all one fluid motion actually. You have NO BUSINESS holding a needle, and you have NO BUSINESS being a Phlebotomist, since you are apparently too incompetent to follow several of the most BASIC STEPS in performing a blood draw.
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