Major ArticlesNeedlestick injuries among medical students*
Section snippets
Questionnaire
A 53-item questionnaire concerning frequency and reporting of needlestick injuries, protection strategy education, double glove practices, knowledge of seroconversion rates, and concerns regarding bloodborne pathogens was developed. After approval by the Human Studies Committee at Washington University School of Medicine, mailing lists for third- and fourth-year medical students of the 1999 to 2000 academic year were compiled.
Subject sample
In October 1999, questionnaires and cover letters were mailed to all
Results
There were 143 surveys returned (64%), including 86 third-year (70%) and 57 fourth-year students (56%). Significantly more third-year than fourth-year students responded to the survey (P =.04). The response group included 78 women and 62 men; no sex response was given for 3 of the returned surveys. The average age of the students responding was 26 years (range, 23-29 years; SD, 3 years).
Discussion
Bloodborne pathogens may be transmitted by various methods including needlestick injuries. Medical students lack expertise in many procedures, and exposure to blood and body fluids has been documented at a high rate among medical students.22, 23, 24, 25, 26 Rosenthal et al25 reported that 24% of students in their final years of training had sustained at least 1 blood exposure accident. Shen et al22 reported 33% of fourth-year medical students had at least 1 needlestick or sharp object injury.
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