Abstract
Background: Nursing students are at increased risk of needlestick injury (NSI) due to limited clinical experience and underdeveloped skills.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe faculty experiences with nursing students who sustain an NSI.
Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional survey design was used to examine nursing faculty experience with student NSIs occurring during clinical practicum experiences.
Results: Thirty-four percent (n = 904) of nursing faculty respondents reported having supervised at least 1 nursing student who experienced an NSI while providing care to a patient. Only 47% (n = 1112) of faculty indicated that a student could access effective exposure management.
Conclusions: Structured simulation activities in which faculty manage a student NSI would provide faculty with essential NSI exposure management experience. Integrating blood-borne pathogen exposure management simulation into faculty development activities would bring a level of realism to the training that a lecture or written policy cannot provide.