Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure

In the event of a needle stick or sharps injury, or if you are exposed to blood or other potentially infectious materials, follow the steps as outlined below.

Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure Action Items

Immediate action checklist for bloodborne pathogen exposure and needle stick incidents at UND's School of Medicine & Health Sciences.

Immediate Steps

1. Clean the site
   • Needle-stick injuries and cuts: Wash affected area with soap and water
   • Splashes to the nose, mouth or skin: Rinse with water for 10 minutes
   • Splashes to the eyes: Proceed to the nearest eyewash station and flush for a minimum of 15 minutes, rolling the eyes left to right and up and down. Contact lenses may be gently taken out during flushing. 
     • If no eyewash station is available, irrigate eyes with clean water, sterile saline or sterile irrigants in the same manner as above. 
2. Report the incident to your immediate supervisor: form here.

Within One Hour

1. Go to a licensed health care provider for an immediate medical evaluation, counseling, testing and devise a plan for followup care. Considerations for post-exposure prophylaxis: the type of exposure, type and amount of fluid/issue, infectious state of the source, and susceptibility of the exposed student. Prophylaxis should be started as soon as possible after HIV exposure.

Within Two Hours

1. The student’s immediate supervisor where the incident occurred requests both the student’s and the source patient’s lab test workup (if blood or body fluid exposure). A minimum of HIV-1, HIV-2, Hepatitis B Surface Antigen and Hepatitis C Antibody testing is to be completed on both the student and the source patient. If possible, the supervisor should determine and document the identity of the source individual who should be referred for testing to the health care professional that is treating the exposed student (see Appendix 6).

Within 24 Hours

1. Student reaches out to SMHS contact to advise of incident
   • Medical student in the pre-clinical years: Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Admissions
   • Medical student in the clinical years: Respective Campus Dean
   • Health Sciences student: Chairperson of respective program
   • Biomedical Sciences student: Chairperson of the Department of Biomedical Sciences
   • Clinical and Translational Science student: Chairperson of the Department of Pathology
2. Student and immediate supervisor, along with assistance from SMHS contact above, complete UND Incident Reporting Form, and submit to the Office of Safety at UND.safety@email.UND.edu and the SMHS Dean’s Office at dean@med.UND.edu. The student’s academic department shall keep a copy of the record, and retain it according to UND’s retention schedule. If the incident happened on UND’s campus, the Sharps Injury Log Form must also be completed and sent to UND’s Safety Office.
3. Immediate supervisor ensures that test results of source patient are relayed to student’s health care provider. If the student chooses to withhold consent for testing, their collected blood sample must be retained by the medical evaluation/collecting facility for 90 days or until consent to test is obtained, whichever period of time is shorter.
4. Student, immediate supervisor and health care provider complete the SMHS Return to Educational Experiences Form and return it to the respective SMHS contact (see Step 1 under 24 Hours).     
5. If the student refuses care, the student must complete the Refusal of Care Form and send to respective UND contact noted above, who will forward on to UND Office of Safety.

Within 48 Hours

The Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Admissions/Campus Dean/Chairperson investigates the incident and completes their respective section of the UND Incident Investigation Form and forwards it to UND’s Office of Safety.

Financial Obligation Notes

• Students, including visiting students, are required to carry health insurance.
• Many major North Dakota clinical affiliates cover the initial bloodborne exposure testing costs and initial care related to the student exposure (after insurance), if the exposure and care occur at that facility.