First one was while cleaning up an ICU room after a patient was discharged. The nurse was taking the linens off of a bed and throwing them on the floor. I was bundling the linens off the floor when a needle stuck into my palm. No one could figure out if the 18 gauge needle (without a syringe) was used, used for what, or what it was doing in the bed in the first place. This was at the time the hospital was going needle-less and not everything was needle-less, namely the drugs. My theory was someone drew something up and had to remove the needle to administer it in the needle-less port. How the patient did not get stuck is a mystery. Still did the testing and such.

Second, stuck by a nurse in an ER. Not the brightest nurse in the first place, but she decided that medical floor nursing was not cut out for her so transferred to the ER. While working a COR, I was pumping the chest and she just gave the patient something (think it was Epi) and managed to stab me in the tricep as she turned to put it in the sharps. She claimed I backed into her, which changed to I did not remain still as she called out "Sharps", thus it was my fault. Doc reamed her so bad that I did not have the heart to say anything. She mysteriously disappeared after two other shifts. Had to do the testing for this too. Risk Management was getting to know me too well.

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The Unitract Safe Syringe™ is designed for use within Needle and Syringe Programs (NSPs) where governments seek to minimize HIV and hepatitis C epidemics through the provision of sterile injection equipment and safe disposal services to injecting drug users (IDUs). The Unitract Safe Syringe™ is designed to enhance IDU safe injection practices, prevent reuse or sharing, and protect those at risk of needlestick injury from unsafe disposal practices.

Benefits and features:

• Independent non-reuse mechanism prevents reloading of dose upon commencement of actual injection. While the operator is not able to draw back the plunger sufficiently to encourage dose reloading, the device does allowing for re-aspiration to occur between the gates

• Extra-wide flanges (finger grips) for easy handling

• Suitable for single-handed use (left or right handed) so hands remain behind needle at all times

• Permanently attached (fixed) needle with standard bevel for quick draw-up and administration

• Audible, tactile prompt signals activation of safety mechanism

• Passive (automatic) needle retraction - no additional steps required

• Operator-controlled rate of needle retraction directly from the body into the barrel to virtually eliminate the risk of needlestick injury

• Tilting of needle to one side within the barrel to help prevent needle re-exposure

• Passive (automatic) plunger lockout upon full retraction of the needle to prevent product tampering or reuse

• Latex free