In a message dated 02/21/2000 6:26:56 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

<< In the hospital environment you have to report any major blood exposures so
 you can get taken care of.  Of course, firefighters would always be needing
 to report those everyday wouldn't they?  <grin>

 Beth the OT
  >>

Oh yeah!  I mean, sometimes it worked out where we could be gloved first, but
if you're working a traffic accident there are just too many ways to
accidentally puncture your glove.  I honestly don't remember what the
reporting requirements for an exposure were at that time though.  To be
honest -- I know this sounds corny -- but sometimes I just prayed for my own
protection and didn't worry about it after that.  There were times when I
prayed for the person I was working on too.  I know for a fact I wasn't the
only one who did that.

This is way off from blood borne pathogens, but I never felt more helpless
than when I was working on someone who needed help that was beyond my scope
of training.  It would seem to take forever for the Paramedics to arrive,
even though it wasn't that long.  Things like that were incredibly stressful.