Scenario: A nurse working in the Emergency Room is attempting to start an IV on a very bloody trauma patient. The patient starts to seize and the nurse looses her grip and sticks herself with the bloody IV needle.
- Should the trauma patient be tested for HIV? Why or why not?
- Should the patient enjoy the right to consent to the HIV test? Why or why not?
- If the patient is in the initial few weeks of their HIV infection, is it likely that the test will show their true HIV status? Would the test need to be repeated at a later date? If so, why?