Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine (NSU MD) 2024–2025 81 and treatment may be provided at the NSU Student Medical Center during normal business hours. If complex services are required or exposure takes place when the NSU Student Medical Center is closed, the student will be referred to obtain care at an outpatient facility in the community. A student who becomes exposed to contaminated body fluids while at a clinic or lab site that is not owned or operated by NSU or located at an NSU campus is required to contact the supervising faculty member at the affiliate site. This physician will ensure that the student follows the appropriate needlestick protocols (and other appropriate protocols and policies) established at the specific affiliate site to receive immediate diagnostic and therapeutic care postexposure incident. All clinical care sites that are affiliated with NSU MD are required to have established biosafety protocols to provide follow-up diagnostic, preventive, and therapeutic care for medical students who sustain needlestick injuries and/ or other exposures. Regardless of where the exposure occurs, NSU MD provides (and requires of all its affiliated clinical care sites) a system in which all medical students must report all accidental exposures to blood and other potentially hazardous biological fluids that occur including, but not limited to, accidental needlestick injuries. This process is necessary for the following reasons: • to quickly evaluate the risk of infection • to inform the exposed student about treatments available to help prevent infection • to monitor for side effects of treatments • to determine if infection subsequently occurs This process initially involves the immediate provision of appropriate first aid, including ample washing of the exposed area that was punctured by the needle, or otherwise exposed, with soap and water. The subsequent steps are determined based on whether the exposure occurred at an NSU laboratory or clinical setting on an NSU campus, or if the exposure occurred at an NSU affiliate hospital or clinical setting not located on an NSU campus and not owned nor operated by NSU. Confidentiality and Testing As with any blood-borne exposure, appropriate documentation is necessary. The affiliated clinical site and NSU MD require that a formal report of the exposure incident or unusual occurrence be filed. The student will need to complete the NSU Medical Student Exposure Incident Form as discussed above. NSU MD shall respect the confidentiality of individuals with blood-borne or airborne pathogens to the extent permitted by state and federal law. Students and personnel will not be tested for HIV without their knowledge or consent, except that in certain circumstances testing may be a condition of employment or may be required by occupational exposure incident protocols. In cases of nonoccupational exposure, confidential testing is available through NSU Student Medical Center, the student’s private health insurance plan, or the Broward County Health Department. Students with Blood-Borne and Airborne Infections Acquisition of infection from patients and staff members, particularly due to respiratory pathogens, is a frequent and avoidable event. To help protect students from this risk of nosocomial-acquired infection, NSU MD has implemented an educational program on respiratory pathogens. Students are
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