Blood Borne Pathogen Exposure/Needlestick/Injury

For students who experience an exposure to blood, visibly bloody fluid, body fluid, e.g. cerebrospinal, synovial, peritoneal, pleural, amniotic, semen, secretions from a needlestick/cut or splash to eyes, mouth, nose or open cut, animal bite/lab injury at UMass Chan Medical School or UMass Memorial:

What to Do:  

1. Gently bleed, wash, flush affected area with soap and water.
2. Page the BUGS beeper 777- BUGS ( 2847)
3. Notify your supervisor/supervising resident (if there is one) and Clerkship Director.
4. Obtain Evaluation - Don’t Delay!  It is important to be evaluated within 2 hours of exposure. You may have to begin immediate treatment. 

  Employee Health 291 Lincoln Street, Suite 100 (508) 793-6400 Hours M-F 7:00am - 5:00pm

                                If after hours, go to the Emergency Department.

5. Fill out incident report (available in each department) and send to Employee Health.
6. All students with exposures will contact Student Health for follow-up after initial visit in the ER or with Employee Health.
 7. If you need to file a claim, the student accident plan is through Zurich. Please follow the link to the Student Affairs Website for additional information         https://www.umassmed.edu/studentaffairs/studentresources/  

If you are at an away site (rotations/clinicals outside of Umass Memorial), students should follow the protocol at that site for initial treatment and follow-up with your primary care provider and inform Student Health. 

  Exposure to Formaldehyde

Formaldehyde is a chemical used within the Anatomy Labs.  Air quality in the Anatomy Lab is monitored by Environmental Health Safety (EH&S).  If a student has a concern for symptoms that may be related to Formaldehyde exposure:

What to do:

1. Call Student Health Services (508) 334-8464. 

2. Once evaluated by your provider, if it is determined that a formaldehyde filtering type of mask is appropriate the provider will complete the mask recommendation letter. A copy of the Mask Evalulation letter can be found under the forms section.

3. Students are to provide this letter to their anatomy instructor and coordinate with EH&S for mask fitting 

Note:  Any student experiencing severe acute symptoms such as shortness of breath, dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea or vomiting due to a potential formaldehyde exposure during anatomy lab are to go to the ER immediately