LIABILITY INSURANCE AND EXPOSURE RISKS

PNWU Provided Liability Insurance

PNWU students are covered with liability insurance only if the students are participating in a course, an officially approved clinical experience, or clinical rotation. Any non-curricular clinical experiences, whether observational or shadowing will not receive academic credit and will not be covered by PNWU’s liability insurance. Students may not represent themselves as PNWU students in any way while participating in non-curricular clinical experiences.

If a student is aware of a potential legal liability situation, the dean of student affairs or designee must be notified immediately. Progression of any legal liability action is to be detailed in writing by the student and regularly sent to the dean of student affairs or designee.

Policy link: Student Clinical Experiences policy

Student Exposure Risks

There is no known evidence of adverse outcomes to persons who participate in labs and PNWU follows many precautions to limit exposures. These include, but are not limited to, OSHA recommended barrier protection such as a respirator, air quality sampling, and use of monoethanolamine.

Student disclosure of pregnancy status to program personnel is strictly voluntary. While the University does not require that a pregnant student disclose their pregnancy, the University encourages any student who is pregnant, or may become pregnant, to discuss with their advisor and professor their attendance in labs. More importantly, students should discuss their pregnancy, potential risks, and limitations with their physician. If a physician indicates that it is in their best interest not to participate in lab, the student must contact Student Affairs to request an official/formal accommodation as soon as possible.

Bloodborne Pathogen Training

New students will complete an online Bloodborne Pathogen training prior to matriculation and upload the certificate of completion to their onboarding system (MyRecordTracker for MAMS and DO, Exxat for DPT and MSOT). Current students will complete the online Bloodborne Pathogen training prior to starting each academic year and upload the certificate of completion to their onboarding system (MyRecordTracker or eValue for DO, Exxat for DPT and MSOT).

Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis

  1. GENERAL: The Blood Borne Pathogen (BBP) procedure includes three components:
    1. Education
    2. Immediate post-mishap evaluation of exposure risk, as outlined by current Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC&P) guidance and recommendations.
    3. Appropriate follow-up. The goals of this procedure are to insure the immediate cleansing of the exposure site, reporting of the incident, and when indicated, immediate appropriate post-exposure prophylactic treatment be started using CDC&P guidelines within two hours or less of the exposure and that appropriate laboratory work-up, counseling, and follow-up be provided.
  2. EDUCATION: Annually all PNWU students will complete an online Bloodborne Pathogens training on how pathogens are transmitted, practices that minimize the risk of exposure, what to do if there is an exposure incident, and how to handle and dispose of contaminated items.
  3. BBP/HIV/AIDS EXPOSURE: Any PNWU student that has an incident involving exposure to another person’s blood or body fluids or by injury caused by a sharp object or exposure to mucous membranes/skin-will take the following steps immediately:
    1. PERFORM BASIC FIRST AID: IMMEDIATELY find the nearest wash station and clean the wound and skin with soap and running water. Flush eyes or any mucous membranes with large amounts of water or normal saline for several minutes. Blood should be allowed to flow freely from the wound. Blood should not be squeezed or “milked” from the wound. Do not bleach or use abrasive soaps on your skin.
    2. IMMEDIATELY report your exposure incident to your supervisor, preceptor, or instructor since it can lead to infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or other bloodborne pathogens.

Any PNWU student who has an occupational exposure to blood or other potentially infectious material (OPIM) will be immediately released from their student job responsibilities to go to the nearest hospital Emergency Room (ER)., Occupational Health Clinic or their primary care provider (if they provide occupational health services) for post exposure evaluation, counseling, necessary exposure treatment following the CDC’s National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health’s Bloodborne Infections Disease recommendations listed at: CDC NIOSH Bloodborne Infectious Diseases: Emergency Needlestick Information provider hotline. It is an active PEP hotline for Providers and references to other good resources for recommendations for the management of occupational exposures for the student’s knowledge.

As a student, you will be required to present your insurance card for submission for insurance coverage for your exposure evaluation.

Students in departments who work with blood or other potentially infectious material must be advised that they should notify their health insurance carriers of their academic activities involving Bloodborne pathogenic materials. The PNWU departments cannot assure students that they will fund post-exposure follow up procedure should the student become exposed to Bloodborne pathogens.

The goals of the student reporting to their ER, Occupational Health Clinic, or their primary care provider for BBP/HIV/AIDS exposure is to ensure:

      1. A post-exposure evaluation, counseling, and so that any necessary treatment can begin.
      2. Post-exposure prophylaxis exists for HIV, HBV, and HBC, when medically indicated, would be offered to you according to the current recommendations. Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is an emergency medicine for people who are HIV negative and may have been exposed to HIV, it may be offered, and it should not be delayed waiting for test results, it should be started immediately. PEP antiretroviral therapy (ART) can be discontinued if the source test is negative. ART stops the progress to AIDS and reduces the risk of transmitting HIV, especially if treatment is administered right after exposure.
      3. Post-exposure follow-up includes identifying the source individual and requesting consent to test and determining the source’s HBV, HCV, and HIV infectivity status and the results of the source individual’s testing should be made available to the exposed student through their treating physician. Your provider should inform you of applicable laws and regulations concerning disclosure of the identity and infectious status of the source individual.
      4. The psychological impact of the exposure must be appreciated and addressed; counseling should be provided and include counseling and the possible implications of the exposure and infection status, including the results and interpretation of all tests and how to protect you and your personal contacts.
      5. Testing is done at baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks, and 6 months after exposure.
      6. You should report for follow-up with your treating provider as post-exposure HIV/AIDS antibody testing is done at 6 weeks, 12 weeks, and 6 months and results checked.
      7. Prescriptions should be obtained from your provider for the four-week drug regimen if needed.
      8. To confirm appropriate blood work and follow-up is obtained from the student’s primary care provider.

Once your medical evaluation has been completed, you will be required to complete the Employee/Student Report of Injury form and should describe the exposure event in as much detail as possible. The student is responsible for any costs incurred by these procedures and should ensure that their health care insurance provides coverage for such situations. While employers are responsible for post-exposure care for employees, students are not employees of PNWU or their clinical training sites, and are therefore financially responsible for their care.

Procedures for Evaluating the Circumstances Surrounding an Exposure Incident

PNWU procedure is to evaluate the circumstances (including the route(s) of exposure) under which all occupational exposure incidents occur. This evaluation will be conducted as soon as possible after a report of an exposure incident is submitted. For each reported exposure incident, we need to gather and evaluate, if possible the following information:

  • Student name and attending academic class
  • Date and time of incident
  • Clinic site/Department location
  • First-aid responder name and job classification
  • Incident source, injury type, body part injured
  • Description of incident (including tasks and procedures performed)
  • Description of sharp(s), or other devices(s) (including type and brand)
  • Personal protection equipment worn

Your baseline Hepatitis B vaccine and Hepatitis B response titer status is documented with your PNWU student immunization records. You should be offered and provided with a copy of the below items if you would like them:

  • Copy of WAC 296-823 located at WAC 296-823-11010 Exposure Control Plan requirements
  • Copy of BBP Exposure Control Plan located at MyPNWU > Human Resources intranet site

The exposure incident report is recorded in the PNWU Employee/Student Report of Injury form and stored within the Human Resources Office’s intranet site. If the exposure involves a sharp, the Sharps Injury Log will also be completed and maintained within the Human Resources Office.

Policy link: Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control policy

Page revision date: June 6, 2024