Many of you know that I possess a nursing license. I don’t dare say “I’m a Nurse,” because I haven’t touched a patient in nearly five years. However, I have worked in a variety of health care environments, from Cardiac Cath Labs to the ER at Florida State Prison. I know a thing or two about isolation precautions, personal protection equipment and body fluids.

Perhaps from my experience working at a prison, surrounded by, and treating such a high-risk population as male inmates, I’ve become acutely aware of how easy it is for even the best nurses to get a bit of blood, feces, urine or vomit onto the skin. (I’ve had most of these substances thrown at me by prisoners.)

As I’ve followed the events surrounding the Ebola outbreak in Dallas, Texas, I’ve seen many “so called experts” try to demonstrate and explain the isolation and PPE protocols necessary to treat these patients. Unfortunately, everyone from CDC doctors to the nurses pictured above, has a different idea of the level of precaution that is adequate. If the statements from current nurses at the Dallas hospital (where the unfortunate nurses worked) are true – there was little to no Ebola-specific training or PPE orientation given to the staff who treated Mr. Duncan, the poor man who is apparently “Patient Zero” in the U.S.  (There are two young female nurses who have tested positive for Ebola at the time of this post, and both were caring for Duncan.)

Look at the picture above. The nurse on the left has a mask that is not an adequate barrier to protect from bodily fluids, has an awful lot of exposed skin, and should at least have a face shield. The one on the right, who is in a much higher level PPE configuration, has tied the hood in a big bow – in front. Every time she leans down to start an IV, or do other procedures with her patient, those loose ends will come in contact with the patient’s bodily fluids, and quite likely contaminate the clean/sterile field the nurse was trying to establish.

We can, and must do better for our health care professionals, no matter the cost.