...how do you handle potential contamination between your work/volunteer environment and your home?
As many of you already know, I work as a vet assistant at a local animal hospital. And, I work very closely with animals who may be healthy, injured, and/or ill. I feel as though I do a very good job at maintaining a boundary between my pets at home and those I handle at work. But, I'm interested in knowing how others handle similar situations. There is always room for enlightenment and improvement. And, on the flip side, perhaps the fact that I do have OCD works against me and I overcompensate.
When I am at work and not doing direct patient contact, I come home and remove my shoes before entering the front porch. I then replace my shoes with slippers and place my work shoes in a box on a high shelf (my dogs occasionally go out to the porch when we're leaving the house via car or when we're taking them for a walk, but it is not their primary living space and they never spend more than minutes out on that porch and they cannot reach my work clothing). I then go into the house and remove my scrubs in the basement -- directly placing them in the washer. If I have patient contact, I remove my scrubs out on the porch, throw on a robe or sweats, and then bring the clothing into the house and toss it into the wash. I should mention here that I always, without fail, wash my hands, arms, face, and any other exposed skin before handling or greeting any of my pets if I worked with animals at the office. I am very cautious, even when working with healthy pets, not to transfer anything between work and home, but, when dealing with unhealthy pets, it's a completely different story...
If I work with ill pets (pets with contagious illnesses such as canine parvo, distemper, panleuk, and the like or pets with fleas, sarcoptic mange, lice, and other creepy crawlies), I leave my shoes and scrubs at the office and wash them there prior to bringing them home. And, for safety's sake, I also shower before getting close to my pets. I have coworkers who are very unconcerned about bringing things home to their companions and family, but I tend to err on the side of caution. I've seen a coworker's new puppy develop parvo following the treatment of a parvo pup in our office. Of course it is possible the two incidents are not connected, but I prefer not to take the risk. I have one dog who has severe vaccine reactions and, therefore, cannot receive her core vaccines (she received her puppy series and her one year boosters). I'd rather spend time making sure I wasn't bringing something home to her than rushing out the door just to make it back before my favorite television show comes on. The same is true for all of my pets. The vets I work with are on par with what I do, but some coworkers are more cautious than others. I'm just curious to see where I fit in compared to those of you who work with animals outside of your home.
I don't doubt I go overboard in some situations, but I'd prefer that than to be flip about the situation. I see animals die for reasons that could have been avoided. I couldn't forgive myself if I were to put my pets in that situation. I am OCD, but, in my opinion, it's not always a bad thing. It doesn't negatively affect my work or home environment and so I will continue on as I have been. But, I am curious about how the rest of the world deals with these types of situations. It's not only about working with animals, I'd do (and have done) the same after handling pets at "friend's and family's" houses, shelters, and, of course, the strays I encounter. And, there is certainly a balance to be had. I am comfortable with my actions and behavior, but am always interested in seeing and hearing the point of view of others. And, I am always willing to learn.
So, how do you deal with this situation? If you don't work directly with animals, do you have any precautions in place when handling friends' pets or your family's animals? I don't want this to be a negative post or one that finds people feeling badly for what they do or don't do. Instead, I'd like this to be a discussion -- and, a positive one at that. We can all learn from one another. And, as animal lovers, it will be interesting to see how we each handle these situations.
I hope this can be a positive and informative discussion for all. Oh, and sorry for being so wordy. I've not been around for awhile and, not surprisingly, I have lots to say
!
As many of you already know, I work as a vet assistant at a local animal hospital. And, I work very closely with animals who may be healthy, injured, and/or ill. I feel as though I do a very good job at maintaining a boundary between my pets at home and those I handle at work. But, I'm interested in knowing how others handle similar situations. There is always room for enlightenment and improvement. And, on the flip side, perhaps the fact that I do have OCD works against me and I overcompensate.
When I am at work and not doing direct patient contact, I come home and remove my shoes before entering the front porch. I then replace my shoes with slippers and place my work shoes in a box on a high shelf (my dogs occasionally go out to the porch when we're leaving the house via car or when we're taking them for a walk, but it is not their primary living space and they never spend more than minutes out on that porch and they cannot reach my work clothing). I then go into the house and remove my scrubs in the basement -- directly placing them in the washer. If I have patient contact, I remove my scrubs out on the porch, throw on a robe or sweats, and then bring the clothing into the house and toss it into the wash. I should mention here that I always, without fail, wash my hands, arms, face, and any other exposed skin before handling or greeting any of my pets if I worked with animals at the office. I am very cautious, even when working with healthy pets, not to transfer anything between work and home, but, when dealing with unhealthy pets, it's a completely different story...
If I work with ill pets (pets with contagious illnesses such as canine parvo, distemper, panleuk, and the like or pets with fleas, sarcoptic mange, lice, and other creepy crawlies), I leave my shoes and scrubs at the office and wash them there prior to bringing them home. And, for safety's sake, I also shower before getting close to my pets. I have coworkers who are very unconcerned about bringing things home to their companions and family, but I tend to err on the side of caution. I've seen a coworker's new puppy develop parvo following the treatment of a parvo pup in our office. Of course it is possible the two incidents are not connected, but I prefer not to take the risk. I have one dog who has severe vaccine reactions and, therefore, cannot receive her core vaccines (she received her puppy series and her one year boosters). I'd rather spend time making sure I wasn't bringing something home to her than rushing out the door just to make it back before my favorite television show comes on. The same is true for all of my pets. The vets I work with are on par with what I do, but some coworkers are more cautious than others. I'm just curious to see where I fit in compared to those of you who work with animals outside of your home.
I don't doubt I go overboard in some situations, but I'd prefer that than to be flip about the situation. I see animals die for reasons that could have been avoided. I couldn't forgive myself if I were to put my pets in that situation. I am OCD, but, in my opinion, it's not always a bad thing. It doesn't negatively affect my work or home environment and so I will continue on as I have been. But, I am curious about how the rest of the world deals with these types of situations. It's not only about working with animals, I'd do (and have done) the same after handling pets at "friend's and family's" houses, shelters, and, of course, the strays I encounter. And, there is certainly a balance to be had. I am comfortable with my actions and behavior, but am always interested in seeing and hearing the point of view of others. And, I am always willing to learn.
So, how do you deal with this situation? If you don't work directly with animals, do you have any precautions in place when handling friends' pets or your family's animals? I don't want this to be a negative post or one that finds people feeling badly for what they do or don't do. Instead, I'd like this to be a discussion -- and, a positive one at that. We can all learn from one another. And, as animal lovers, it will be interesting to see how we each handle these situations.
I hope this can be a positive and informative discussion for all. Oh, and sorry for being so wordy. I've not been around for awhile and, not surprisingly, I have lots to say
