MRSA: the psychological effects
Intended for healthcare professionals
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MRSA: the psychological effects

Dorothy Mackenzie Senior Nurse, Infection Control, Lister Hospital, Stevenage, Herts
Anna Edwards Senior Nurse, Infection Control, Royal Brompton Hospital, London

This article discusses the ways in which being diagnosed as MRSA positive can affect a person psychologically and the measures that should be taken in order to minimise the impact

Aim and intended learning outcomes

The aim of this article is to discuss the psychosocial impact of being infected or colonised by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). After reading this article you should be able to:

Discuss the role of the nurse in relation to the planning of care for patients colonised/infected with MRSA

Discuss the impact that being diagnosed as MRSA positive may have on patients.

Identify MRSA screening regimen

Outline the ways patients and their families may be supported

Describe the psychological process that colonised healthcare workers may undergo when identified as being MRSA positive.

Nursing Standard. 12, 11, 49-56. doi: 10.7748/ns.12.11.49.s57

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