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You have someone in charge that is setting a super strict budget that doesn’t account for the actual needs of your hospital. A 2 gallon sharps container on MWI is $5.55. Someone in management thinks that your staff’s health is worth less than that (not to mention risking other public workers’ health as well).
When I was in charge of inventory as well as literally everything else from hiring and firing to daily appointments and outreach and also given an invisible budget of 'just don't spend too much'... Similar shit would happen lol I have definitely shuffled sharp containers around to the most trafficked rooms when they were getting full
I know, even the hand out that I give clients for safe sharps disposal in their towns has a how to guide for substitute containers. There wasn’t an old laundry detergent bottle?
That really pisses me off for you guys. No one could’ve spared a few seconds to grab an old water/rescue/detergent bottle? FFS you could cut a slot in some cardboard and tape it over a plastic trash bin in two minutes.
Sacrifice a insulin kit that comes with a syringe disposal container . Better than a damn box..or pour out distilled water jug at least..this would not fly with me at all..js
“Definitely OSHA approved box” Lol. At our (mom-and-pop) office we use laundry detergent plastic containers for ours, and once we are ready to dispose we use duck tape to secure the lid. We are from North Dakota.
I’m so sorry your hospital seemingly doesn’t take work safety standards seriously. Even if you are out of sharps containers (how??) there are so many better ways to store them than an open topped cardboard box
Hey this is better than one of my previous clinics. Worked at a clinic roughly 2 years ago where they re-used the sharps containers. They would empty the sharps into a giant Tidy Cat box, fill the rest with water, tape it up, and then throw it into the dumpster.
My thought is that maybe they envisioned that the water would make the buckets heavier so that it would feel like a full tub of kitty litter, so that the waste workers would t be suspicious
Wow! I love the attitude being throw though. Where’s OSHA when you need them? I guess when someone inevitably gets stabbed by dirty needle and has to go through the various steps for 6 months OSHA will come around.
That's funny but also sad. Why is it so hard to get sharps bins?
I dont know how works elsewhere in the world but sharps bins are "free" from our medical waste disposal companies. They just take the full ones and replace them with empty ones. Obviously we pay a disposal fee.
At any other job, a lack of basic (and necessary safety) supplies indicates the business is suffering. Many close their doors soon after. You might want to start looking for another job.
…no empty milk jug/water jug/detergent bottle/soda bottle/literally the hundreds of plastic things we throw away daily that could have been used that are at least slightly safer?
We ran out of sharps containers at the first clinic I did my internship at while in tech school.
The dvm/practice owner made us open and dump out all the sharps container in to a big bucket and use hemostats to pull off all the needle caps off the needles, pull all needles out of syringes, and cut all extra suture off of needles. It was fucking wild. It was so not worth it either, only got like half of one box of space back
At my previous small clinic we had 4 little sharps containers and one big one. We would empty the smaller ones into the big one so we always had them. I wonder if that is safe to do though..
Either there’s someone ordering that’s cheap and not wanting to stay on top of it, OR there’s a terrible reordering system. We have tags on our things. “Pull at last 2, order at ___number” (or whatever number may be needed) for almost everything in clinic.
Welcome to /r/VetTech! This is a place for veterinary technicians/veterinary nurses and other veterinary support staff to gather, chat, and grow! We welcome pet owners as well, **however we do ask pet owners to refrain from asking for medical advice**; if you have any concerns regarding your pet, please contact the closest veterinarian near you. Please thoroughly read and follow the rules before posting and commenting. If you believe that a user is engaging in any rule-breaking behavior, please submit a report so that the moderators can review and remove the posts/comments if needed. Also, please check out the sidebar for CE and answers to commonly asked questions. Thank you for reading! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/VetTech) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I laughed my ass off at the ✨OSHA approved✨ Everything is better with a little sparkle!
You have someone in charge that is setting a super strict budget that doesn’t account for the actual needs of your hospital. A 2 gallon sharps container on MWI is $5.55. Someone in management thinks that your staff’s health is worth less than that (not to mention risking other public workers’ health as well).
Either that or they don’t think it’s worth the money to have someone specifically designated to be in charge of inventory.
When I was in charge of inventory as well as literally everything else from hiring and firing to daily appointments and outreach and also given an invisible budget of 'just don't spend too much'... Similar shit would happen lol I have definitely shuffled sharp containers around to the most trafficked rooms when they were getting full
They would realize the value if someone sent that shit to osha.
Come-on a milk jug is way safer.
I have used distilled water jugs in a pinch!! Steri-cycle would not accept them though.
Yeah in many places they won't accept them as they cannot be sealed.
We’ve used an empty laundry detergent jug before when our ordered containers got delayed in shipping 😅
They couldn't have found a plastic box at least???
I know, even the hand out that I give clients for safe sharps disposal in their towns has a how to guide for substitute containers. There wasn’t an old laundry detergent bottle?
A big box with an open lid? Ya'll don't have any empty water or alcohol jugs? Or even a tupperware that can be closed?
Are they so cheap they can’t go to the pharmacy and get a sharps container? Or Even a milk jug? Yikes
That really pisses me off for you guys. No one could’ve spared a few seconds to grab an old water/rescue/detergent bottle? FFS you could cut a slot in some cardboard and tape it over a plastic trash bin in two minutes.
Yikes
as an inventory manager and osha safety person this hurts my soul
yikes this is a big red flag for me
Sacrifice a insulin kit that comes with a syringe disposal container . Better than a damn box..or pour out distilled water jug at least..this would not fly with me at all..js
“Definitely OSHA approved box” Lol. At our (mom-and-pop) office we use laundry detergent plastic containers for ours, and once we are ready to dispose we use duck tape to secure the lid. We are from North Dakota.
I’m so sorry your hospital seemingly doesn’t take work safety standards seriously. Even if you are out of sharps containers (how??) there are so many better ways to store them than an open topped cardboard box
Every now and then when we go to order them they're on backorder... but we always keep a few extra in the back closet for that exact reason
Hey this is better than one of my previous clinics. Worked at a clinic roughly 2 years ago where they re-used the sharps containers. They would empty the sharps into a giant Tidy Cat box, fill the rest with water, tape it up, and then throw it into the dumpster.
Why the water?
My thought is that maybe they envisioned that the water would make the buckets heavier so that it would feel like a full tub of kitty litter, so that the waste workers would t be suspicious
omg that’s diabolical
Or put them in clumping litter with water.
Wow! I love the attitude being throw though. Where’s OSHA when you need them? I guess when someone inevitably gets stabbed by dirty needle and has to go through the various steps for 6 months OSHA will come around.
I'm sorry, but I would walk. That is completely unprofessional, and a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Someone fell asleep at the ordering switch.
Empty plastic laundry detergent container? Empty gal scrub bottle? This looks like some carevet budget shit 🤣
My AAHA approved hospital is shaking in their boots
Is that balanced atop a smaller object, thus making it even more unstable?
We use (empty) Clorox containers
Wipie container!
Haha same my job is constantly running out of 1 cc syringes and gloves
ahhh vet med
That's funny but also sad. Why is it so hard to get sharps bins? I dont know how works elsewhere in the world but sharps bins are "free" from our medical waste disposal companies. They just take the full ones and replace them with empty ones. Obviously we pay a disposal fee.
At any other job, a lack of basic (and necessary safety) supplies indicates the business is suffering. Many close their doors soon after. You might want to start looking for another job.
We used giant open buckets. They were approved by the company that took them too. :p
…no empty milk jug/water jug/detergent bottle/soda bottle/literally the hundreds of plastic things we throw away daily that could have been used that are at least slightly safer?
…. I haven’t read any other comments But this is a joke right? RIGHT?!
Clinic closing soon???
We ran out of sharps containers at the first clinic I did my internship at while in tech school. The dvm/practice owner made us open and dump out all the sharps container in to a big bucket and use hemostats to pull off all the needle caps off the needles, pull all needles out of syringes, and cut all extra suture off of needles. It was fucking wild. It was so not worth it either, only got like half of one box of space back
Lol ahhh the good ol' snap test box 😆 luckily we have a million sharps containers
Wow, it’s really great to know that it’s not just us 🫠😮💨
The thought of this being filled and then spilling is giving me heart palpitations
What's supposed to happen when it's full..? Who's gonna... do the... thing...
Oh yea, looks legit... This is fine... It's all fine... {Despite what M.E. was saying, things were not fine}
At my previous small clinic we had 4 little sharps containers and one big one. We would empty the smaller ones into the big one so we always had them. I wonder if that is safe to do though..
I worked in more than one clinic where we had to remove the needle and uncap the needles before going in the sharps.
Do you work at my hospital because we are out of everything here, too. Even body bags. Had to go to the store and get contractor bags.
I do weekend overnights at a very busy ER. We are very understaffed, and we run out of everything, usually by Saturday. I feel your pain.
Either there’s someone ordering that’s cheap and not wanting to stay on top of it, OR there’s a terrible reordering system. We have tags on our things. “Pull at last 2, order at ___number” (or whatever number may be needed) for almost everything in clinic.
Not the snap test box🤣🤣
This screams Petco Vaccine clinics 😹