Poster - #CU-5 - Keywords: MRSA precautions and nursing interventions

Nursing Considerations When Providing Care for a Patient with Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

Samantha Ennis and Hannah Paul
Catherine W. Wood School of Nursing, Campbell University

ABSTRACT:
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a type of staph bacteria that has evolved to resist most of the antibiotics that are typically used to treat staph infections (Ben-Joseph, 2019). Most MRSA infections occur in health care settings, such as hospitals and nursing homes, and are usually associated with invasive procedures or devices, such as surgeries, IV tubing, or artificial joints (Pruthi, 2022).           In this scenario, the patient has had a recent right knee total arthroplasty, which became infected with MRSA and caused septic arthritis. Being that MRSA is spread through skin-to-skin contact, it is important for the new graduate nurse to understand and implement MRSA precautions and interventions when providing care to a MRSA positive patient. Following these precautions can not only aid in the recovery of the MRSA patient, but also prevent the spread of MRSA to other patients that the new graduate is taking care of.