AIDS is not about culture, gender, or sexual preference. It is about a disease of gigantic proportions involving all of humanity and represents a worldwide health issue. Society must educate people, especially teens and young adults, that there is no cure for AIDS. Awareness, prevention, and precaution, are the only tools against this disease. Ignorance must be eliminated in order for a cure and proper care to evolve. AIDS and the HIV virus pose special challenges for nurses.
Casual, everyday contact with an AIDS infected person does not expose anyone to AIDS, but for nurses the challenges are many. Accidental injuries from needles and other sharp-instruments contaminated with the virus, unprotected exposure to human blood, and certain body fluids pose the risk of AIDS transmission on the job. AIDS requires a level of training for nurses that are unique. It is this kind of training that gives nurses a very good understanding of what the issues of caring for an AIDS patient are. By carefully following stringent precautious and using protective practices and personal protective equipment, nurses can give appropriate and responsible care to AIDS patients.
Society must become more understanding and supportive in dealing with aids, especially to those who have contracted the disease unsuspectingly. AIDS patients are humans with a disease and in order to cure that disease care must be given. It is my opinion that every nurse should be able to provide that care. Dying of any disease is bad enough, but to feel the rejection of society and the medical staff is cruel. A nurse has the knowledge to help heal and should use that knowledge, with the right precautions, regardless of the situation.
