Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

Health Care Workers and HIV Testing The consequences of HIV infection are very serious, if not fatal. Statistics show health care providers with AIDS make up 4.8% of the total reported AIDS cases (Kent). Some health care workers have an especially high risk of contracting AIDS from their patients. If a health care provider is unaware that they have contracted the disease they run the risk of infecting other patients. Because of the many laws that protect health care providers from discrimination, employees have no reason be fearful of coming forth and informing their employer that they have contracted AIDS. In order to protect both the patient and health care provider it is vital that health care workers be tested regularly and report the results to their employer or the medical board. When health care employees follow the HIV testing guidelines they help to prevent the spread of this deadly virus. AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, a disease in which the body's immune system breaks down. Normally, the immune system fights off infections and certain other diseases. When the system fails, a person with AIDS can develop a variety of life-threatening illnesses. The virus called the human immunodeficienc