Question
Can nurses who are HIV positive continue working?
4 April 2007. Related: All topics.
Should nurses who are HIV positive stop practicing? What about other health care providers?
Answer
There is no reason why the HIV status of the vast majority of healthcare providers should have any impact on their job. There are HIV positive nurses, doctors, pharmacists, GPs and other healthcare workers, just as there are HIV positive cleaners, teachers, bus drivers, police officers and nearly every other trade and profession.
Exceptions for employment issues only occur when there is a direct risk of transmitting HIV and usually a risk of blood-to-blood contact. This is not the case for most nurses.
Examples where HIV status can be an issue in healthcare include surgeons and dentists, who could put a patient at risk for HIV (or hepatitis B or C, or TB) transmission.
An assessment of risks by healthcare job, including recommending whether different HIV-positive healthcare workers should treat patients in England is included in Annex B of the Department of Health booklet:
‘Health clearance for tuberculosis, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV: New healthcare workers’
A similar list for Scotland is at this link:
Scottish recommendations for HIV-positive healthcare workers
There are plenty of examples of HIV positive nurses and doctors, and no reported cases of this leading to HIV transmission to HIV-negative patients.
Hello Aditi and thanks for getting in touch.
Unfortunately, this website specialises in HIV treatment, not migration.
However, the below link has information about travel and immigration:
https://www.positivedestinations.info
We wish you every success in your future endeavours
Hello, greetings to you.I am a fresher who has recently completed my BSc Nursing degree in India. I am HIV positive and would like to pursue my career abroad. I would like to know if I am eligible to work overseas, and if so, which countries would be suitable for me to apply to.
Hi Envertiz, i-Base is for treatment questions rather than employment questions. Howeverm it is okay to be a nurse in Ireland if you are HIV positive.