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.
Hi Sylvia, Germany does not have any specific restrictions for people living with HIV. Please see here for more information: https://www.hivtravel.org/Default.aspx?PageId=143&CountryId=74
As i-base is a UK based HIV treatment charity, we have no further information about Germany than from this website.
Hallo,im Sylvia, from kenya.does the German government offer job opportunities for nurses living with hiv,and if yes how do they operate at their places of work, and how does one access the regular medical check up and refill?
Dear Afia, i-base is in the UK and HIV status is not relevant to working as a nurse here. Please contct group in Canada though for info there.
Can people living with HIV work as a care assistant in UK and Canada?
Hi Afia, please can you give me more details on what you are asking about?
Ok what about uk
Hi Lea, if the person is comfortable to work and they are working within their employment policies, they would be okay to continue working.
What if the nurse with HIV dropped his t cells count tocthe lowest level and became underwieght. Is the person can still work?
Hi Mark, i-base is UK based. I am unsure of regulations for shipping ARVs into the US. Are you able to contact a local HIV charity where you are living? or your local American embassy to ask about this?
Is it allowed to ship ARVs from the Philippines to the US?