title: Medical students' occupational exposures to potentially infectious agents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the epidemiology of occupational exposures sustained by third-year medical students at a state university medical school, and identify associated factors that may be modified to decrease exposure risk.
  
  
  METHODS
  The cohort consisted of all third-year students after completion of each third-year clerkship rotation. At the end of each clinical rotation (a total of six for each student during the year), questionnaires were distributed to the 119 students. Demographic information, type of exposure, rotation, circumstances, compliance with CDC universal precaution recommendations, and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) were assessed. Inferential statistics were used to describe the results.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of a total of 714 questionnaires, 644 (90.2%) were returned. Of the 644, there were 60 reports (9.3%) of one or more exposures to blood or body fluids. The incidence of exposure varied with clerkship: 23 on surgery, 18 on obstetrics-gynecology, eight on outpatient medicine, four on psychiatry, four on pediatrics, and three on internal medicine. Thirty-six (60%) were skin or mucous membrane exposures to blood, body fluid, or respiratory secretions, and 24 (40%) were percutaneous exposure by instrument. Ten (17%) of the exposures resulted in official incident reports and seven accepted PEP recommendations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Medical students are often exposed to body fluids during their initial clerkship year, primarily in their surgical rotations. Additional education on these rotations may be useful in reducing exposure risk.
authors.affiliation: Florida Emergency Physicians, Orlando, Florida, USA.
authors.forename: Dale
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Birenbaum
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wohl
authors.forename: Bill
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Duda
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Runyon
authors.forename: Brad
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stearns
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Willett
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001826:Body Fluids; D002982:Clinical Clerkship; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control; D008511:Medicine; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D013038:Specialization; D013337:Students, Medical