I am a new nursing student. My professor says that patients with HIV and or Hep B must be placed in isolation while in the hospita. I can not find any confirmation to the truthfulness or falsness of this statement. I don't believe my instructor. All hospitals should be using universal blood precations, which should take care of any infectious potentials. She also says that HIV can be caught by touching sheets that have been wet with urine. Is what she is teaching correct? Or is she filling our heads with a lot of unfounded fears. Thank you, New to nursing

Hello New Nurse,

Your "professor" told you HIV can be contracted by touching sheets wet with urine and that HIV and hepatitis B patients must be placed in isolation while in the hospital????? WHAT??? Are you sure this is a professor and not perhaps a janitor who might be filling in while the real professor took the day off??? There is not even an ounce of "truthiness" in what your "professor" (and I use that term very loosely) told you and if he or she is actually teaching such nonsense, he or she should be reported to the head of your training program. This "professor" sounds like someone Fox News would use as a "medical expert." As with most of Fox's experts, this person is spouting off complete poppycock and ignoring hard scientific facts. I do hope you will report this person to the directors of the training program, as "teachings" such as these can be dangerous.

Dr. Bob