Every time I've come close to picking up a needle, that's been reinforced to me by housestaff, attendings and surrounding support staff. In practice, however, not all supervising physicians pay close attention to safety protocols. Some are very good about telling us to be very careful, that this is an HIV patient, and some are more carefree. They don't talk about it or don't use universal precautions themselves. In fact, physicians and residents alike said it's not uncommon for residents to sidestep basic safety procedures and not wear gloves, not recap needles and not immediately place sharps into a nearby needle disposal box, particularly when they are fatigued or rushed, such as in a code situation.
Residents do get in a hurry, or they get tired and take risks unnecessarily.
That's when most accidents occur, when people are tired or overworked. The challenge, according to educators, is to be vigilant about safety. I'm not so sure everybody is thinking all the time about the process. This means treating all human blood and human body fluids as if they are known to be infectious for HIV, hepatitis or other blood-borne pathogens. Obviously, a patient infected with HIV or hepatitis may not show any symptoms.