April 28th is World Day for Safety and Health at Work
This day promotes safe, healthy, and decent working conditions. As a healthcare staffing application, at Nursa we want to focus on the well-being of our nation’s healthcare workers. The day serves as an opportunity to reflect on how to prevent occupational deaths, injuries, and illnesses, as well as remember those who have passed away due to work-related accidents. By raising awareness of the importance of health and safety in the workplace, more lives can be saved.
Healthcare Worker Safety
Did you know that according to OSHA, a hospital is considered one of the most hazardous places to work? When it comes to healthcare worker safety, the workplace is always brimming with hazards. It’s always important to keep up with safety procedures and protocols. In recent years, a reported lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) has become a huge issue in the healthcare field. Statistically, 70% of the healthcare workforce is women. The pandemic has increased the risk of acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among frontline nurses.
Safety and Health Procedures and Protocols
Did you know that 8 out of 10 workers suffer from back injuries sometime in their lifetime? In the workplace, it’s always important to follow safety protocols and procedures to keep yourself and others safe. When it comes to healthcare, you need to keep yourself, coworkers, and patients safe from workplace hazards. By using lift equipment in healthcare, you’re decreasing the risks of injuries, infections, or diseases.
Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Using PPE is the best way to prevent any contact incidents. PPE refers to protective clothing, helmets, gloves, face shields, goggles, facemasks, respirators, and other equipment designed to protect the user from injury or the spread of infection. PPE protects patients from contracting infections during surgical procedures or other medical conditions. They won’t be exposed to foreign materials or other harmful substances that could cause diseases or infections. PPE acts as a barrier between infectious contaminants and your skin, eyes, nose, or mouth. Practices such as washing your hands, using alcohol-based hand sanitizers, and covering your cough/sneezes help prevent diseases and infections from spreading to others. Always remember to properly dispose of contaminated PPE after use.
Physical Safety Precautions for Healthcare Workers
Safety has also become a concern for certified nursing assistants (CNA). CNA safety should consist of minimum infection control practices that protect clients, visitors, and staff. This includes the availability of proper hygiene control, PPE, respiratory hygiene, sharp containers, sterile instruments, and clean environmental surfaces. You should always be fully aware of your safety equipment.
Nurses run the risk of exposure to blood, urine, saliva, and other bodily fluids when in the work environment. This increases the risk of contracting hepatitis B, hepatitis C, human immunodeficiency virus, or other diseases. Remember to wear your gloves and wash your hands before and after contact with a patient.
Using proper patient lifting support can also decrease the risk of back injuries. If hoists and other assistive devices are not available, ask a coworker for assistance.
Stress-Related Injuries in the Healthcare Setting
Repetitive stress injuries are also a risk for nurses at the workplace. This can occur by lifting without the proper support, repetitive motions, or awkward posture. Injuries caused by stress may include:
- carpal tunnel syndrome
- bursitis
- trigger finger
- tendinitis
Stress-related symptoms can be muscle tension, headaches or migraines, and high blood pressure. To prevent these stress-related injuries, it’s important to take breaks and relieve stress on certain muscles and joints. Avoid awkward angles and positions and maintain proper posture. Remember to stretch and keep flexible, muscles need to be warm in order to work well. Remember to rotate tasks, and ask for assistance. Know your limitations, and prevent the risk of stress-related injuries.
Preventing Violence in the Healthcare Setting
It is important to prevent workplace violence in healthcare. Nurses in healthcare facilities, nursing homes, and other settings face many risks of workplace violence. Working with people who have a history of violence, delirium, or are under the influence of drugs are factors that contribute to workplace violence.
Ways to prevent workplace violence in the workspace is to do background checks. Workplace violence prevention starts with who you are hiring. Completing background checks on potential employees who were convicted of violent crimes in the past. Creating policies that prevent harassment at the workplace also decreases the risk of workplace violence. An offensive work environment serves as a warning for violence. Creating policies to prevent harassment is a crucial step in preventing workplace violence.
Nursa Recognizes the Importance of Healthcare Worker Safety
On April 28th, we remember to follow policies and rules to keep us and others safe, especially in the healthcare field. We want to improve the safety of others around the world and build better systems to reduce error and decrease harm in the workplace.
