Hospital Employee Health – January 1, 2023
January 1, 2023
View Archives Issues
-
Active Shooters Gun Down Healthcare Workers
Violent attacks on healthcare workers in 2022 included a gunman who shot two physicians, a receptionist, and a visitor at Saint Francis Health System in Tulsa, OK, on June 1. In addition to the long-documented physical assaults and verbal aggression, these incidents underscore the relatively rare but real risk to healthcare workers of an active shooter in the building.
-
The Joint Commission Expands Sexual Assault Definition
The Joint Commission has revised its definition of a sexual abuse/assault of healthcare workers, clarifying and expanding it to include social media and related technology. The original definition was developed more than a decade ago, before the ubiquitous presence of social media and related technology.
-
States: End HCW COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
Twenty-two states have joined to petition CMS to stop mandating COVID-19 vaccines for healthcare workers. In a Nov. 18, 2022, letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey called for the vaccination requirement to be withdrawn.
-
Two Strikes? A Black Woman’s Experience Working in Healthcare
In the wake of the disparities in patient care exposed by the pandemic, healthcare continues a racial reckoning that now includes clinicians and employees. Black women in healthcare face entrenched racism daily, from the death by a thousand cuts of microaggressions to the longstanding barriers to leadership positions.
-
A Sharp Learning Curve: New Nurses and Needlesticks
There is some concern incoming nurse graduates whose training was compromised by the COVID-19 pandemic may be vulnerable to needlesticks in clinical settings.
-
Staffing Shortages Create Moral Dilemmas, Injuries
As part of the research for her dissertation, Denise Waterfield, PhD, APRN-NP, CCRN, AGACNP-BC, interviewed and observed 25 critical care nurses. Many seemed upset and frustrated during their shifts due to an overwhelming workload, and there was not much in the way of resources to provide relief.
-
Emergency Nurses Overdosing on Rush of Opioid Patients
Emergency nurses who participated in a study in Philadelphia expressed frustration and other negative emotions about caring for patients addicted to opioids and other drugs.