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It just takes an evening of viewing the television drama E.R. to know that hospital work is stressful. But the stress that evolves into an occupational hazard isn't from treating trauma victims or mysterious illnesses.
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OSHA has proposed wording changes to the following sections of standards that related to the health care industry:
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No more needlesticks. That sounds like a laudable goal that could prevent health care workers from being exposed to deadly diseases. But, in tandem, hospitals need to maintain another important message that could actually cause their numbers to rise: Report all needlesticks.
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Imagine a disposable respirator that fits well right out of the box. Or perhaps even a respirator that's inexpensive and requires no annual fit-test.
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When removing personal protective equipment, it's important for health care workers to realize that the gowns, gloves, masks, and goggles are contaminated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) have slightly different protocols, but both are designed to prevent health care workers from becoming ill from contaminated PPE.
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The problem is a common one: Patient handling leads to back strain and pain and even to serious injury. The solution is less obvious: Empower health care workers to analyze the tasks and come up with their own corrective plan.
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Pressure to vaccinate more health care workers against influenza will grow even more intense this year, as public health officials seek to reach the Healthy People 2010 goal of immunizing 60% of all health care workers.
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"Everyone deserves a shot at fighting flu." The catchy slogan of the American Nurses Association (ANA) is an example of the marketing push for greater flu vaccination of health care workers. Everyone is stepping up their role to raise the influenza immunization rate.
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When an obese patient who is fully dependent is admitted to your hospital, it doesn't matter how many health care workers try to work together to manually lift the patient. It cannot be done safely.
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The future direction of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is once again in question as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH, declined to reappoint John Howard, MD, as director.
