Hospital Employee Health
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WHO Declares Coronavirus Outbreak an International Emergency
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-CoV) outbreak in China a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on Jan. 30. WHO emphasized China will not be isolated from the global community, which can happen after a PHEIC is issued.
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New Coronavirus Exploding Out of China Poses Threat to Healthcare Workers
Given the deadly precedents of SARS and MERS coronaviruses, a rapidly emerging similar virus out of Wuhan, China, could pose a grave threat to healthcare workers in the United States. As of Jan. 21, the World Health Organization reported that 16 healthcare workers had been infected by the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019- nCoV), and none have died. However, those numbers were considered conservative amid a dramatically accelerating situation as this report was filed.
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Paradigm Shift Needed on Healthcare Violence
Workplace violence in healthcare occurs at rates more than four times higher than in other industries. Patients and family are under stress, and often take it out on the physicians, nurses, and other employees.
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Patient Watch: Alternatives to Using Nurses and Security Officers
Hospitals often struggle with the need to provide close watch over a potentially dangerous patient without relying on skilled nurses or security officers who are needed elsewhere. Some hospitals find that a patient watch program is the right solution.
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Applying Ethics to Burnout
Between one-third and one-half of U.S. clinicians are experiencing burnout, according to a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The report confirmed that burnout among U.S. clinicians is occurring at alarming rates, and made recommendations for system reforms and human factors redesign.
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Healthcare Worker Attitudes and Perceptions About Respiratory Protection
In an unusual qualitative study, healthcare workers revealed a variety of attitudes about respiratory protection equipment, including motivations and suspicions that could improve or undermine compliance.
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Surprised by Joy: A Framework for Finding Meaning in Work
There may seem to be a chasm between healthcare work and the commonly understood meaning of “joy,” but the Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is dedicated to bringing the ambitious goal of “joy in work” into reality. The IHI framework is designed to reduce staff burnout while improving patient care and overall organizational performance.
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Work Culture: Breaking Down Silos, Ending the Silence
Experts say workplace culture change — a critical issue in an era of pervasive burnout — must include leadership, but it often begins at the grassroots level with some simple but aggravating problem.
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Antivaccine Movement Pushing States on Immunization
Employee health professionals should be aware that the national antivaccine movement is lobbying state legislatures to restrict or limit use of vaccines critical for public health. Vaccine avoidance based on misinformation threatens herd immunity and vulnerable populations that cannot be immunized. The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology is staying abreast of this trend, and advising vaccine advocates to speak up if they see such laws appear on their state dockets.
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Patient Handling Challenges for the OR Nurse
While the operating room is on the cutting edge in innovative technology and procedures, the ability to safely handle and reposition patients too often is stuck in the past. The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses is emphasizing the risk of injury to healthcare workers in moving and handling surgical patients, and has issued guidelines and toolkits to address the issue.