Infection Control
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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.
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An Unusual and Persistent Needlestick
A lab worker sustained a needlestick exposure to the Vaccinia virus (VACV) — an Orthopoxvirus used in biomedical research — and was removed from work for four months, the CDC reported. In December 2018, a healthy, 26-year-old female laboratorian was injecting VACV into the tail of a mouse when she sustained a needlestick injury to her left index finger.
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Sharps Injuries: Emotional, Statistical Challenges
The emotional toll of needlesticks and sharps injuries to healthcare workers often is overshadowed by the sheer numbers and statistical analysis. The ongoing study of sharps injuries and exposures in healthcare workers is supported by The Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare.
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Mass Flu Shots of More than 8,000 Healthcare Workers in One Day
Through a wide-reaching mass flu immunization effort that doubled as an emergency drill, a healthcare system in Delaware recently vaccinated a staggering 8,035 employees in a single day. Such an effort takes considerable planning and administrative support, but there are a multitude of positives — not the least of which is readying a large portion of staff for flu season before the annual virus starts circulating.
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Suggestions for Improving Exempt Determinations by IRBs
Federal regulations provide some room for interpretation in how IRBs might handle exempt determinations under the revised Common Rule. Research programs need to revise their own rules about who makes the determination and how these are handled, given the expansion of the exempt status.