Nurse Safety
According to Fink (2013), nursing is one of the riskiest occupations in America today. In 2010, approximately 654,000 healthcare professionals were injured in the workplace, with these injuries primarily afflicting nurses (Fink, 2013). Nurses provide the majority of a patient’s healthcare, but are still underappreciated. These professionals work long rigorous shifts that take a toll on their body and may impact patient’s safety. Nurse safety is vital for the hospital to insure excellent patient services and the well being of their own nurses (Schub, & Mennella, 2016). This paper seeks to express how workplace hazards impact the safety of nurses through factors such as handling and mobility, bullying, and biohazards in the workplace. …show more content…
This is explained through factors such as social, individual and organizational (Lowenstein, 2013). Work place bullying affects the staff, primarily nurses, and it can also potentially affect the patients. Schub and Mennella (2016) interviewed a nurse; the individual explained how they were persistently mistreated by physicians, belittled and were not able to defend themselves against the abuse (Lowenstein, 2013). A study in Taiwan was conducted and five hundred and twenty one nurses participated, of those nurses 51.4% experienced verbal abuse, 29.8% been victims of bullying, and 12.9% reported having experienced sexual harassment (Lowenstein, 2013). These victims that are bullied often experience dissatisfaction with their work, along with psychological and physiological effects (Allen, B. & Reynolds, R., 2015). Nurses who experience workplace bullying expressed that some doctors proceed to incivility and humiliation that often causes victims to feel shamed for their position in the healthcare industry (Lowenstein, 2013). Lowenstein (2013) suggested the reason behind the workplace bullying is the power struggles and tension that doctors feel as though they are the most powerful in the healthcare setting. Others have described the cause of bullying to be racism among the nurses recruited to the UK, suggesting that discrimination is the root of cause of nurses …show more content…
The healthcare setting contains infectious agents or hazardous biological or chemical materials which have harmful effects on nurses either indirectly through damage on the work environment or directly through infection (Rim & Lim, 2014). These biohazards include bodily fluids, infectious agents, and chemicals. Nurses are continuously in contact with bodily fluids such as saliva, blood, and urine. According to Rim and Lim (2014), about 50 percent of nurses are exposed to some form of blood from a patient at least once a month. Although proper protocols are in place, there are always instances where blood from a patient splashes onto a nurse’s bare skin, mouth, nose, or eyes (Rim et al., 2014). This exposure puts nurses at risk of contracting life-threatening disease such as Hepatitis, viral hemorrhagic fever, and even HIV. Nurses also have contact higher with infected individuals (Lowenstein, 2013). This increases the chances of them getting infections such as the flu. In addition to biohazards, nurses are exposed to chemicals on a daily basis. Among the long list of harmful chemicals nurses are at risk of exposure to include: anesthetic gasses, formaldehyde, ethylene oxide, and paraformaldehyde. This exposure can be absorbed through skin, eyes, or by inhaling (Lowenstein, 2013). Exposure to skin can cause sever rashes or burns. Inhaling harmful chemicals can lead to chronic problems or a more immediate problem of
According to Fink (2013), nursing is one of the riskiest occupations in America today. In 2010, approximately 654,000 healthcare professionals were injured in the workplace, with these injuries primarily afflicting nurses (Fink, 2013). Nurses provide the majority of a patient’s healthcare, but are still underappreciated. These professionals work long rigorous shifts that take a toll on their body and may impact patient’s safety. Nurse safety is vital for the hospital to insure excellent patient services and the well being of their own nurses (Schub, & Mennella, 2016). This paper seeks to express how workplace hazards impact the safety of nurses through factors such as handling and mobility, bullying, and biohazards in the workplace. …show more content…
This is explained through factors such as social, individual and organizational (Lowenstein, 2013). Work place bullying affects the staff, primarily nurses, and it can also potentially affect the patients. Schub and Mennella (2016) interviewed a nurse; the individual explained how they were persistently mistreated by physicians, belittled and were not able to defend themselves against the abuse (Lowenstein, 2013). A study in Taiwan was conducted and five hundred and twenty one nurses participated, of those nurses 51.4% experienced verbal abuse, 29.8% been victims of bullying, and 12.9% reported having experienced sexual harassment (Lowenstein, 2013). These victims that are bullied often experience dissatisfaction with their work, along with psychological and physiological effects (Allen, B. & Reynolds, R., 2015). Nurses who experience workplace bullying expressed that some doctors proceed to incivility and humiliation that often causes victims to feel shamed for their position in the healthcare industry (Lowenstein, 2013). Lowenstein (2013) suggested the reason behind the workplace bullying is the power struggles and tension that doctors feel as though they are the most powerful in the healthcare setting. Others have described the cause of bullying to be racism among the nurses recruited to the UK, suggesting that discrimination is the root of cause of nurses …show more content…
The healthcare setting contains infectious agents or hazardous biological or chemical materials which have harmful effects on nurses either indirectly through damage on the work environment or directly through infection (Rim & Lim, 2014). These biohazards include bodily fluids, infectious agents, and chemicals. Nurses are continuously in contact with bodily fluids such as saliva, blood, and urine. According to Rim and Lim (2014), about 50 percent of nurses are exposed to some form of blood from a patient at least once a month. Although proper protocols are in place, there are always instances where blood from a patient splashes onto a nurse’s bare skin, mouth, nose, or eyes (Rim et al., 2014). This exposure puts nurses at risk of contracting life-threatening disease such as Hepatitis, viral hemorrhagic fever, and even HIV. Nurses also have contact higher with infected individuals (Lowenstein, 2013). This increases the chances of them getting infections such as the flu. In addition to biohazards, nurses are exposed to chemicals on a daily basis. Among the long list of harmful chemicals nurses are at risk of exposure to include: anesthetic gasses, formaldehyde, ethylene oxide, and paraformaldehyde. This exposure can be absorbed through skin, eyes, or by inhaling (Lowenstein, 2013). Exposure to skin can cause sever rashes or burns. Inhaling harmful chemicals can lead to chronic problems or a more immediate problem of