Needlestick injury Archives

Health Technology Hazards: Top 10 for 2012

Advances in health technology can save patients’ lives, but can also cause harm, as the recent Ecri Institute report, Top 10 Technology Hazards for 2012, reminds us. Here’s a snapshot of the hazards nurses should be focusing on, and some suggestions they give on how to prevent them.

1. Alarm hazards
The risk: With nurses being constantly bombarded by bells, it’s easy to see how alarm fatigue can set in, leading to desensitization, nurses being unable to distinguish the urgency level of alarms, and improper alarm adjusting.

Some suggestions: According to the report, a facility should look at the big picture, examining the entire alarm environment when setting up an alarm-management system. Alarm notification and response protocols should be developed to ensure that each alarm will be recognized, that the appropriate caregiver will be notified, and that the alarm will be promptly addressed. Policies should also be established to control alarm silencing, modification, and disabling.

2. Radiation exposure
The risk: High levels of radiation used during radiation therapy can cause serious harm if errors occur, including damage to normal tissue and organs. And despite radiation levels being lower in diagnostic settings, the increasing number of patients undergoing diagnostic radiography may reveal more risks in the future.

Some suggestions: The report suggests that […]

Amy M. Collins, managing editor2016-11-21T13:11:03-05:00January 5th, 2012|Nursing|0 Comments

Why Do Needlestick Injuries Still Haunt Us 10 Years after Protective Legislation?

By Shawn Kennedy, AJN interim editor-in-chief

In 2008, a survey by the American Nurses Association (ANA) indicated that 64% of nurses reported a needlestick injury. That startling figure was reported by Marla Weston, CEO of the ANA, in her opening remarks last week when the ANA relaunched “Safe Needles Save Lives,” its campaign for use of safe needles in the workplace. The campaign originally launched ten years ago and was instrumental in passage of Public Law 106-430, the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act, which requires employers to “identify, evaluate, and make use of effective safer medical devices.” And while there have been inroads towards use of safer needle systems, the 2008 data show that much needs to be done.

Speaking from experience. Karen Daley, the ANA president, has long been a leader in advocating for safer needle systems. She sustained a needlestick injury while working in the ER a decade ago and contracted hepatitis and HIV infection. Her home state, Massachusetts, has been in the forefront of legislation. According to Angela Laramie from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, all hospitals in Massachusetts are mandated to use sharps injury prevention devices, maintain a log of any injuries, and submit an annual report to the state. Yet, state data show an average of 3,000 needlestick injuries yearly—and more than half of these are with devices that lack safe […]