Leading the Pack: VCU Internal Medicine Nurses Do it Safely!
There seems to be endless construction where I work. It is not uncommon for me to pass a construction site at the hospital and note that all workers are seemingly compliant with the use of personal protective equipment; gloves, goggles, hard hats and steel toed boots.
I am still bewildered why healthcare workers are so nonchalant in the use of protective measures, unnecessarily exposing themselves to potentially infectious agents through splashes in the eyes and mouth or through percutaneous injuries with sharp devices. This happens daily.
There is a growing body of literature detailing that personal protective measures result in a safer care. Use of goggle, gowns and gloves will limit the exposure to infectious agents. In the OR, protective eyewear, double gloving, use of hands free zones and blunt tip suture needles, as championed by the American College of Surgeons, will greatly enhance safety.
Sadly, there is a body of literature reporting that healthcare workers are uniformly poor in donning protective equipment at the point of care. Barriers include access to protective equipment, education and perception of risk. In some analyses, it seems that healthcare worker autonomy trumps safety. This is neatly explored in Dr. Atul Gawande’s book, the Checklist Manifesto. The translation of evidence into clinical practice is known as implementation science. For a relevant publication on implementing a safety culture change, I refer you to this article in the British Medical Journal.
Ironically, the same healthcare workers who refuse to wear protective equipment in the hospital will subsequently minimize risk on their drive home by wearing a seatbelt.
HCWs: Please practice safety at all times as you are invaluable to all of us.
