Caring For Nurses

Caring for Those Who Care, Nurses Safety
Being a nurse is a big responsibility on caring for others but, who care for the nurse’s safety? “Nursing personnel have one of the highest job related injury rates of any occupation” (Foley, M., Caring for Those Who Care, 2004). Among the professionals in the healthcare field, nurses are the ones more exposed to various risks since we have direct contact with the patients. Some of these risks are caused by chemical, physical, biological and psychosocial agents. Among those the greatest risks for nurses is the biological risk; one of the most worrisome biological hazards include exposure to the AIDS (HIV) virus, and ancestral bacterial diseases such as pulmonary tuberculosis. Another big risk is the …show more content…
The main route of transmission of these viruses is through exposure to blood by percutaneous injuries (needle stick). More than 60 pathogens can be introduced by this route of transmission including viruses, bacteria, parasites and yeasts. Nurses are in permanent contact with body fluids (saliva, sputum, blood, feces, etc. ) from the patients, without adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) (gloves, masks , gowns, etc. ) and without proper working conditions the biological risk is higher. It is in our hands and our responsibility to protect ourselves from blood borne and pathogens using personal protective equipment. Low adherence to the use of these equipment and improper handling are such as discomfort , carelessness , forgetfulness, lack of habit etc. the use of such equipment is also related to the perception that healthcare employees have about the biological risks that they are exposed. We as future nurses need to be aware that our lives could depend on protecting ourselves by using the right and proper equipment in every situation with the mentality that not only we are protecting ourselves but also the patient. Gloves should be used at all times when handling the patient and a mask shield when we believe there could be splash of body fluids that can penetrate our sensible mucosa from mouth and/or …show more content…
The concept of psychosocial factors are those of working conditions that are directly related to the organization, job content and performance of the task that have the capacity to affect both, the nurse welfare and/or health ( physical, mental or social ). In the journal nurses were depriving patients of exceptional health care due to high stress. Nurses were concerned about the lack of qualified staff, working extra hours and even skipping meals putting at risk their own health (Foley, 2004). In order for a nurse to provide high quality care to patients he/she must be mentally and physically healthy to perform the job where high demands need to be met by eating and get well rest. In other hand a good healthcare facility must have enough, adequate and qualified staff to serve patients on a daily basis and any

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