Sharps Safety

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According to OSHA (as cited in Potter and Perry, 2013), between 600,000 and one million accidental sharps injuries, including needle sticks, take place in one year within health care settings (Potter, Perry, Stockert, Hall, 2013). Surprisingly, these numbers were 38% higher before the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act was put into place in 2000 (Phillips, Conaway, & Jagger, (2012). Even though the occurrences of sharps injuries are declining, sharps safety is still very critical in all health care settings. In this paper, we will examine importance of sharp safety specifically in operating rooms by looking at how sharps safety is compromised, how the compromised safety can harm the patient and workers, and how to improve sharps safety. …show more content…
For this paper we will focus on the surgical setting. In the operating room, there are quite a few factors that put personnel, as well as the patient, at risk for sharp related injuries. According to a journal article by Janine Jagger, MPH, PhD; Ramon Berguer, MD, FACS; Elayne Kornblatt Phillips, RN, MPH, PhD; Ginger Parker, MBA, and Ahmed E. Gomaa, MD, ScD, MSPH; there are usually large amounts of body fluids exposed, and working with members of a team can increase the incidence of miscommunication during hand offs. There are also many more sharp instruments being used in the operating room compared to the average healthcare setting, such as syringes, sutures, and scalpels. Visual fields are also compromised due to the equipment, such as masks, and the personnel also have to be positioned in such a way to keep the sterile field in their field of vision. All of these factors can compromise safety in the operating room (Jagger, Berguer, Phillips, Parker, & Gomaa, …show more content…
The Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses mentions several ways to practice sharps safety in the operating room. For example, when possible, use staples and steristrips instead of sutures to prevent the possibility of accidental injury. One can also double glove, use the scoop method when recapping, and dispose of appropriate items in the sharps container. It is also recommended to place needles in a puncture resistant, disposable container after use when operating. Hands free pass offs between personnel also reduce the chance of accidental needle sticks. By following these safety tips, surgical teams can reduce the number of sharps injuries and maintain the health of both the patients and the workers (Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses & Alliance,
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