As a nurse, your calling is to help other people, whether they are sick or about to have a baby. Working in a hospital as a nurse is a rewarding, if demanding, profession.
Unfortunately, many nurses will wind up in need of medical care themselves because of their profession. Working in a hospital is truly a dangerous job, and you are actually at higher risk than people in the construction industry to get hurt at work according to federal workplace safety statistics.
There are countless possible dangers in a hospital environment. What are the three risk factors that will most likely impact your safety while you work in a hospital?
Overexertion of your body
The number one cause of lost-time incidents in hospitals is workers suffering bodily reactions to the demands that come with patient care. Needing to lift patients is particularly dangerous. Nurses can hurt their backs, knees, hips or arms providing patient care. Overexertion is responsible for almost half (48%) of all reported injuries to workers and hospitals.
Slips, trips and falls
You never know when a patient is going to push the call button or when monitoring equipment will indicate there is an emergency. Rushing around can easily result in a nurse slipping and falling. There is even the possibility of someone falling and getting hurt while going up and down stairs during their shift. Falls are responsible for another 25% of all hospital worker injuries.
Contact with dangerous objects
Nurses have to handle numerous dangerous items as part of their work. There are scalpels and operating rooms, defibrillators anywhere there are patients and syringes all over the place. Accidentally touching one of those devices in the wrong way could lead to severe injury or possibly illness. Contact is objects as responsible for another 13% of lost-time incidents reported in modern hospitals.
Nurses who understand the biggest injury risks at their job will have an easier time staying safe at work. If they do get hurt, they can potentially claim both medical benefits and disability coverage for their time away from work.
Realizing that you qualify for workers’ compensation can make the aftermath of a workplace injury seem less intimidating for a nurse unable to work.