Healthcare professionals are on the front lines of a global pandemic. But even before that occurred, they still faced a long list of potential injuries. In other words, construction, landscaping or manufacturing are dangerous professions, but so is working each shift in a hospital, clinic or extended stay facility.
Typical causes of injury
Typical injuries are tied to muscle strain, overexertion, repetitive stress, and slip and fall accidents. These injuries can occur when involving one of the following situations:
- Patient handling: Nurses and staff often need to move, adjust or transport a patient during a shift. It can lead to unexpected or physically awkward situations where the staffer struggles to prevent an injury to the patient.
- Patient violence: Some patients may fight against the help or movement, causing additional stress and injury. It may be due to an altercation, an unexpected push, a physical outburst, a seizure, or something else.
- Visitor violence: In these stressful times, it is pretty common for a visitor to react strongly to unsettling information, disagreement with facility policy, or because they are under great duress. These healthy people can sometimes cause severe injuries.
- Apparatus-related injuries: Healthcare workers can get jabbed by a needle, sliced by a sharp instrument or squeezed under a large piece of equipment. This can involve physical trauma, exposure to chemicals or other injuries.
Long hours take their toll
The workload of healthcare workers is unrelenting and stressful. It can even lead to injuries due to mistakes. While medical care is certainly not lacking, there could still be significant time off for injuries. It is wise for workers to immediately seek medical treatment and follow all protocols in reporting injuries.