Journal of emergency nursing : JEN : official publication of the Emergency Department Nurses Association
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Health care workers are more likely than most other occupations to experience work-related injuries, and emergency nurses frequently encounter job-related hazards in their daily routine. Risk factors for non-violence-related workplace injuries among nurses include heavy workloads, aging of the nursing workforce, workplace environmental factors, obesity, and non-standard work schedules. These factors impact nurses' decisions regarding whether or not to return to their job or to stay in their field of practice, thereby exacerbating workforce shortages and hindering recruitment and retention efforts. ⋯ While these results provide only a preliminary understanding of ED non-violence-related workplace injuries, they form the basis of a fundamental model for prevention of workplace injuries among emergency nurses. The model can be used to help establish a culture of ED workplace safety through the integration of safety policies and programs, access to safety equipment and controls, and optimal staffing levels. Support from hospital administrators for ED workplace safety initiatives that address these three components, along with current best practice recommendations from the field of occupational health and safety, have the potential to improve workplace safety for emergency nurses.
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This paper presents a study of prehospital care with particular focus on how ambulance personnel prepare themselves for their everyday assignments. ⋯ Our findings suggest that the outcomes of good prehospital care affect patient security. The seemingly time-consuming dialogue with the patient facilitates understanding and decision-making regarding the patient's medical needs, and it is comforting to the patient. The ambulance personnel need to be well prepared for this task and fully understand that the situation might differ considerably from the information provided by the EMD centers. All objective information is of great value in this care context, but ultimately it is the patient who provides reliable information about her/his own situation.