Risks Faced by Nurses and Mitigation Strategies for the Daytime Operating Room: A Review

Altern Ther Health Med. 2021 Feb 23:AT6771. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTNurses and the nursing profession are the ultimate components of the healthcare system, especially in the operating room, and nurses are exposed to many risks and hazards in the course of performing their jobs. Overall, this appeared to be negligible across the world. Our study aims to give an overview of the risks and safety concerns of operating room nurses as reported in the literature and to look at the strategies or countermeasures that can be taken to surmount them. Major needle and sharps injuries. radiation and surgical smoke exposure, back pain, excessive workloads and patient handling-related injuries were reported extensively. Appropriate precautions, adequate training and experience, enactment of local protocols and policies, creation of a favorable working atmosphere, adequate rest and colleague support can all help overcome these concerns to an extent. At the institutional and political level, effective countermeasures should be taken to guarantee the welfare of competent operators for improved healthcare. Further studies are also required of operating room staff on the risk of chronic diseases and illness in those individuals who have been exposed to atmospheric gasses and smoke.PMID:33620332

Source: Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine - February 23, 2021 Category: Complementary Medicine Authors: Kaili Wu Xue Yang Hongju Dai Source Type: research