5 Important Health and Safety Tips for Nurses

As a nurse, safety is everything. Knowing the basics of all the safety precautions is crucial – even in the midst of the hustle and bustle of a busy hospital. One slip up will not only potentially cost you your job, but you could also put one of your patients’ lives at risk. Not only that, but there are safety tips to keep in mind for nurses too. With all the dangerous equipment, like heavy x-rays machines and nearly invisible hypodermic needles, you could risky really hurting yourself if you are not careful – really careful. Here are five important health and safety tips for nurses.

1. Don’t let patients convince you that they need to leave. If a patient doesn’t have the authorization to leave, you shouldn’t let them leave. This is especially important in nursing homes where patients have Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. If a patient has one of these age-related diseases that causes them to be confused or lost, they could really injure themselves – either by falling or by walking into the middle of a road. So, always make sure that a patient is authorized before letting them leave. If the patient becomes belligerent or violent, never fight back – always call an orderly.
2. Do not become distracted. A distracted nurse is a nurse that isn’t doing his or her job. Not becoming distracted is incredibly important in the event that you are treating a number of patients at once. The last thing you want is to give a patient the wrong medication or treatment. As a nurse, you always have to stay on your toes, or else you could risk causing a patient or yourself serious harm. In addition, staying focused and alert will allow you to be more attentive to all your patients’ needs.
3. Always check on your patients. If you visit www.CnaOnlinePrograms.net and enter a nursing program, one of the main things you will learn is that always looking after your patients is critical in the medical field. If you work in a hospital setting, skipping a schedule check could result in someone losing his or her life. A lot of patients are at risk of going into cardiac arrest or having a stroke. If you don’t want to risk patients losing their lives under your care, make sure to visit their rooms multiple times during your shift.
4. Make sure to maintain all the safety precautions when it comes to needles. As a nurse you might be administering shots and immunizations, so it is critical to maintain a safe environment when doing so. This is why it is important to make sure the skin is always sterilized before administering a shot or immunization. Also, always throw the needle and syringe into the biohazard bin. After you administer a shot, always use a cap, so that you don’t risk pricking yourself.
5. Always be careful when lifting a patient. While you don’t want to accidently drop a patient, you also don’t want to hurt your own back. So, make sure to bend your knees when you lift and always engage your abdomen muscles to avoid back injuries. Also, always ask for help if anyone or anything is too heavy to lift by yourself.