A new look at nursing safety: the development and use of JHAs in the emergency department

Paper Number: ASSE-05-A404.

Nationally, a critical nursing shortage looms. In addition to the fact that nurses are increasingly in short supply, the aging of the nursing profession combines to present a daunting challenge to the healthcare field. Exactly why students may not be choosing the nursing profession in adequate numbers is not known. However, several factors inherent to nursing are suspected. For example, the strong likelihood of experiencing severe occupational injuries (i.e., back injury) or illnesses (i.e., occupational stress, or some blood borne pathogen) or workplace violence, which nurses face daily, are arguably primary motivators for nurses to leave the profession, thus adding to the shortage. Presumably, the safety of nurses themselves and subsequently, that of their patients, depend directly on the degree to which nurses can identify and control the varied occupational hazards specific to jobs. This study reviews the nature and scope of occupational nursing hazards and the degree to which current nursing education and position descriptions equip nurses to recognize and abate the hazards inherent in their jobs. Further, it will present a research design that addresses the lack of formal training nurses currently receive regarding job-related hazard recognition and avoidance strategies.