What Goes Unreported Goes Unfixed: Why are Sharps Injuries Still Going Unreported in the OR?
Webinar | login information to come | 60 min. | English | Zoom
Perioperative nurses ensure that their patients receive safe & reliable care, often at the expense of their own safety. Systematic underreporting of occupational sharps injuries continues to occur, despite regulatory mandates and ORNAC standards. There are serious risks that hospitals are not effectively implementing injury prevention strategies, as the extent of the problem hasn’t been well documented, and investment in safety is usually based on reported injury statistics.
A literature review has been undertaken to examine why sharps injuries are underreported, which uncovered several individual and organizational factors. Key recommendations will be provided for perioperative leaders to advocate for an improvement in OR safety climate, including auditing current practices, gaining management commitment, communicating collaboratively, improving sharps training programs, & investing in safety-engineered devices.
A safe environment for the patient and team members requires everyone to feel empowered to report injuries. Otherwise, safety concerns will continue to go unnoticed & unfixed