{"id":4741,"date":"2018-01-16T12:57:05","date_gmt":"2018-01-16T17:57:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/?p=4741"},"modified":"2018-04-19T14:45:53","modified_gmt":"2018-04-19T18:45:53","slug":"best-safety-practices-for-nurses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/best-safety-practices-for-nurses","title":{"rendered":"Best Safety Practices for Nurses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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Working in the nursing field is all about the best outcomes \u2014 and that includes your personal safety! Although travel nursing brings all sorts of new experiences, remembering the best safety practices for nurses ensures each assignment rocks! Even if you are a nurse with years of experience, it never hurts to recount the basics. Sometimes it\u2019s that one moment you take for granted which results in a serious error or injury. Let\u2019s avoid that altogether and review some of the best safety practices for nurses and patients too!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Search for Travel Nurse Jobs in Your Specialty Here!<\/a><\/p>\n

Five Best Safety Practices for Nurses<\/h2>\n

1. Sanitize<\/h3>\n

We know that working as a travel nurse means running around like a chicken with its head cut off, but always remember to cover the basics. One of the best safety practices for nurses is to clean your hands frequently. If you\u2019re moving from one floor to the next and interacting with many patients at a time, the worst thing is to spread more illness. Of course, you\u2019re already critically aware of this, but something so basic means it can often go overlooked. Especially when dealing with children or the elderly, washing your hands after each patient interaction is key.<\/p>\n

2. Use Lift and Transfer Equipment<\/h3>\n

Yes, you\u2019re running around, amped up on coffee, and feeling great \u2014 and that\u2019s when you pull a muscle! Even if you\u2019re a fitness freak and you can deadlift a baby elephant, we still advise using the lift and transfer equipment. If not for your own safety, at least consider the safety of a patient. Rather than precariously getting a patient from their wheelchair to a bed, work smarter not harder<\/a>. If you\u2019re unsure where your new facility stores this equipment, always ask for assistance and guidance from your peers. This helps nurses to avoid personal injury and maximize patient safety!<\/p>\n

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3. Consider Good Body Mechanics<\/h3>\n

Whether you\u2019re assisting in surgeries or scrambling in the ER, practice ergonomics and good body mechanics. This means a lot of different things throughout the world of medicine. However, it’s absolutely one of the best safety practices for nurses. First, this refers to your own personal stamina and comfortability. Standing for long hours and performing repetitive movements often take their toll. Be sure to stretch, maintain good posture, and sit down (if at all possible!) This also means rotating tasks between hands, avoiding hunching over to chart or care for patients, and again lifting objects properly!<\/p>\n

4. Use the Support of Your Peers<\/h3>\n

New facilities and patient populations are sometimes unpredictable. Even the most experienced nurses get caught off guard during a travel assignment. If a patient acts violently or is unresponsive, don\u2019t be afraid to call for backup! Working in a new facility often means making new friends quickly, although peer support is one of the best safety practices for nurses. It\u2019s not a bad thing to admit you don\u2019t exactly know how to handle a certain situation, as long as you continue striving and learning along the way!<\/p>\n

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5. Handle Needles Safely<\/h3>\n

Working with patients of all backgrounds and ailments, another one of the best safety practices for nurses is handling needles safety. Each year, hospital-based healthcare personnel experience 385,000 accidental needlestick and sharps-related injuries according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA<\/a>). This figure equates to an average of 1,000 injuries a day in U.S. hospitals! Of course, it\u2019s important to dispose of needles in the proper safety disposal containers, but also to handle them correctly. Being extremely careful and conscious of each exposed needle or sharp instrument from the beginning of the application to the end is key!<\/p>\n

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Being a nurse means treating injuries rather than creating more, and hopefully, these tips can help! Do you have any suggestions for travel nurses on the best safety practices? Leave a comment below!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Working in the nursing field is all about the best outcomes \u2014 and that includes your personal safety! Although travel nursing brings all sorts of new experiences, remembering the best safety practices for nurses ensures each assignment rocks! Even if you are a nurse with years of experience, it never hurts to recount the basics. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4745,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[206,74],"tags":[859,856,858,857],"class_list":["post-4741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-nurse","category-travel-nurse-tips","tag-best-practices-for-nurses","tag-best-safety-practices-for-nurses","tag-safety-tips-for-nurses","tag-travel-nurse-safety-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4741"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4741\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5084,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4741\/revisions\/5084"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}