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Most
occupations pose some risk of muscular injury or dysfunction. Depending
on the job, employers may be at risk of anything from back injuries to
repetitive strain injuries. Job duties that are more physical come with
more detrimental risks. When thinking of the most common and severe
work-related injuries, one might guess they happen in construction
fields or industries with heavy machinery. However, the most
consistently high-ranking job for injuries and missed work due to
injury is nursing.
The
resulting pain and injuries from this job become very expensive when
looking at all the factors. Approximately 38% of nurses require leave
from work due to work-related pain. Missing work is not only costly to
the employee, but also the employer and the staff who has to work
harder to fill shifts. Over half of nurses suffer from chronic back
pain – pain that needs to be treated and that is exacerbated by work
duties. Not all cases qualify for worker’s compensation, either,
because many disorders accrue over time and are not the result of one
incidence. One-third of nurses younger than 30 plan to leave the field
in the next year because of the physical demands of the job. Nursing
students sustain MSDs before even entering the field. Nurses who leave
the field because of pain and injury are giving up their incomes after
having spent time and money on education in addition to any medical
expenses necessary to improve their physical conditions. Finding a new
career may mean further education, and depending on the severity of any
MSDs, there may be a smaller window of job fields nurses can pursue.
The good
news is that organizations, legislation, and field experts are taking
notice of these dire conditions. Bills to implement lifting equipment
and safety training in healthcare facilities are routinely being
introduced and updated. Nursing school curriculum includes safe patient
handling and moving concepts. Additionally, extensive research has been
performed on the investment return on safe handling equipment. In an
18-month study, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found
that in less than five years, all direct and indirect costs to
implement safe lifting programs were reclaimed.
The
measures experts are taking to improve the safety of those in the
nursing field are important for more than just the healthcare
professionals. If a nursing staff is working while fatigued or in pain,
they risk injuring their patients. Also, if a facility is
short-staffed, patients may not be receiving the attention they need.
Solving manual lifting problems in the healthcare field may also offer
better ergonomic solutions to other manual materials handling (MMH)
jobs. After all, MSDs are reported in all fields and still extremely
common in MMH. Sparing costs and time missed at work is a priority for
every worker, manager, company president, and insurance company.
Providing nurses with safer jobs will leave a wake of positive change
far beyond the healthcare field.
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