What I Learned about Clinical Safety

Taking clinical safety is a very important thing to learn. We learned many things in this course, but I picked four of the main safety hazards to discuss. The four topics we covered were preventing fires, oxygen safety, operating room safety, and work place violence and harassment. Our first topic we researched was about preventing fires in the operating room. Fires in the operating room are something I never knew that could happen. Fires occur when oxygen, lasers, or electrical sources spark and ignite when they come into contact with linens or drapes. Fires can occur also when using cleaning solutions during prepping a patient for surgery and the solutions have not been allowed to dry. Also, if the oxygen is left on, this can have detrimental problems. Hospitals have universal and/or standard guide-lines to follow for all procedures.
Fire extinguishers are used to put out fires that cannot be controlled when using saline solution or by smothering the fire with a damp towel. I learned that you need to cut off all oxygen and turn off all electrical sources to help kill the fire. There are steps to follow when a fire occurs. You should always report any incidents after they have happened by using a code for the type of incident.
Another topic we learned about is safety when using oxygen. When oxygen is being used in the operating room you also need to make sure the draping is not pooling and creating an air pocket. When prepping a patient for surgery, you have to be very careful in the steps you take. You must wear personal protective equipment or PPE to protect yourself. This is called body substance isolation and will protect the patient and yourself from spreading any diseases such as Hepatitis.
Pricking your finger with a needle that can carry contaminated blood pathogens can also spread from a patient to a nurse, or vice versa. If a needle stick occurs, the person that is injured should get a blood test immediately to make sure they have not contacted Hepatitis, Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, H.I.V. or Aids. A third topic we learned about in class is safety while working in the operating room. When working in the operating room, a technician and operating room team should always keep noise pollution down. Sharp instruments need to be placed in a designated area so that they are not too hard to find. This will keep anyone form being pricked, scraped, or cut. Always use eye contact with the surgeon is another safety measure.
Another safety topic we researched is dealing with violence and harassment in the work place. Work place violence and/or sexual harassment is a serious issue. Making sure you are not part of the problem is a start, but if someone else is the problem, you should report them. If you feel someone is threatening you, displaying, speaking or touching you in an inappropriate way, tell them verbally to stop, or go to your supervisor. Also, you should have a plan on how to handle leaving at night. You can call the security guard for safety or walk out using the buddy system. Becoming a Surgical Technician has been very interesting to me. I have enjoyed learning everything that I can on this subject because I know that the most important parts are safety and team work. Another thing that is important is to always be prepared. Safety, team work, and being prepared are the main things that could save lives in an operating room. Hopefully, everyone will learn the safety procedures and be able to take charge in any incident.