Occupational Safety and Health Hazards for Emergency Room Nurses

Occupational safety and Health 1
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
by [Name]
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Occupational safety and Health 3
Occupational hazards can no longer be regarded as a personal issue or a mere
occasion that can be addressed through palliatives. Hofmann, Burke, and Zohar (2017)
observe that nursing and more specifically emergency caregiving is one of the most
hazardous professions in the healthcare industry. This risk concern is increasingly
transforming itself into a global distress, affecting all countries, all working environments and
all calibres of healthcare providers; emergency room nurses in Saudi Arabia not an exception.
This paper, takes a look at the various types of hazards that emergency room nurses are
exposed to, causes of those hazards, effects to the nurse, and how they can be prevented. The
discussion further narrows down to infectious disease exposure as one of the major hazards
that nurses face in the daily execution of their duties. Under this section, the author illustrates
the prevalent nature of the environment under which emergency nurses operate by looking at
the threats these diseases bear on the emergency room workforce and how they can be
prevented. The paper will also look at the efforts being made by the Saudi Arabian
government to avert this issue before suggesting further measures that can be put in place by
institutions and individual health workers to remain safe at the workplace.
Nurses are highly exposed to various chemical agents some of which may habor
detrimental effects to their health. Various clinical settings and circumstances may require
preparation and administration of antineoplastic agents. These cytotoxic drugs have been
documented as being toxic to caregivers who interact with them on regular basis (Quinn et al.
2015). These agents have been linked to carcinogenic, teratogenic and mutagenic effects not
forgetting, mild cases of eyes and skin irritations. The chemicals have also been accused of
causing allergic reactions (Aluko et al. 2016). Kermode (2019) observes that when these
agents are improperly handled say during mixing the risk of exposure increases. Several
professionals including (El-Sallamy et al. 2018) recommend safe contact in the handling of
these compounds.

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Long term exposure to aesthetic gases commonly found in recovery rooms, labor
rooms operating rooms and in some cases emergency care units may cause halothane and
methoxyflurane disorders. There is also an established correlation between these gases and
spontaneous abortions. Currently there are no published standards by the Saudi Arabian
health authorities on how to handle these gases, however, researchers recommend limited
exposure to halogens and nitrous oxide.
Glutaraldehyde is another compound that has been flagged as being harmful (Cantini
et al. 2015). The germicide has been associated with asthmatic symptoms, flu-like symptoms,
headache, and skin sensitivity. Nurses performing cold disinfection in intensive care units,
endoscopy and dialysis are more susceptible to the harmful effects of these compound.
Studies point at the practice of operating with this disinfectant in a poorly ventilated
environment as well as manual cleaning of equipment using this compound as some of the
factors increasing the risk probability. Cantini et al. (2015) found that prolonged periods of
exposure may cause severe liver complications. The existing guidelines limit the maximum
allowable exposure to glutaraldehyde to 0.2 ppm. Safe work practices and engineering
controls have been fronted as exposure minimization mechanisms.
Back injuries rank second behind infectious disease among the occupational health
hazards in Saudi Arabia (Getahun et al. 2015). In Saudi Arabia, statistics show that over
30,000 nurses and other caregivers report back-related injuries per year (Cantini et al. 2015).
Activities such as moving patients from one location to another, lifting heavy equipment, and
aiding the patients to bed are some of the most common causative activities of back-related
injuries. In Saudi Arabia, claims emanating from back injuries account for more than half of
the total recompenses paid to health workers (Getahun et al. 2015). The duties performed by
nurses at extensive care amenities place them at more serious hazard for back strains.
Emergency care nurses frequent lifts and supports patients who in general, are feeble,