Posts tagged “HealthCare” (Page 2)

Nurses, Advanced Practice Healthcare Professionals, Physicians and Dentists work in hazardous environments. They are riddled with different types of biological exposures; diseases, chemicals, environmental hazards, physical hazards like radiation, and sometimes violence. Still, healthcare professionals are often viewed as immune to injury or illness. Many times, hospital, healthcare management and administrators tend to turn a blind eye to complaints of unsafe work environments.

With the COVID19 pandemic many nurses and healthcare providers in general were denied Personal Protective Equipment. Providers were told that they would lose their jobs or be placed on suspension for bring their own from home. Others were told to clean and recycle masks.

There are more than 18 million healthcare workers in the United States. PPE’s are used to protect healthcare providers from disease as well as protect immunocompromised patients. Improper use or lack of there of place employees and patients at greater of transmitting disease. Dysfunctional safety standards in healthcare settings have recently imploded like a weeping abscess. Fearing for their safety and the safety of their families, healthcare providers have walked off their jobs.

In recent years the number of violent assaults against Nurses and healthcare providers has increased. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration reports of nearly 25,000 workplace assaults reported annually. 75% occur in health care and social service settings. Workers in healthcare settings are 4 times more likely to be victimized than workers in private industry. A 2014 survey on hospital crime attributed 75% of aggravated assaults and 93 % of all assaults against health care workers to patients or customers.

What Can You Do To Ensure A Healthy And Safe Workplace Environment While On A Locums Assignment?

Nurses and Advanced Healthcare Providers need to empower themselves to take full accountability of their own personal safety and of their work environment. Employees perceptions and attitudes can differ regarding current safety standards. For example, what an administrator who has had no patient care may see as safe, a Nurse or advance healthcare professional with many years of patient care experience may beg to differ.  

Locums work can take you to a variety of healthcare environments which may not be so safe. Some tips Nurses and Healthcare Professionals can employ when working in a healthcare new healthcare care setting are:

-Be aware of your surroundings: Always be aware of your surroundings when you are on assignment. If you are working in a city or neighborhood you are not familiar with, do your research. Do a computer research on crime statistics, ask fellow coworkers regarding safety of the area. Make sure you have proper supplies and protective equipment before starting your workday.

-Propper PPE’s: Before taking an assignment, it’s best to ask your recruiter and or healthcare facility where you will be working, what their PPE availability along with quantity and reuse.  If they are lacking in supply, you may need to ask if you can supply your own.

-Trust your intuition: Your intuition is your best guide to safety. Per Gavin De Becker the author of “The Gift Of Fear, he states “Nature’s greatest accomplishment, the human brain is never more invested than when it’s host is at risk. A strong intuition comes from experience. If you are feeling uneasy about your surroundings or a certain situation, it’s best to stop and evaluate how you feel and why?

-Ensure your own safety: You are in charge of your own personal health and safety. If you do not feel safe in, then it is your responsibility to report it to your supervisor, office manager and your recruiter. If you and your management team cannot agree on proper safety measures then you may have to re consider your assignment and your options.

The safety of Nurses, Advanced Healthcare Providers, Doctors and Dentists is not an option, it’s a requirement. When healthcare employees are made to feel safe on the job, their patients and patient care will also be safe. All healthcare providers need to take full accountability of their own PPE’s and the safety of their environment.

Ersilia Pompilio RN, MSN, PNP

TED talks are known for showcasing innovations in almost every category you can think of. But did you know that they are a convenient and entertaining way to learn about the newest ideas in the medical world? If not, that’s okay, because we have compiled a list of ten incredible TED talks that are sure to get you thinking.

Alan Russell- The Potential of Regenerative Medicine

Russell discusses how the cost of health care relates to age. What is his solution? Regenerative medicine. This breakthrough way of think about disease and injury uses a process that works by signaling the body to rebuild itself.

Quyen Nguyen- Color-Coded Surgery

Nguyen talks about how surgeons are taught from textbooks that color-code the different types of tissues, but that’s not how they look in real life. She demonstrates how a molecular marker can change things by lighting up a tumor in neon green, helping to show surgeons exactly where to cut.

Daniel Kraft- Medicine’s Future

Kraft’s talk offers a fast-paced look at how information technology is being used to fight some of the biggest healthcare challenges today. The discussion includes a complete overview of some of the technology that is helping to make health care faster, cheaper, and better.

Thulasiraj Ravilla- How Low-Cost Eye Care Can Be World Class

The revolutionary Aravind Eye Care System in India has helped to give sight to millions. Ravilla looks at the approach that drives the treatment costs down and quality up and why its methods should be used to re-think all services.

Eric Topol- The Wireless Future of Medicine

Topol states in his talk that we’ll soon be using our smartphones to monitor everything from vital conditions to chronic conditions. He highlights many of the essential wireless devices that will show up in medicine’s future– all to help to keep more of us out of hospital beds.

Michael Specter- The Danger of Science Denial

Spector discusses everything from “Frankenfood” bans to the herbal craze cure in his talk, stating that all of this is leading to the public’s growing fear, and often denial of science and reason. He warns us that this trend could spell disaster for human progress.

Peter Attia- Is The Obesity Crisis Hiding a Bigger Problem?

When Attia was a young surgeon, he felt contempt for a patient with diabetes. She was overweight, and so he thought, ultimately responsible for the medical issues she was having. Years later, Attia received a medical surprise that led him to wonder: is our understanding of diabetes correct? Could the precursors to diabetes cause obesity, and not the opposite? Attia helps us take a look at how assumptions may be leading us to wage the wrong medical war.

Abraham Verghese- A Doctor’s Touch

Verghese says that modern medicine is in danger of losing one of its most potent tools: human touch. He describes our new medical world as one where patients are seen merely as data-points, and calls for the return to traditional one-on-one physical exams.

Ben Goldacre- What Doctors Don’t Know About the Drugs They Prescribe

When testing a new drug, you would think that all of the results of the trials would be published, but often the negative or inconclusive findings go unreported. This lack of information leaves doctors and researchers in the dark. Goldacre explains in his talk why these unreported instances are especially misleading, and proving to be very dangerous. 

David Agus- A New Strategy in the War on Cancer

Agus says that cancer treatments have a short-sighted focus on individual cells. He suggests an idea, which involves a new, cross-disciplinary approach that uses atypical drugs, protein analysis, and computer modeling to treat and diagnose the whole body.

Want even more Ted Talks? Click here to visit TEDMED now. Happy Ted Talks binging!

Who are we? MedCare Staffing is a small, veteran-owned, family-oriented team. We start every day with gratitude because we LOVE what we do! We are a team on a mission to make a positive difference in the lives of our clients and providers.

What we do: We place Physicians & Advanced Practitioners in Locum Tenens, Contract Positions and Permanent Jobs

To contact MedCare Staffing call 888.474.3380 or visit or website by clicking here!