Occupational Hazards
Gradually, most of the things that my preceptor told me ever since I was a nursing student are starting to sink in. Being in one of the most litigious State in the country, it is imperative to be vigilant and watch every nursing intervention and nursing documentation. In lieu of being vigilant, taking care of oneself would also be imperative.
As a nursing student before, I have heard of tales of nurses injuring themselves in the line of duty: needle sticks, pulling up a muscle or tendon, fracturing an arm etc. The US Department of Labor research says: “In 2004, 54 percent of workplace injuries and illnesses among nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides were musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The
This would bring me to the premise: this country can be called a nation of finger pointers. The system some agencies used is to try point blame to the victim. The mantra seems to be: deny everything and save the collective and corporate asses. This can be a well known policy some companies are trying to glorify and implement.
As a closing point, constant vigilance is vital to workers. There are so many occupational hazards out there, and when injury happens to the worker, the only thing that is secure is the corporate policy some agencies practice: “Deny everything and shift the blame.” Workers can be both the victims and the evildoers.
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1 comment:
I strongly agree! Having recently been injured and in a lot of pain, having experienced to be in ER and fill out a lot of paper work for workman's comp, I am now very cautious. I promised myself never to be a hero again.
I care for my patients, and I do not want them to be uncomfortable, especially if they are total care patients. One day I hurt myself on the job. I followed the process of going to employee health,then to ER. But if it's workman's comp, I have to go to our sister hospital's ER. So I went, waited, seen by the doctor finally. Then I went to the PT Dept to make appointments. The secretary there told me, " Oh you have this insurance, it's so hard to get approval." Did I look like a fake claimer? She made a lot of phone calls, she wanted a copy of the doctor's report. She called ER. If I were the nurse, why would I give you information over the phone? I finally told her I work in this hospital, and told her to call the employee health nurse for the information. Duh!! Do you have any history of brain trauma or do you have any neurons at all? She was still not looking at me. Finally, my husband came in and asked me what's taking me so long. I just looked at him. After that magical moment, the secretary changed the way she treated me. Having noticed that my husband knows everybody in the PT Department because he works in the same department, she became nice to me. Initially she told me that the next opening was two weeks from then, so I said ok. After she saw my husband, and we were on our way out, the secretary run after us and told me there is an opening in two days. Magic!My fault, I was so calm.
Phone call from the adjuster, more paper work, and this is on top of the pain you are experiencing.
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