You may have noticed that medical offices, hospitals, and other facilities seem designed to keep doctors, nurses, and other professionals safe. These facilities are designed to be places of healing and comfort for patients, but that would not be possible without keeping medical professionals safe, clean, and healthy as well.
Here is how modern medical practices and legal guidelines bolster doctor, nurse, and physician assistant safety and help them continue to help and heal patients:
Keeping Distractions and Detractions From Safety to a Minimum
There was a time when many doctor’s offices were packed with communal items like books, magazines, toys for children, and more. They may also have had areas for patients and even providers to smoke cigarettes right inside the building, with some professionals smoking inside the patient’s treatment room. These practices have been eliminated, and items that could harbor bacteria or spread disease have been greatly reduced. These days, chairs are widely spaced, communal areas are more sterile, and the air is crisp, cool, and clean.
Protecting Providers From Injury and Illness
Just as the elimination of smoking and reduction in communal patient areas helps to reduce the risks of illness for providers, so too do the practices these providers have adopted in recent decades.
First, the pandemic has recently underscored the importance of using masks to protect oneself from illness, but doctors and nurses have known this for many years. They have been wearing surgical or filtration masks for decades, keeping themselves safer and healthier and reducing the spread of illness.
Secondly, they also utilize technology that reduces the risks associated with sharp objects, needles, and more. Needle traps or other protective coverings reduce the risk of a bloodborne illness. “Sharps” containers make disposal of used needles and other objects safer, not only for providers but also for cleaning staff.
These precautions do more than just keep patients safer. They protect the people who dedicate their lives to helping and healing those patients and keep them in their positions, helping to reduce illness and injury for the rest of us.
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