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S H A R P S
S A F E T Y
these 6 scenarios show, sharps injuries can happen to anyone, at any
time. I learned of the following actual events over the last 3 years
while studying sharps safety as chair of the AORN Clinical Nursing
Practice Committee. You'll notice that these injuries could have been
prevented if those involved had used safety-engineered devices and
remained focused on the situation at hand.
The collision
During a right knee ligament reconstruction
on a 17-year-old patient, the surgeon uses a drill and unexpectedly
puts it down on an instrument table just as the surgical tech,
who's double-gloved, picks up another
instrument. The drill's bit nicks the tech's
right palm, opening a small cut.
T
he tech's hand happened to be passing through the area where
the surgeon was placing the drill. Did unfortunate luck play a
role in this injury? Sure, but it could have been prevented if
both the surgeon and tech practiced proper sharps handling practices,
including the use of a neutral zone and hands-free passing. The surgeon could have announced that he was placing the drill back on a
neutral zone, while the tech could have paid closer attention to the
action on the surgical field because a sharp was being used. Avoiding
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