Being a nurse is a very demanding job that often leads to taking care of others more than yourself. However, even if that is your job title, you should always ensure that your safety comes first. You can’t help someone if you’re injured or ill. Therefore, the following includes a list of precautions every nurse should take when on the job.
Remove hazardous objects for patients and yourself
A nurse’s day may involve making sure that there aren’t hazardous obstacles that can hurt a patient. Even if you know a patient isn’t going to be walking through a certain path, you should always ensure that potential obstacles are removed. You never know when you or a co-worker can trip and fall, causing severe injuries.
Utilize PPE
When duty calls, it can be easy to forget your training and not utilize the proper personal protective equipment. This can involve everything from not using the proper equipment to reach high placed documents or not using face protection when taking a blood sample.
Take care of your body
Being a nurse can quickly break the body down if you let it. This is why so many professionals urge nurses to take care of their bodies during their off days. This should include both mental and physical care. A rising trend that is helping people of all occupations become stronger is taking a yoga class. Yoga tends to be less demanding but still provides people with added physical strength.
Taking care of yourself while working as a nurse is incredibly important if you wish you remain healthy enough to keep working. However, in the event that you are injured, you might want to seek legal advice from an attorney to determine how you are going to receive workers’ compensation benefits.
