Are you stressed out?

Occupational stress has been a long-standing concern of the health care industry. Studies indicate that health care workers have higher rates of substance abuse and suicide than other professions and elevated rates of depression and anxiety linked to job stress. In addition to psychological distress, other outcomes of job stress include burnout, absenteeism, employee intent to leave, reduced patient satisfaction, and diagnosis and treatment errors.

Click here for a copy of Exposure to Stress: Occupational hazards in health care, published by the US Department of Human Services, Center for Disease Control, and National Institute on Occupational Safety & Health.

Code Green

Tossing out everything from plastic bandages and cotton swabs to hospital robes after a single use, the U.S. medical industry generates more than 2 million tons of waste per year, environmental advocates say. Some of that waste makes its way to incinerators and, when burned, releases dioxin, mercury and other toxins. Is it ironic that the industry we trust to protect our health is releasing substances that may be tied to cancer, diabetes and other illnesses? Many health-care professionals think so.

Click here to read Washington Post article

Indiana Hospital involves staff to design optimal work environment

Teams of staff members representing every department at Parkview Health in Fort Wayne, Indiana have helped to develop innovations in the design of new patient care units that will create a "healing, nurse-friendly environment".

Staff are giving input and choosing room configurations, bathroom locations, height of nursing station counters, types of beds and even electrical outlet placements for various kinds of equipment.

Medical-surgical units, for instance, will be configured as pods containing 12 private rooms, all equipped with windows to give nurses a clear line of sight for patient monitoring. The hospital also will feature wireless communications technology to facilitate nurse-patient contact, blood pressure cuffs on either side of the bed to accommodate both right- and left-handed clinicians, "smart bed" technology to alert nurses when a patient has gotten out of bed, and ceiling-mounted lifts to prevent injuries to staff and patients. In addition, the plans call for bedside computers in every room to reduce the risk of infection, which increases when computer carts must be wheeled from patient to patient. Dedicated patient education rooms, meanwhile, will allow providers and patients to have private conversations about home care, and a designated nurse quiet room will provide nurses with a place to rejuvenate during a stressful day.

To read more, click here.