Needle Stick Injury In Nursing

Everyday nurses are exposed to many different types of harm in their healthcare setting. Nurses constantly deal with possible injury from lifting a patient, exposure to blood borne pathogens, and experiencing fatigue, along with emotional stress. One type of hazard that has been an issue in the healthcare setting involving nurses is the exposure of needles causing needle stick injuries. Needle stick injuries can be defined as an incident involving used or non-used needles that penetrate the skin. These types of injuries usually cause harm with the exposure to blood and other body fluids. There is a possibility that these body fluids can contain dangerous blood borne pathogens, such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV/AIDS), Hepatitis B (HBV),
Certainly, nurses get tired easily from their long shifts and this can affect the way they function during a day’s work. When nurses are experiencing extreme fatigue during their shift, they must consider the precautions when it comes to dealing with sharps. Needle stick injuries can be termed as a serious safety threat to nurses and anyone involved in their presence throughout their day in the healthcare setting. Considering that needle stick injuries are a serious health threat, nurses need to highly take care of themselves to reduce the chances of harming another. Ferris (2015) reports that extended work hours can be associated with nursing fatigue and errors. From a conducted study associated with nursing fatigue and needle stick injuries, researchers found that 80% of nurses in their professional life had previously experienced at least one needle stick injury, and 68% of nurses experienced at least one needle stick injury
Needle stick injuries have become a growing issue among nurses as a result of a lack of education, lack of reporting, and outdated safety protocols for new procedures (Foley, 2014). With proper education among nurses about needle stick injuries, there is less of a possibility of the exposure of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV/AIDS), Hepatitis B (HBV), or Hepatitis C (HCV). Hutley (2014) expresses that a nurse needs to be educated on their healthcare facility’s use of appropriate work processes and safety systems. Before administering anything that can involve a sharps injury, nurses need to have the knowledge for assessing the risk and controlling the risk. The assessment in preventing a needle stick injury will help identify the hazards, evaluate the risks, and implement control measures on how to reduce the risks (Hutley, 2014). When a nurse is controlling the risk of a needle stick injury, he or she needs to be educated on the importance of never recapping a needle, engaging the safety after administration, and disposing the needle into the sharps container immediately afterwards. Foley (2014) indicates that the increased knowledge of the risks will go a long way to protect nurses in their healthcare facility. With proper education about the prevention of needle stick injuries, nurses will be able to attend work with a lessened risk of needle stick and sharp