Reference no: EM133918759
Read the case study,
Elaine has just been accepted as an enrolled nurse for the local hospital in her home town. Elaine is very excited about her new career path and is determined to provide the best service possible to the people she will be supporting. Elaine attended the orientation along with two other new employees and found that Sally, a girl she went to high school with, was also attending. Orientation is to last for three full days. Elaine is surprised by the length of time this will take and a little disappointed not to have hands-on work to commence. The timetable that is given to the new employees is very comprehensive and Elaine can see that the days will be fully occupied.
The day started with the new employees being welcomed by the infection control nurse who handed out immunisation forms with the recommended immunisations for health care workers.
After the initial welcome, the first session was infection control. Elaine was introduced to the infection control officer and it was explained that the first contact should be through her immediate supervisor. The Infection Control officer went through the infection control policy and procedures with the new employees and provided some simpler workflow charts to make the process easier. After morning tea break the topic was hand hygiene. Elaine found this information very interesting, especially that studies showed how hand-washing procedures reduced infection rates. All of the new employees were then shown the correct method of hand hygiene and assessed on their skills in this area. The UV light showed that Elaine had a good technique but that her hands, around the fingernails, were dry and would benefit from moisturising daily. Joyce had a cut on her finger and it was explained that all cuts need to be kept covered with an appropriate dressing such as a coloured band aid or waterproof dressing.
After lunch, the program continued with the demonstration of the correct personal protective equipment to use (PPE) for different scenarios. Elaine and Joyce found how they looked quite amusing with gown, gloves and masks on. It was explained that hair needed to be kept off the face and neatly tied back and it was advised that personal jewellery was not to be worn. When Elaine and Sally saw the slides showing the bacteria present on rings and necklaces they were both shocked.
On the second day of orientation, Sally and Elaine were taken to a ward area and shown how to make a hospital bed. Both found this helpful as they had previously only used a Doona at home. At lunch, Sally and Elaine talked about their experiences and Sally confided that she was struggling sometimes to understand the language being used. Elaine showed Sally how she had written down some words and abbreviations in her notebook to help her remember. After lunch, Elaine and Sally returned to the ward area and were buddied up with John. John had been an enrolled nurse for the last three years and was keen to assist Elaine and Sally to settle into the ward. John showed Elaine and Sally the 'steri' room and the pan room or 'dirty' room and explained what was kept in each area and why items were kept separated. He tells them that they have a responsibility to follow procedures for infection control and that they need to be aware of potential hazards that they will encounter when performing their job roles.
1. If Elaine and Sally are unsure of what risk control methods to use for the identified hazard, what action should they take?
2. What controls should Elaine and Sally implement if they find a workplace hazard?.
3. If a blood spill occurred on the ward floor from a patient's drain tube, what procedure should be implemented by Sally and Joyce?