OSHA Information for Nurses

NIOSH National Occupational Research Agenda

University of Massachusetts, Lowell
March 20, 2006

Name: Christine Pontus
Address: 340 Turnpike Street, Canton, Massachusetts 02021
Phone: 781.830.5754
E-mail: cpontus@mnarn.org

Topic and Title of Comments:

  • Mandatory overtime
  • Safe patient handing devices
  • Workplace violence and its relationship to administrative policies and procedures
  • Is there a need for a best practice model in health care we can follow?

Thank you for this opportunity to express my concern on behalf of nurses and the Massachusetts Nurses Association.

My statements are based on over 25 years experience of working as an Occupational Health Nurse and supported by recent published research. My basic premise is that in the proper environment many accidents can be prevented.

I will discuss the issues and concerns of each category and suggest that each health care facility have policies, procedures and personnel in place to work toward prevention and decreasing the amount of injuries.

In the current health care system, health and safety professionals need to be empowered to create environments for healthcare personnel to deliver patient care services. It has been my experience throughout various healthcare systems that there is a lack of consistent practices in place to ensure safe working conditions.

A disconnect exists from health and safety policies in place to the actual implementation of getting the needed or anticipated result. When it comes to the health and safety of the worker there are pockets or voids of misunderstanding and knowledge throughout most health care organizations. I find that some departments have a sense of what health and safety provisions are necessary and other departments do not. For example, some medical centers are not equipped with the appropriate equipment or knowledge base to implement a basic safety action plan.

A recent actual example is where an ICU nurse attended a seminar. She was interested in obtaining Safe Patient Handling Equipment and Training for her unit. When she returned to work she was unable to communicate the lessons learned during the seminar. Her workload interfered with transferring the critical information to her associates.

Consequently, the proper safe patient handling equipment was never acquired. On the front line is the lack of support from the immediate supervisor(s) and director of Nursing due to misunderstanding or lack of understanding the problem when the staff nurses attempts to bring a solution to one of the leading cause’s of injury in health care. The lack of response from the working infrastructure to provide a pathway for a dialogue to be initiated and reach someone within the facility who could and should understand the need to respond to an issue is often not provided.

We as Occupational Health Nurses know that repeated and over use of the body with out rest periods and or the use ergonomic equipment to help with certain tasks can lead to a break down of the body for many workers. Recent studies indicate that those working in jobs with overtime schedules experience a 61% higher injury hazard rate in comparison to those working in the same positions without overtime. Individuals working 12 hours per day are associated with an increased injury rate of 37%. Those working sixty hours per week experienced an increased injury rate of 23%.

Substantial efforts should be made to create an in house pool of nurses employed part time that understand they would be on call for a certain day of the week. There are many practical solutions that could be implemented before the use of mandatory overtime. Mandatory overtime should be a last choice of action.

“Strategies to prevent workplace injuries should consider changes in scheduling practices, job redesign, and health protection programs for people working in jobs involving overtime and extended hours” .

The incidence of physical violence is increasing in America. Workplace violence in health care environments has been increasing due to the following reasons.

Health care providers are exposed to violent incidents due to:

  • The neighborhoods city hospitals are located in
  • The population served mental health or forensic patients (violent)
  • A family member upset or out of control
  • An operational environment that is open to the public all times.

The MNA believes that there are procedures that can be taken to prevent violent incidents and proactive measures that can be implemented when an incident occurs that can lessen traumatic effects.

The MNA believes that the incidence of workplace violence is underreported. Additionally there are cultural and organizational acceptances of inappropriate behaviors that contribute toward violent incidences.

Researchable Issues of the Sectors

Strategies to prevent workplace injuries should consider changes in scheduling practices, job redesign, and health protection programs for people working in jobs involving overtime and extended hours.

Health care facilities that have established effective work place prevention policies procedures and protocols need to be identified.

Is there a best-practiced model in health care we can follow?

Breakdown of organizational communication is interfering with health and safety issues and is perpetuating preventable occupational injury.


Health care facilities that have established effective workplace prevention policies, procedures, and protocols need to be identified.

If these issues are chosen for research the Massachusetts Nurses Association could take the evidence and develop educational programs around the established researchable findings. We at the MNA would then take these educational programs and offer them to both nurses and the health care facilities that they work in across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and publish the researched findings in our newsletter and advertise these education programs.

Thank you for this opportunity.