What is your input on other health professions & injury?

[Seohyun]

Hi everyone. I was wondering if I could get your input on this topic.

It is a well known fact that nurses are at a higher risk for back injury, I was wondering what other health professions have higher risk for bodily injury?

My questions to you are:

1) If nurses have a high risk of injury, what are the top places injured (ex. 77% back, 10% shoulders)? Those statistics were simply made up.

2) What are the top reasons for a nurse to be injured? (ie. unpredictable patient is #1 or lifting #2)?

Proper body mechanics aside...?

Since you are also around doctors, how often are doctors prone to back injury? I don't think it's nearly as much as a nurse, but certainly, they do a lot of physical tasks (especially for those working in hospitals).

What are other health care professions that have high risk injuries (aside from nursing)?

So far I've heard of the following (in no particular ranking):

a) Sonographers, Radiologists, MRI people (A tech group cluster in healthcare)

b) CNAs, Paramedics (most healthcare professions in the very front lines)

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

Homework???

[Sehille4774]

I read in an legitimate nursing article last year that around 30% of all workplace injuries happened to direct care givers. I believe that they were talking about CNAs for the most part. I know that the 30% number placed direct care givers at the number 1 spot for most work place injuries...well ahead of construction workers, welders, machinists, ect.

FYI. Sorry I wish I had a better reference for you. I also don't know what the number for NURSES would be. Try Google..or maybe dept of labor website would have those statistics?

[Sehille4774]

PS. The article cited lifting patients as the main cause of direct care worker injury....and then went on to describe techniques to reduce workplace injuries among that group..ie: slider sheets, proper staffing, proper equipment..ect.

Some data from the bureau of labor statistics for 2010, (a summary)

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/osh_10202011.htm

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Is this a homework assignment?

No problem if it is, I'll just move it to the proper forum.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

All clinical staff in hospitals from physicians to x-ray techs tend to be fanatical about their shoes and taking care of their feet -- that should tell you something. You might also consider upper extremity disorders (hand/wrist/carpal tunnel, etc.) and causes of chronic back pain other than traumatic injury - arthritis, spinal stenosis, etc.

As far as rates of injury -- this is easily Googled or examined through whatever medical journal database your school makes available to you.

[Seohyun]

First of all, thank you for those who gave me feedback!

This is not a marked homework, this is for my own awareness, as I am looking for other fields of health care I may like. I did try to look up on google, but I may have selected the wrong search entries.