Scroll down for NIFA’s favorite links, including our RNFA job board.
Sharps Safety
Back-to-Basics Article on Sharps Safety
Sharps Safety: A Must-Read for Every OR Professional by Periop Today (1/2024). This article summarizes the key points of AORN’s “Back to Basics” Sharps Safety article.
Read Periop Today’s article (1/2024) summarizing the key points of AORN’s Back-to-Basics Sharps Safety article . . .
Read the AORN Journal’s Back-to-Basics article on Sharps Safety (12/2023; requires AORN membership or access through your institution)
CDC’s Stop Sticks Campaign
“The OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard has been in place since 1991 to protect healthcare personnel from occupational exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials (OPIM),” reads an article on the CDC Archive.
“Today, due in part to the use of standard precautions, engineering controls (safer medical devices), and PPE, frequency of these exposures have declined. However, given the rise of aging populations of patients accessing healthcare with active hepatitis C, hepatitis B, HIV and co-infections with one or more of these viruses, the risks faced by healthcare workers are more significant than ever.”
This page offers an overview of sharps injuries, their costs, a summary of the ways they occur, and charts showing the activities and devices associated with those injuries.
Read more . . .
National Survey of Sharps Injuries Incidence Among Healthcare Workers in the United States
This article appeared in the April 2023 International Journal of General Medicine. It looks at incidence of sharps injuries in various healthcare settings (emergency medicine, general surgery, internal medicine, etc.) and by healthcare worker training level.
Read more . . .
Workbook for Designing, Implementing & Evaluating a Sharps Injury Prevention Program
A downloadable workbook from CDC / Infection Control. It is targeted to healthcare administrators and intended to help them design and launch a prevention program or augment their current program in place.
Read more . . .
Guidance for Needlestick and Sharps Injuries in Healthcare
A reminder of the steps to take if you find you’ve been injured.
Read more . . .
Photo top to bottom: WINDCOLORS, anatoliy_alfa27 on AdobeStock
Videos
Sharps Safety in the Operating Room
This episode of First Case, a podcast focusing on OR issues, is a 30-minute conversation with Kristine Little, an OR Nurse from North Carolina and consultant/nurse educator. The discussion touches on the realities and prevalence of sharps injuries; AORN, AST, and OSHA guidelines; and ways to prevent injury.
Watch video. . .
In The Spotlight: Jeff Smallwood
Credentials
BSN, RN, CNOR
Student Status
Current student in NIFA’s RNFA program
City & State
Spring Hill, FL
Current Position
Registered Nurse – Operating Room
Where did you get your RN degree?
I earned my ADN at Columbus State Community College in Columbus, Ohio. They were a great school full of experienced nurses who helped make sure we had a solid foundation and the school had a great reputation with the local hospitals.
How did you come to choose perioperative nursing?
My first experience with the OR was during one of my clinical days in nursing school I got to follow my patient down to see their procedure and shadow the OR staff. An RNFA was helping the surgeon and it was my first exposure to seeing all the different roles we could perform as a nurse in the OR. I knew from that day that onward that I wanted to get back into the OR.
What is one scary or unique moment you’ve seen at the table?
I was scrubbing a case that should have been just a biopsy of a tumor in the abdomen; however, the attending could not free up the mass to take a biopsy without causing major bleeding so we had to switch procedures to remove the abdominal mass completely. We were lucky the mass did not spread to nearby organs and we were able to remove it completely without removing any bowel.
What is one technique or RNFA trick you’ve learned from NIFA that you will use for life?
I learned so many useful tricks on how to suture effectively during the course that it is hard to pick just one. However I will say the specific way I was taught to take bites for deep dermals to provide extra strength to the suture will be the biggest one I will apply. I don’t think many practitioners will practice this specific technique unless they came through a workshop with Dean.
How do you feel having your RNFA will impact your life/career?
??????I am very excited to attain my RNFA as I feel that it will allow me to practice at the top of my license. The RNFA role allows me to synthesize all the knowledge I have gained as both a circulating and scrub nurse while bringing in a new skillset on that foundation.
NIFA – Office Hours
Monday-Thursday, 8:00am – 5:00pm
Friday, 8:00am – 4:00pm
Practice Resources
Here are several of the most-in-demand sites for our students, prospective students and grads:
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this newsletter are strictly those of their respective authors and do not necessarily represent the views of NIFA. NIFA does not give any express or implied warranty as to the accuracy of statements made by our contributors and does not accept any liability for error or omission. It is the responsibility of all perioperative personnel to work within and adhere to their facility bylaws and individual scope of practice.
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