Recently, the Ebola virus has wreaked havoc. Many health care workers are fighting in the front line. Many people have become infected with the virus and even lost their lives. This suddenly reminds me of a question, that is, how dangerous is health care?
If you ask that what is the most dangerous job, the first reaction of ordinary people should be heavy manual jobs such as miners or construction workers.
Yes, in the United States, for example, the highest number of jobs killed in 2012 was loggers, with 62 people, compared with a total of 34,000 loggers in the United States. In terms of the total number of deaths, miners, fishermen and drilling workers followed closely with 38, 34 and 25 respectively.
Of course, this is not the only algorithm, For example, there are many jobs that do not die. But the chances of injury are high, Work is still very dangerous. In this way, North American professional rugby players rank first. In 2011 alone, there were more than 1,500 players and 88% of the players were injured in the match. Recently, negative news about the long-term impact of concussions on players has also been incessant. Well, this is not fair. There are only a few rugby players. They are a special species.
Well, the gossip is over. Since it is an article from Clove Garden, I think you have guessed it. It must be related to medical work.
Yes, according to a 2012 survey by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Whether in private enterprises or government agencies, The highest rate of work-related injuries, They are all nursing institutions such as homes for the elderly and nursing and nursing care industries. [1] The average annual accident rate of private enterprises in the United States is 3.2%, The accident rate in nursing homes and nursing industries is 7.3%, More than twice the industry average. In local government agencies, The average injury rate is 3.5%, The proportion of injuries in government-run nursing institutions and nursing services is as high as 13.1%. In other words, Of the medical staff working in these places, One in eight people gets injured once a year. And medical staff working in hospitals are not much safer. In private hospitals, The injury rate is 6.1%, 8.5% in government-run hospitals, which is also far higher than the social average. Only a few industries have a risk level comparable to that in hospitals. Lumberjacks, miners and drilling workers mentioned earlier have only 3.9%, 2.7% and 1.4% of injuries respectively. Fishermen, together with other meat workers, have a 6.0% injury rate.
Because of the large number of medical personnel employed by the medical industry in the United States, the total number of injured people is even higher. The total number of injured people in private enterprises, hospitals and nursing homes is more than 400,000, and in government agencies, there are more than 600,000. By contrast, the total number of injured people among loggers, miners and drilling workers is only 11,000.
However, why does the degree of work danger of medical staff not feel so high? Public Citizen, a non-governmental organization in the United States, made a comparison. It compared the health care workers in the United States with manufacturing and construction industries. Each of these three industries has 19 million. And 9 million employees, compared with 141, 329 and 774 deaths in 2010. It can be seen that if the death toll is calculated, the construction industry and other industries are indeed more dangerous. However, if the proportion of sick leave caused by work-related injuries is compared, it becomes 2.37%, 1.06% and 1.43%, with medical personnel topping the list. [2]
It can be seen that the working environment of medical staff does not look so deadly, creating a false impression. What about what, which is the accident that medical staff often encounter and injures them?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Whether in nursing institutions or hospitals, Half of the accidents are caused by musculoskeletal disorders. [3] The proportion of nurses suffering from this disease is as high as 2.26%, Nearly six times as many as the average person. This is because, Nurses often need to lift and support the caregiver during the nursing process. Support the caregivers to walk. Most of the time, Female nurses need to lift patients heavier than themselves, If you do this heavy lifting exercise for a long time, Naturally, if you are not careful, you will suffer from back injuries. In the long run, you will suffer from serious occupational diseases. Nurses who care for people who are unable to take care of themselves in nursing homes will suffer from serious back diseases and cannot live a normal life because of this occupation. It is estimated that back injuries of medical staff in the United States can cause more than 7 billion US dollars in additional medical burden every year.
Some people will certainly ask, what about the medical trouble? Yes, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, health care workers are also much more likely to be injured by violence and personal attacks than normal occupations. The probability of injuries is 3.8 out of 10,000 employees in private enterprises, 14 in hospitals and 27.2 in nursing homes. But this accounts for less than 10% of the total number of injuries. [2] [6]
According to Suzy Harrington, who is in charge of health and safety at the American Nurses Association, Musculoskeletal disorders are the leading cause of American medical staff leaving their jobs. In this way, As the aging age approaches, On the contrary, it has become increasingly short of benefits. A vicious circle has been formed, Which in turn affects nursing institutions in the United States, Even the quality of hospital care. Because training a qualified nurse, It will cost between $25,000 and $100,000. According to a 2010 study published in the New England Journal, The probability of U.S. Patients suffering from different degrees of medical injuries in hospitals is as high as 25%. [4] According to estimates by the U.S. Department of Health, one-third of patients transferred to nursing institutions such as nursing homes suffer from different medical injuries or negative events, 60% of which should be avoidable. [5]
It is the nursing staff themselves who should also be better protected. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the United States believes that by using modern medical equipment instead of medical staff to assist patients, the probability of accidents among medical staff can be reduced to one in twentieth of the current level! [3]
However, one of the essential reasons for this situation is poor government supervision. According to a report by the New York Times, the rating system for homes for the elderly in the United States consists of two parts: inspection by government departments and self-assessment of homes for the elderly. From 2009 Year to 2013In # the self-assessment scores of homes for the elderly rose sharply, with more than half boasting of being excellent, showing a very abnormal trend.[7]
At the same time, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s safety inspection of the medical industry is useless. In 2010, The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has conducted only 2,504 inspections of medical institutions in the United States. You know, there are 15,000 homes for the elderly and nearly 6,000 hospitals in the United States alone. By contrast, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted more than 50,000 inspections in the construction industry and nearly 20,000 in the manufacturing industry in 2010.
Only recently did the U.S. Government realize the disadvantages of supervision and announced that it would reform the quality assessment of the health care system starting next year. [8]
With the rapid aging of society, Homes for the elderly and the health care system will become more and more important. The problems revealed by the health care system in the United States, It is also likely to appear in China soon. Only by creating better working conditions for medical personnel and ensuring their health can they be guaranteed to provide better medical services to the general public and attract more people to join the medical team.