NEW ORLEANS, LA USA (UroToday.com) - Urologists are exposed to several inherent dangers during their work, but these can be modified by recognition and well-defined safety measures. Throughout the workplace and when dealing with patients, urologists can better manage risk exposure in their contemporary practice. Drs. Healy and Bagley sought to assess urologists’ recognition of these risks as well as what implementation of safety procedures were used in routine clinical practice.
Using a 16-item Internet survey, the authors disseminated and received feedback from nearly 300 members of the Endourological Society. The survey assessed exposure to workplace dangers and safety measures in practice at the various institutions polled. Demographic information included age, gender, professional setting, and years in practice.
A majority of survey respondents were males over the age of 40 and had clinical experience in practice greater than 10 years (65%). Furthermore, over 70% of the respondents were from academic and university settings with another 25% of responses received from private practitioners. Most respondents completed coursework or training regarding radiation, lasers, and general operating room safety. Despite this, some findings of note included a majority of urologists failing to wear laser goggles, underutilization of face shields, and a decreased tendency to double-glove with an incidence of needle sticks in this cohort of nearly 80%.
Several urologists also reported violent patient encounters in their lifetime experience and other work-related injuries, including falls and musculoskeletal injuries. With such reported trends of commonly experienced workplace dangers, Drs. Healy and Bagley concluded that a “discordance between knowledge of safety measures and their implementation in practice” existed. Investigations regarding understanding reasons for non-compliance of safety protocols while increasing education efforts were posed as future work. Potential barriers, including availability and affordability of protective gear, should be evaluated and resolved to protect urologists from these dangers.
Presented by Kelly A. Healy at the American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting - May 15 - 19, 2015 - New Orleans, LA USA
Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA USA
Reported by Michele Fascelli (University of California-Irvine), medical writer for UroToday.com