Even though there are several fields in the industry of medical and healthcare that include nurses and doctors. A person’s future will depend on the field they will choose, so they have to be careful in deciding their desired career. A medical-related person may work in a variety of settings such as hospitals, administration offices, research centers, diagnostic labs, and nursing homes. If a worker gets injured or suffers from any disease, our lawyers can help them get a workers’ comp claim in Houston.
A survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows registered nurses in 2016 suffered 19,790 days of workplace injuries. These cases occurred at a rate of 104.2 cases per 10,000 FTE, which is higher than the rate of other occupations.
Challenges for Front-Line Healthcare Professionals:
The duty of a healthcare professional has its risks, and it can be dangerous. A workers’ comp claim in Houston can help compensate for those hazards. Challenges faced by healthcare workers include:
Disease Exposure:
Our health care professionals and front-line staff put their life on the line while taking care of patients battling severely infectious diseases, such as the novel coronavirus. Exposure to diseases is one of the riskiest challenges that a healthcare professional faces. Exposure to such infectious diseases can be hazardous.
While working in a healthcare center, one can easily get infected with airborne pathogens, blood-borne pathogens, medical waste, or even through contact with items found in medical facilities during a medical checkup of a patient. However, if proper care is taken by the employers and other stakeholders of the sector, we can protect our doctors from such hazardous diseases.
Steps that are important to follow by a worker in a medical facility are:
- Personal protective equipment (PPE) should be used before getting in contact with a patient.
- Hands must be clean and disinfected before and after getting in contact with a patient.
- Guidelines should be followed in accordance with government and medical standards.
- Disposable medical equipment must be handled carefully, especially if it is sharp.
- Bodily fluids must be handled properly as if they are at all infectious.
Exposure to Violence:
Patients may be going through a variety of diseases, having different outcomes in the ways they behave. Some diseases may cause the patients to react violently and even physically harm the nurses attending to them. This is also one major threat to the well-being of health workers.
This mostly happens when patients feel frightened, agitated, or confused. Also, the drugs that are being given to them can have harmful impacts on them and it can increase the chances of violent actions of the patient. A patient who just had a car accident might be feeling confused.
In some situations, the family members of a patient can get frustrated and aggressive towards the doctors. In addition to them, convicted felons along with mentally ill patients might also cause serious trouble.
High Stress:
The Healthcare sector is a stressful place. Significant decision-making is required by these professionals when a major life and death situation is in front of them.
A healthcare professional is always under the pressure of keeping their blood pumping or when treating a patient who is suffering from a serious illness. Sharp decision-making is important in this situation as one minor slip-up could end families.
Healthcare professionals usually become exhausted because of the harsh conditions and environment. Also, nurses who work in such situations are at a high risk of burnout. They are usually overwhelmed by the burden of having to communicate with the families of the deceased or sympathizing with the patients with literally no hope for life.
Long Hours:
A 12 to 16-hours shift is quite normal for healthcare professionals. The shift might change during their work. A healthcare professional is likely to constantly suffer from fatigue and be deprived of sleep. When an emergency room is crowded, the working hours of the emergency staff may be doubled. Moreover, their rotational work schedule which is very irregular can cause more stress.
Work Load:
Usually, the staff in the hospital and medical facilities is not enough to meet the quorum and is significantly less than the patients in need.
These challenges are getting worst with the increase in population and rising costs for studying medical education.
Call an Attorney for a Workers’ Comp Claim in Houston:
Contact us for a workers’ comp claim in Houston if you are suffering from an injury at work. Our experienced lawyers will make you get your deserved claim as soon as possible.