Injuries as exposure events in providing medical services by nursing staff.

Introduction: Among medical staff, nurses are particularly vulnerable to occupational exposure since they provide direct patient care and perform medical activities which often involve using sharps.

Aim: The objective of the study was to examine the frequency of injuries and their causes in nursing.

Methods: A diagnostic survey was employed using an original questionnaire. The study was carried out from 3rd March to 2nd April 2017. The study group comprised part-time nursing students. 107 respondents participating in the study worked in out-patient (28%) and in-patient (72%) healthcare. Most of the respondents were aged 41–50 (34.6%).

Results: 61.7% of the respondents were injured at work. The injury reporting rate was: 19.7% always, 22.7% often, 30.3% rarely, and 27.3% never. The most commonly mentioned types of injuries included: prick (51.5%), cut (28.8%), scratch (10.6%), prick and cut (9.1%). The incidence of injuries varied. 48.5% of the studied people declared fewer than 5 incidents, 31.8% quoted 5–10 injuries, 6.1% recalled 11–20, 13.6% did not remember such a situation. For nurses with longer seniority, there is a significant increase in injuries (p=0.029). Sources of injuries were most often: injection needle (35.9%), ampoule with medicine (23.3%), pen (7.8%).

Conclusions: Not all occupational exposure cases are reported by nurses. Seniority determines injury incidence among nurses. The longer the seniority, the more common the injuries. The needle causes injuries most frequently.