Let’s Get Personal

By Dan Scungio, MT(ASCP) SLS

 

When you are a laboratory safety officer, some days it feels like you are in a “war on safety violations.”  Why don’t people wear their lab coats?  Why don’t managers enforce the safety rules?  Don’t they care about the staff?  If no one will listen to what I teach, why do I even bother?  I would like to say to you that if you have ever thought these thoughts, you are not alone.  There is hope, however, so I encourage you to never give up!

If you are new to the safety role or even if you have been at it for a while, you know how frustrating it can be when Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is used improperly or not at all by lab staff.  Depending on your role, you may not be empowered to place staff in a code of conduct status, or you may not have adequate enforcement of safety rules by the manager.  There are some things you can do in order to make improvements and to get staff and management buy-in. 

If there is a problem with safety compliance in the lab, it likely begins at the top, and that is a good starting point.  Check to see if your pathologists follow the safety guidelines.  Do they wear PPE?  Do they eat or drink while in the laboratory?  Pathologists are considered by many lab personnel to be knowledgeable in all areas of laboratory medicine, including safety.  If the staff sees the Medical Directors handling specimens without gloves, it must be safe.  After all, they went to medical school!  It really is important for pathologists to set a good safety example by adhering to good laboratory safety guidelines.  If they do not, it’s time to sit down with them and have a serious conversation about the effect they have on their laboratory. Don’t hesitate to discuss it with them - it may make a vast difference moving forward.

Laboratory managers are a busy lot, and safety does not always land at the top of their heaps.  If it seems like you don’t get the manager support you’d like, it’s time to become the “squeaky wheel.”  Get yourself and your safety team noticed.  Poke your head in the manager’s door every once in a while, make it a point to discuss safety issues in person rather than via e-mail or on the phone.  It may seem unfortunate, but it is your duty to keep safety awareness in the forefront of managers’ minds.  Have you participated in a safety fair?  Talk about it or write about it in a hospital publication.  If you are able to participate in manager meetings, never fail to educate them about a safety topic. 

It is also possible to improve the laboratory safety culture even if you cannot get Medical Director or management support.  If you belong to a larger laboratory and you have a safety team, use that team to make improvements.  Work closely and often with these safety “coaches,” and train them to spot safety issues, to coach others properly when issues arise, and to educate the staff regularly.  These people can be the seeds with which your safety culture will grow.  If there is a core group of laboratory staff who consistently insist on PPE use, they will make an impact on the rest of the staff, perhaps even the management if that is needed.  If you are the sole safety officer in a smaller lab, you are the seed - you will be the one who insists on lab safety, and you will make a difference if you do not give up.

Your last line of defense in your war on violations is the laboratory staff.  Getting people to change is one of the hardest things to do, but the best way to make some headway at that level is to get personal with the people you are trying to help.  Do you know everyone’s name?  Do you know anything about the people you need to coach?  You will get much further in your safety goals if you take the time to get to know the people you are trying to help.  Walk through your lab(s) and talk to people.  It doesn’t always have to be about safety, they know that’s your role.  Get to know newly hired staff, too.  The more personable you are and the more personal you get, the more headway you will make in the long run.

One thing about successful safety officers is that they never go away; they don’t give up until an issue is resolved.  For those you work with, that doesn’t need to be a bad thing.  Let them see your smiling face so that their first thought about you isn’t always…”Oh no!”  Once you have achieved this, you will find that the war on safety violations will be a thing of the past.