Every job comes with risks. For healthcare workers, these risks include many that are common in office settings, plus several that are unique to the healthcare field. Here, we’ll describe ways medical professionals can keep themselves safe on the job. We’ll look at ways to minimize risk on healthcare teams. And we’ll explore a few best practices your team can implement to boost safety and reduce risk.
Analyze potential risks to your business practice.
Medical professionals are accustomed to analyzing the risks involved in providing medical treatment to patients. Yet they may spend less time examining the risks associated with running a medical practice as a business. By examining potential business risks, you identify opportunities to secure coverage to minimize those risks.
Support employee efforts to report unsafe work practices.
The culture of a medical practice has a profound effect on safety. If workers fear being ignored or punished for reporting unsafe situations, they are less likely to speak up. These situations will continue to put your team and patients at risk until they are addressed. Encourage employees to report risks by ensuring they won’t face radio silence or reprisal if they do.
Lead by example.
Showing your team how to proceed teaches more quickly and clearly than telling your team. Set a standard for behavior through your own actions. Your team will learn safer practices as part of the routine, “right” way of doing things rather than as a set of externally-imposed rules – making it easier for them to remember and practice safety procedures.
Implement good processes and education for staff.
The more “rules” your workplace has, the harder it is for employees to follow them. Instead, teach safety as part of the correct way to do any process or procedure. Staff who internalize the “right way” to do things find it easy to do things safely and challenging to do them unsafely – minimizing risks from day to day.
Communicate standards and expectations clearly.
Staff who don’t know what is expected cannot hold themselves to a consistent standard. Communicate standards and expectations clearly and enforce them.
Ready to make sure you have the coverage you need to protect yourself? Connect with the team at Odell Studner today!
