Needlestick injuries. A multidisciplinary concern.

This article outlines a variety of steps implemented by the medical center in an effort to reduce the number of needlestick injuries among nurses within our institution. Overall, we have seen a decline in needlestick injuries with the greatest decline among the nursing staff. We attribute this decline to staff education, improved needle-disposal containers, and the addition of needleless products for IV infusions. More important, a rigorous quality-management approach, including employee involvement, the sharing of data throughout the institution, and management commitment to the issue, has enabled continuous improvement. We are in the process of refining our methods so that future decisions regarding neddlestick injury reduction-activities will more specifically address problem areas.

The unification model: a collaborative effort.

The Rush unification model unites clinical practice with nursing education. In this system, nursing faculty possess joint responsibilities to the college of nursing and to a specific unit in the medical center. Collaboration among managers, clinical specialists, educators, and researchers leads to achievement of unit, college, and departmental goals. The collaborative process among the leadership group members in the medical intensive care unit, consisting of the unit leader, the assistant unit leader, the clinical nurse specialists, and the practitioner-teachers, is described in detail to show how utilization of the skills and strengths of each team member increases the benefits to the unit and the patient.