Handling Hazardous Drugs in Healthcare by Julie Nyhus FNP-BC
Check out my new article in the September 2022 American Nurse Journal: Handling hazardous drugs in healthcare.
It’s a topic we don’t discuss enough in nursing and healthcare, but need to.
If you don’t get anything else from this article, read the part on protecting yourself and your family.
The following information is from the September 2022 American Nurse Journal article: Handling Hazardous Drugs in Healthcare.
Find the complete article on the American Nurse Journal website.
Protect yourself and your family
Appropriate precautions while at work help minimize your family’s exposure.
- Remove personal protective equipment and wash hands with soap and water before entering shared workspaces, such as breakrooms and bathrooms. Keeping these areas free of hazardous drugs will limit exposure.
- Before leaving the clinical area, wash your hands and forearms with soap and water and dry thoroughly.
- Avoid touching your mouth, eyes, nose, ears, and face throughout the day.
After your shift is a critical time to remain cautious.
- Disinfect your phone and other frequently touched items before taking them inside your home.
- Remove work clothes as soon as possible after your shift. If possible, change out of all the clothes you wore during your shift before leaving work and seal them in a plastic bag to be washed at home. Rewash your hands after changing.
- Never wear your work shoes or work clothes around your home.
- Wash work clothes in a separate cycle with hot water.
- Routinely disinfect the vehicle you drive to and from work, including the steering wheel and the floor mats, especially if you can’t change shoes at work.
