Safety should be every health care organization's number one priority. Every employee is entitled to a safe working environment and the safety rules and regulations in workplaces have mandated compliance to meet the safety standards of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The law requires compliance by all employers to maintain the safety and health standards in workplaces. The health professionals have to accept responsibility and maintain the awareness and education by staying abreast of the OSHA standards. The article "Improving Compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration Standards," authored by Cuming, Rocco, and McEachern (2008) meticulously explained the background of establishment of OSHA and the implementation of its standards. As a branch of United States Department of Labor, the standards are all geared on providing a safe working environment to prevent employee injuries and risks to all sorts of harm. The OSHA standards are in place to provide safeguards for the health and safety of the employees performing in various jobs in the health profession.
Health care facilities may seem like the safest work environment but the truth could be on the contrary. Healthcare workers can be exposed to several hazards that are biological hazards caused from infectious agents, airborne and blood pathogens, drugs, radiation, needle-stick injuries, and physical injuries can be sustained as well. The protection of the healthcare employees' health and safety when on the job is easier said than done, because the reality of the daily dangers. The surgical operations performed pose a risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens to healthcare professionals. The safety measures according to the OSHA standard mandate the compulsory use of personal protective equipment (PPE). There is other staff members employed beside health workers that also requires to be kept safe.
