OSHA Training & Your Medical Practice
By: Nila Smith If you are new to the Medical Practice industry, you may not be aware there are several trainings your staff is recommended or required by law to complete prior to working in a clinical setting. One of these training is OSHA. OSHA is the common acronym used to describe the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a government body that sets standards for the safety and health of workers. Many OSHA standards explicitly require you to train your employees in the safety and health aspects of their jobs. In the Medical Practice setting, your staff should be trained on: • Walking and working surfaces • Means of egress • Hazardous materials • Personal protective equipment • First-aid • Fire safety • Electrical safety • Record keeping • Hazard communication standard and • Bloodborne disease pathogens standards. For a complete list of things you are required to train for, visit the OSHA website. Importance of Record Keeping You should keep a record of all safety and health training you do. Records can provide evidence of your good faith and compliance with OSHA standards. Documentation can also supply an answer to one of the first questions an accident investigator will ask, "Was the injured employee trained to do the job?" If you have a lab in your Medical Practice, OSHA requires you to make material safety data sheets (MSDS) available and easily accessible to all employees. These sheets are prepared by the chemical manufacturer and list the physical and health hazards, routes of exposure, precautions for safe handling and use as well as emergency and first-aid procedures. All MSDS sheets must be retained for 30 years. It is also important to identify hazards in your clinic. OSHA provides a “Hazard Awareness Advisor” to assist you in identifying and correcting hazards in the workplace. This may be assessed on the OSHA Website. While some Medical Practices do a yearly OSHA training, others opt to train people through their orientation process. As you consider the best ways to incorporate OSHA training into your Medical Practice, you may wish to reference these two sites: 1. Small Business Handbook – Safety Standards 2. OSHA Compliance Assistance Quick Start. You should also note that all OSHA training records must be retained for at least three years. It is also very important to check your state for any additional regulations that may apply.
