A colleague of mine told me she saw a great cartoon depicting a doctor who had invented a pill that could cure every disease known to man. The problem was the pill could not be swallowed- it was about ten feet wide! I thought this was a great illustration for new lab safety professionals, and even some seasoned ones. When you become a lab safety professional, it may be that you are brand new to the role and have no safety background. It may be that you are in a new laboratory. You may have one or two other roles with safety. No matter the case, the things that need to be done with safety in the lab may well seem like a daunting, giant pill. How do you swallow it? Where do you begin? Looking back on my first days as a safety officer, I remember feeling overwhelmed. I learned quickly that the answer to swallowing that pill was to take it one piece at a time.
Begin with an overall audit to determine where the lab stands with its safety culture. Long-time readers know I always recommend the safety audit form located in the appendix section of CLSI’s document Clinical Laboratory Safety. The audit helps to determine if the lab has necessary safety documentation, and it gives a solid picture of the safety of the lab’s physical environment. Another way to perform an audit is to use the CAP’s General Checklist standards from the Safety section.
The next thing to look at is the current safety record of the laboratory. What injuries or exposures have occurred? How many chemical or biological spills have been reported? Have there been safety meetings? If so, what have been the main topics of discussion?
With this information, you are armed and ready to begin to wage your war on unsafe lab practices. You can now understand the areas which need the most attention. Do you have several safety problems requiring attention? Prioritize them- tackle them in order of whatever is the most dangerous to the lab staff. If you think an item requires immediate attention, get help from management and perform a safety-stand down (I’ll talk more about that next month).
Lab safety is a big pill for one person to swallow, but remember your limitations, and though it may be distasteful at times, chew it one bite at a time. Once you begin making a dent into that giant tablet, you may then need to begin considering how to get the lab staff to start chewing safety as well!