Preventing Occupational Injuries from Ampoule Cuts

This presentation will cover how a systematic implementation of prevention strategies can protect nurses from ampoule cutes and injuries, and ensure that facilities are compliant with Workplace Health and Safety regulations and Infection Control guidelines.
CPD HOURS: 1
Registration Year 2024-2025

Course Content

One in three nurses has injured themselves while opening a glass ampoule. 

While many nurses consider ampoule cuts to be a rite of passage or something simply to be endured, they are a significant occupational hazard. Ampoule cuts can cause serious injury and low professional self-esteem for an affected nurse and have consequences that impact patients and healthcare facilities. 

This presentation will cover how a systematic implementation of prevention strategies can protect nurses from ampoule cutes and injuries, and ensure that facilities are compliant with Workplace Health and Safety regulations and Infection Control guidelines.

We will go through the Hierarchy of Controls framework, as recommended by the National Health and Medical Research Council, to find practical ways to control ampoule risks in clinical practice. We will also consider what can be done by nurses at an individual level to support safe work practices in hospitals, clinics, and allied health facilities. 

Learning Outcomes

In this session you will: 

  • Understand the incidence of ampoule injuries, and their consequences to staff, patients, and healthcare facilities 
  • Review the regulations in Australia relevant to ampoule and sharps injury prevention  
  • Explore ampoule injury prevention strategies using the Hierarchy of Controls and apply them to clinical practice
  • Analyse how safety is managed at each level of responsibility: national, organisational, and individual

Dr Michael Sinnott

MBBS, FACEM, FRACP
Dr Michael Sinnott is a senior clinician and innovator with strong management, research and education skills. Dr Sinnott was involved in clinical medicine for over 35 years before retiring in 2018; the majority of that time was in the Emergency Department.