[Medical Waste Reduction Project] Site Inspection Vol.2 Ishikawa Prefectural Nursing University
Hello! This time, I visited the Basic Nursing Course at Ishikawa Prefectural Nursing University to interview Asst Prof. Kiyoka Seto and Ms. Junna Asatani(Teaching Assistant), about what kind of waste is generated during nursing exercise and how it is disposed of.
I also asked them about their thoughts on issues in the medical field.
This interview generated many new ideas I had not seen before, and I am very excited about them! My thoughts are also summarized at the end of this page, so please read to the end!
Content of Interviews
１． Types of waste generated in nursing practice
At the College of Nursing, we conduct exercises simulating clinical situations. In particular, first-year undergraduate students practice putting on and taking off personal protective equipment to protect themselves from infection. In the second year undergraduate students use what they learned in the first year of their undergraduate studies to practice "medical assistance."
Examples of waste generated during the exercise include.
Personal protective equipment (mask, apron, gown, gloves, etc.)
Gauze (to be used as soiled wipes)
Waterproof sheets and diapers (to be discarded if soiled or torn)
Alcohol cotton (include outer bag)
Needles, ampules (glass bottles), needle disposal box
IV bottles, IV routes, catheters
Film agents (outer bag of skin protection tape)
Water that is assumed to have been used to absorb phlegm
２． Waste Disposal Methods and Frequency
In the basic nursing course at Ishikawa Prefectural Nursing University, the following is disposal processed for each type of waste:
General waste： The garbage cans are filled up after each nursing exercise, so they are thrown away after each exercise. Therefore, the disposal is done once or twice a week.
*Because the university does not handle infectious materials, personal protective equipment is also disposed of by mixing it with general waste.
Sharp or dangerous objects： Dispose of them in biohazard-marked containers (MIPPAIL) and store them at the university until the annual collection date. They try to fit in 3-4 containers per year.
３． Views on the Garbage Generated by the Nursing Exercise
In the exercises, unlike in the clinical setting, there is no opportunity to come in contact with items that may be contaminated or at risk of infection. However, the teachers told us that they had no choice but to use actual items because they could not proceed with the exercise assuming that students had conducted it. In response to this situation, we posed the following questions to the teachers.
Q： Do you think it is unsanitary to reuse items used in exercises?
"As for what we use in our exercises, I don't see a problem with that.” When we ran out of supplies during the coronavirus pandemic, even clinical sites reused or limited the amount of supplies used per day. It might be easier than you think to intervene in university exercises lol”
４． Issues in the Medical Field
I want to know not only the reality of the exercises but also the challenges in the medical field! So, I asked teachers who have clinical experience in hospitals to share with us examples of cases in which they have looked back on the medical field and found it to be a challenge.
The following two points were raised as challenges.
★Trash cans fill up quickly
★There is a perception that it is unhygienic for nurses to collect waste.
When we interviewed nurses other than the teachers, we also heard that the trash cans fill up quickly. Because of the importance placed on maintaining hygiene in hospitals, they were unable to put their hands in the trash cans to crush the trash, and they had to change the trash bags frequently. Asst Prof.Seto said, “If there is something that automatically crushes the trash, it would be very convenient because the nurses would not have to change the bags frequently and it would not be unhygienic. Plus, it would reduce the amount of trash.” she commented.
Discussion Time
So far we have been talking in an interview format, but the conversation got more and more lively, and then we went into a discussion time for the three of us lol. A lot of very interesting opinions were expressed, and I would like to present some of them in a conversational format!
Asst Prof. Seto: “In clinical practice, I might have used items to the extent that I wondered if I was wasting money. On the other hand, I was careful about what directly touched the patients, but I left the items I was wearing on.”
Me: "If we were in a home health care setting, we would provide care with the least amount of supplies necessary to meet the family's financial situation, but that hasn't been a major problem.”
Asst Prof. Seto: " Exactly! You say you're afraid of infection, but you still reuse urinals and urinals that could be a source of infection by putting them through the washer, and even though they're not disposable, it hasn't been a big problem.”
Me: "Yes, I know. I think disposable items have increased in terms of infection control, but do they need to be disposable?”
Asst Prof. Seto: "The disposable ones may be more convenient, not only for infection control but also because they require more time and effort to wash if they are to be reused in the future, as the number of people carrying them decreases. But it also takes manpower and costs money to dispose of the waste, so which is better?"
Me: " I agree with you! We need to think about it from many different aspects.”
Ms. Asatani: "The kind of trash that gets produced a lot may vary from ward to ward. I used to prepare IVs every morning and there was an awful lot of outer bags.”
Asst Prof. Seto: "Maybe my ward didn't have that many outside bags.”
Me: ”Wow, really? It would be fun to compete with other wards to see what can be made from garbage like Ward A made new aprons out of aprons, and Ward B produces fuel for the hospital heating system! ”
Asst Prof. Seto: "It would be interesting to rotate the gifts made by each ward and give them to each other lol”
Ms. Asatani: "Also there were some outer bags of spoons from meals. With the number of patients we have, I'd say that's a fair amount of trash.”
Me: "Ah! I see. I didn't have that perspective. The fact that the meal scene comes up is a perspective that only a nurse who is close to the patient's life could have.”
I enjoyed the discussion with them! I realized that it is a very important and meaningful time to talk with people who know the field well.
Thank you so much, Asst Prof.Seto and Ms.Asatani!
Summary
The following is a summary of our thoughts throughout the interview.
The “unsoiled plastics” used in university exercises are likely to be recyclable and reusable.
It would be good to have a special container for collecting certain trash (e.g., trash that is not sharp and poses little risk of infection). Furthermore, we believe that a compressor of some sort should be included, with the ability to automatically compress the trash without the nurse having to stick her hand in.
What goes out in hospitals is medical supplies, paper containers for meals, and other items related to patients' daily lives. Since it is the role of nursing to prepare the patient's living environment, it may be a good idea to consider this as an intervention site. This would apply to interventions in welfare facilities.
Through this interview, we can hear the opinions of the medical staff and reaffirm that our goal is not simply to reduce waste, but to create a “resource cycle in the medical field” that is friendly to both the medical staff and the environment. I strongly wanted to realize such a resource cycle in the medical field, where medical personnel do not hold back for the sake of the environment, but instead think, This is convenient!
Please look forward to our future activities!
Thank you very much for reading the article through to the end!
Nomachi Accelerator Program
Youth Innovator,
Ayasa Terada
Inspection Cooperation：
Ishikawa Prefectural Nursing University
Basic Nursing Course,
Asst Prof. Kiyoka Seto and Ms. Junna Asatani(Teaching Assistant)
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