Canadian Occupational Safety

8 Canadian Occupational Safety www.cos-mag.com PEOPLE & PLACES UPDATES FROM THE WORLD OF HEALTH & SAFETY By COS staff M ore than three-quarters of resi- dent physicians responding to a survey said they had made errors at work due to the consecutive number of hours they are required to work. And two in 10 said they made errors that negatively impacted patient care. e Canadian respondents worked an average of 63.7 hours in a week during their last rotation and felt they were able to provide 19.2 con- secutive hours of safe patient care. e optimal number of consecutive work hours cited by respondents was slightly lower, at 16.6, found the survey by the Canadian Association of Internes and Residents (CAIR) in Ottawa. When residents were asked if they had ever experienced an incident and felt that work-related fatigue was a factor, falling asleep while driving accounted for 34 per cent of responses. A further 24.9 per cent mentioned they narrowly avoided a motor vehi- cle collision while 3.9 per cent of responses pointed toward being in a motor vehicle collision, found the survey of 2,305 CAIR members. More than seven in 10 respondents said they had experienced inappro- priate behaviour from others that made them feel diminished during their residency. One-half said they had experienced this behaviour from staff physicians or nursing staff . e most commonly cited type of behaviour was yelling, shaming or condescension by colleagues, cited by 26.6 per cent of respondents. Nearly four in 10, or 37.8 per cent, cited their program director as a resource to help deal with inappro- priate behaviour, while 54.9 per cent said the resources available to them were eff ective or somewhat eff ective, found the 2012 National Resident Survey. " is survey points to the employ- ment challenges that residents in some specialties are having and that the level of concern is widespread," according to CAIR president Simon Moore. "Patients depend on access to spe- cialists in their communities. We need better health human resources planning to ensure such access is not further jeopardized." Long work hours lead to physician errors: Survey By COS staff W omen employed in sectors such as automotive plastics and food canning — where there are potentially high exposures to carcinogens and endocrine disrup- tors — have an elevated risk for developing breast cancer, according to a study published in the academic journal Environmental Health. "This really demonstrates that occupational exposure is a very important infl uence on the rates of this disease," said Jim Brophy, an adjunct professor at the University of Windsor and co-author of the paper, Breast Cancer Risk in Relation to Occupations With Exposure to Car- cinogens and Endocrine Disruptors: A Canadian Case-Control Study. Between 2002 and 2008, the study's authors — who included Eleanor Maticka-Tyndale, a sociology pro- fessor at the University of Windsor in Ontario — recruited 1,005 women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer, collecting data on their occupational and reproductive histo- ries, and compared them with 1,147 control subjects. e study found specifi c sectors with elevated risk included agricul- ture, bars and gambling, automotive plastics manufacturing, food can- ning and metalworking. e highest risk sector for premenopausal breast cancer was in the automotive plastics sector. Participants filled out a ques- tionnaire that captured data on reproductive risk factors such as menstrual and menopausal his- tory, and family history. ey were also asked about demographic and lifestyle risk factors, employment his- tory and descriptions of job activities e fi ndings are signifi cant because research regarding occupational exposures and breast cancer risk has generally been a neglected topic, said Brophy, adding there are only three previously published studies of occu- pation and breast cancer similar to this one that include detailed work and reproductive histories. Higher cancer risk for women working in automotive plastics: Study The Works goes to Calgary Acklands-Grainger hosted a record number of attendees at its annual tradeshow, e Works, the company said. is year, Canada's largest main- tenance repair and operations and safety show was held at the BMO Centre, Stampede Park in Calgary. e annual event, held Jan. 16 and 17 brought together more than 2,200 cus- tomers, 250 supplier partners and 850 Acklands-Grainger team members from across the country to provide a forum to discuss pressing industry trends and showcase thousands of new products and solutions that help busi- nesses improve productivity and keep employees safe and on the job. "Com- panies are looking to trim costs in new ways to improve their bottom line," said Eric Nowlin, president, Acklands- Grainger. " is show is one of the ways we invest in our customers' businesses by providing resources and expertise to help them be more effi cient as they keep their workplaces safe, effi cient and functioning." e event includes an expanded trade show and two full days of activities ranging from safety seminars to product and service demos. Labour minister names employer, employee rep to CCOHS Employers will have new representa- tion at the Hamilton-based Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), said Labour Minis- ter Lisa Raitt. Helder Botelho began a four-year term on Nov. 28 with the CCOHS. Most recently, Botelho was the plant manager at AOC Resins and Coatings in Guelph, Ont. He is a former chair of the board of the Industrial Accident and Prevention Association and a current member of the Canadian Education and Training Commission. A new employee rep- resentative was also appointed by the labour minister. Sari Sairanen began a four-year part-time term on Dec. 13 at the CCOHS. Sairanen is currently the director of health and safety at the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union. She has held various positions in the health and safety and labour relations sectors of the CAW, including bargaining committee representative, vice-president of the western region and co-chair of the joint health and safety committee. Threads of Life volunteers get Queen's medal ree individuals from the Associa- tion for Workplace Tragedy Family Support — also known as reads of Life — were honoured with Queen's Diamond Jubilee awards recently. reads of Life executive director Shirley Hickman, volunteer board member Eleanor Westwood and vol- unteer Lisa Kadosa are all recipients of the prestigious Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. e award honours signifi cant contributions and achievements by Canadians. Hick- man was nominated by the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters for her leadership in founding reads of Life and "outstanding contributions in the fi eld of workplace health and safety." Kadosa works in health and safety with the Public Service Commission of Canada and was nominated by co- workers. Westwood's award recognizes her dedication to public service and volunteer work with reads of Life and other organizations. Westwood is manager of communications for CCOHS. Shirley Hickman, executive director, Threads of Life Eric Nowlin, president, Acklands-Grainger

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