Providing a safe environment to protect care team members and patients from being exposed to hazardous drugs is a Northwestern Medicine priority. Training will begin in September to comply with updated General Chapter 800 standards published by U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP). The program includes an assessment of risk, engineering controls, personal protective equipment (PPE), waste disposal and spill management.
Northwestern Medicine staff and clinician education Online Hazardous Drug Awareness Training is required for all individuals who may come in contact with hazardous drugs as part of their routine job duties. You must complete the course by November 1.
Here are key details:
The course will take 30-45 minutes to complete.
Annual training required
Visit NM Interactive > Applications > Learning & Performance > Learner Home to see your assignments.
You can self-enroll in additional courses if you want to learn more.
“USP 800 provides enforceable guidelines for safe work practices to protect healthcare workers,” says Jane Cullen, MD, medical director of Occupational Health. “Northwestern Medicine is using these guidelines to develop training and engineering controls, and to implement the use of personal protective equipment to enhance safety.” Find more information on the Hazardous Drug Safety page on NM Interactive
Drugs designated as hazardous The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) considers a drug to be hazardous if it exhibits one or more of the following characteristics in humans or animals:
Genotoxicity – can damage DNA
Carcinogenicity – can cause cancer
Teratogenicity or fertility impairment
Reproductive toxicity
Organ toxicity at low doses
Structure and toxicity profiles of new drugs that mimic existing hazardous drugs