Resource Articles

The Return to Work Program allows you to continue working after a job-related illness or injury even when you cannot do all of your regular duties. This lets you continue working, earning pay, receiving benefits and lets you save your accrued time-off for other needs.

If you are a Vanderbilt faculty or staff member and you have an injury caused by your work, the Occupational Health Clinic is here to help you. You do not have to schedule an appointment to be evaluated for a new work injury.

When exposed to blood or body fluids, clean the wound, obtain the source patient's information and seek immediate medical care.

Some of the most common respiratory diseases healthcare workers may be exposed to include pertussis (whooping cough), varicella (chickenpox), tuberculosis, meningococcal infections, and measles. Any time you have an exposure to one of these illnesses for which OHC assesses your contact with the patient, you must fill out a Tennessee First Report of Injury form.

Personnel who are working with a macaque (a specific species of non-human primate) may be exposed to the simian herpes B virus if they sustain a bite or needle stick, a scratch from the animal or a dirty cage, or a splash with the animal's blood or body fluids.

Health care workers may encounter patients who have diseases that are spread through close contact. Exposures can occur during the initial evaluation of a patient prior to diagnosis. The use of protective gear can prevent exposures when instituted early. Some of the most common infections include: