Hi Vinnie (and everyone else, too),
At the "old job", where they are very safety conscious, we did not have to
do any of those things with cryostats.  We left a blade in every night for
the pathologists to use for call, and changed the blade when dull, not in
between patients.
Sounds like the safety officer is reading the OSHA regs with a bit too much
zeal.
See you tomorrow, Wanda


-----Original Message-----
From: Vinnie Della Speranza [mailto:dellav@musc.edu]
Sent: Monday, June 26, 2000 1:09 PM
To: histonet@pathology.swmed.edu
Subject: Cryostat knives

in the aftermath of an employee injury, our safety officer is insisting that
we remove cryostat knives at the end of the shift (leaving no blade in the
cyrostat over night) and change blades in between patients. She claims that
failure to do so would be a violation of OSHA's requirements for safe work
practices. The employee nicked her thumb while tidying up the interior of
one of our units.

We commonly juggle frozen section specimens from more than one patient
simulataneously. We are a busy facility with a very large transplant
program. It is not uncommon for pathologists to be called to do frozens at
odd hours, hence the need for a cold knife that is ready to go at all times.

I would like to hear your thoughts on this matter and from facilities who
might be using practices similar to that being asked of us. Thanks

Vinnie







Vinnie Della Speranza
Manager for Anatomic Pathology Services
Medical University of South Carolina
165 Ashley Avenue
Suite 309
Charleston, SC  29425
ph:  (843) 792-6353
fax: (843) 792-8974
email: Dellav@musc.edu