Designing and Implementing Personal protection program In COVID-19 Pandemic: The experience of A referral Hospital in Mashhad Iran

Introduction: Protecting staff while working with patients with COVID-19 is one of the important responsibilities of managers in the face of the recent pandemic crisis. Although international and national guidelines in this regard guide the performance of managers, but considering the environmental characteristics and innovations of each center in order to further protect employees need more publication and sharing. Providing hospital experiences helps to improve strategies and select appropriate solutions in nursing managers. Methods: Dr. Shariati Hospital with 151 active beds was dedicated to providing treatment and care services to COVID-19  patients on March 2017. Therefore, it was necessary to take measures to protect care staff. These steps were performed in three main steps, including (1) designing the physical environment of the staff entrance, (2) providing the required tools and equipment, and (3) designing the processes. Conclusion: COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease. Transmission of the virus due to occupational exposure is still a major threat to medical staff. Considering the appropriate physical environment, designing the program according to the hospital facilities and staff participation, designing transparent processes with high execution capability are the basic components of designing and implementing personal protection programs in the event of an infectious crisis.