The Importance of Documenting Injuries that Occur in Your Pole Studio

We have previously discussed the importance of having an emergency action plan specific to your pole studio.

Why is this so important? Because pole injuries will occur in your studio, and it is best to have a plan in place to handle them. Although it is impossible to predict every injury that will occur, handling the injury with preparedness and professionalism will greatly improve the perception of your business. It could also be the deciding factor in whether a client comes back after injury!

But did you know that one of the most important actions you can take after an injury occurs is to document it?

Documentation is one of the essential steps in your emergency action plan. After the occurrence of an injury or emergency, you should document the situation in as much detail as possible. This helps protect you and your studio in the case of legal action. Legal action for cases of emergencies or injuries do not usually occur right away. Therefore, a year from now you may not remember what happened today! With proper documentation, you will be able to refer back to it and use it as needed.

Having injury report templates accessible and ready in your studio will better prepare you and your employees to take action when injuries do occur. Similar to how healthcare providers document, you will document what happened and what was done on the injury report.

Document what happened:

Be detailed and truthful! Describe the setting, time of injury, and how the injury occured. Even small injuries, such as finger injuries or minor muscle strains, should be documented. What equipment was involved? Who was present and/or involved? Always include a section in your injury report to document the name and the role of the person completing the form.

Document what was done:

Document any actions taken to care for the injured student. For example, was first aid administered? Did you have to activate the emergency action plan? Was EMS called? Was the student transported to an emergency room? Did the student refuse transportation? Did you call the student’s emergency contact? Was the student a minor, and if so, were the parents/guardians informed?

It is also good practice to have the injury report completed by not only the instructor who was present, but also the student who was injured. That way you have perspectives from both parties. In the case of an emergency, the student may not be able to complete the form right away, so follow-up with them to finish completing the form.

Follow-up with the student 24-48 hours later to check on them. This helps you stay informed of the situation and their injury status, and also shows that you really care about their health and safety. Of course, document the date/time of the follow-up call and the status of the student on the injury report form.

Keep injury report templates in an accessible location in your studio. Train your staff where to find them and how to complete them in the case of an injury. Store completed injury forms in a secure location within the studio. Consider backing up the written forms by making copies and/or scanning and filing them digitally.

In conclusion, documenting injuries that occur in your pole studio is a necessary step in improving professionalism, protecting you and your studio in the case of legal action, and preventing loss of clients. We have provided an injury report template to help get you started