Notably for activities during basic care, nursing staff often have to lean forward, for example to be able to wash patients’ legs or feet. High weights are often moved and the body reacts to unfavorable working angles in the medium and long term with symptoms and injuries – a consequence of excessive and one-sided loads during lifting and repositioning.
However, the ergonomic optimization of important work steps and the use of aids can at least reduce the stress on the nursing staff’s side and make it more tolerable. In our series „Ergonomic work in nursing professions we show today the relocation of a resident with 2 nurses:
Preparation of the resident
• The patient’s front leg positioned as seen by the pushing nursing staff
• The patient’s front hand, as seen by the pulling nursing staff, is placed on the opposite/rear shoulder
Preparation for nursing staff
• The pushing nursing staff kneels with one leg next to him and places the other leg at right angles
• The palms of the pushing nursing staff’s hands are positioned on the patient’s hip and shoulder
• The other nursing staff, on the opposite side of the bed, also places his palms on the hip and shoulder of the patient
Rotation of the resident
• The starting signal is given by the pushing nursing professional
• The second nursing staff only starts when the pushing nursing staff has contact with the patient’s hip and shoulder
• The body weight of the pushing nursing staff is moved forward and that of the other nursing staff backwards
Here are the steps in a video:
