Patient Handling Training – [Complete Video Kit]

Do your employees handle patients in a healthcare setting of any kind? If so, then this Patient Handling Safety training video can help your healthcare workers understand how to properly lift, move, or transport medical patients. Whether your facility has nurses, aides, orderlies, or other staff that move patients from bed to chair, chair to bathroom, etc., injuries to medical staff and can do happen.  Proper training on how to handle patients can reduce the likelihood of accidents or injuries and there is where this important training comes into play. 

This Patient Handling Training Covers the Following Important Concepts:

• What are the types of injuries that can occur while moving a patient? (back injuries, shoulder injuries, and other sprains and strains)
• What are some musculoskeletal injuries that can occur when we use our bodies to lift, push and pull any source of significant weight? (muscle strains, tendinitis, low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, rotator cuff injuries, sciatica and many more)
• What are some best practices for safe lifting that healthcare workers should follow in order to prevent the potential for a back injury?
• What are some challenges health care staff might encounter when moving patients? (patients who are critically ill or physically disabled might be difficult to move because they can’t help themselves when being moved, confused patients might not be able to follow instructions, uncooperative patients might actually resist being moved)
• What is a “Safe Patient Handling and Mobility” program? (these programs seek to identify hazards that are associated with patient handling, develop solutions to reduce or eliminate those hazards, and train staff regarding the equipment and best practices they can use to safely move patients)
• What are some options for moving a patient from a wheelchair to a bed? (You could use a full body sling device, ask the patient to stand and get into the bed themselves (assuming that their ability safety was accounted for), or you could use a transfer belt with a “stand and pivot” technique

Additional Topics Discussed in this Patient Handling Training:

• What is an algorithm in regards to moving patients and how do you use one? (often presented in a flowchart using the facts about the patients condition and the options available to safely move the patient)
• How to reposition a patient that is in bed safely and without causing injury to the healthcare worker
• The importance of “sliding” rather than “lifting” a patient that is in a hospital bed
• How to use draw-sheets and slider boards to move a patient
• How to perform a lateral transfer of a patient
• How to transfer a patient from a bed to a wheelchair
• When might it be appropriate to use a mechanical lift to transfer a patient? (some examples are weight greater than 200 pounds, if they cannot bear weight or walk, they are uncooperative, and many others)
• What are the most common types of lifts found in medical facilities? (floor based full body swings, sit to stand lifts, overheard full body lifts, and others) 
• and much more…

The ability to safely move a patient is critical to both the patient, as well as your employees. Teaching your healthcare staff the proper way to transfer a patient can reduce the numbers of injurers or accidents in your facility.  This Patient Handling Safety Training is available as an English speaking DVD or USB Stick.

Patient Handling Training Video – Full Length Preview: