5 Things to Know about AORN’s New Safe Patient Handling and Movement Guideline

By: Aorn Staff

Published: 10/9/2019

Publish Date: April 25, 2018

“Too often perioperative nurses engage in unsafe practices when they move or transport a patient and the result is work-related injury to muscles, nerves, tendons, ligaments, joints, cartilage, and spinal discs,” cautions Mary J. Ogg, MSN, RN, CNOR, AORN senior perioperative practice specialist.

She says patients may also pay the price for improper movement practices with falls and damage to skin and nerves caused by improper movement into surgical positioning.

Recognizing the realities of unsafe patient handling and movement practices in perioperative care, AORN has been developing a new evidence-based Guideline for Safe Patient Handling and Movement that is scheduled for electronic publication in July, according to Ogg, the lead author of the guideline.

“This new guideline provides the evidence-based guidance necessary for perioperative team members to shape a comprehensive program and develop a policy aimed at making safe patient handling and movement (SPHM) the standard of care,” she says.

The Guideline At a Glance

Eight recommendations in the new guideline address topics such as: culture of safety, implementing and sustaining a SPHM program, ergonomic design and practices, selecting SPHM technology, patient assessment, and competence tailored to perioperative patients and team members, as well as the perioperative environment.

These recommendations include the seven ergonomic tools in AORN’s previously published guidance statement for safe patient handling and movement (SPHM) and the guideline itself is framed in accordance with the ANA’s Safe Patient Handling and Mobility: Interprofessional National Standards Across the Care Continuum, while ensuring a specific focus on perioperative care.

Ogg shares a first look at the some of AORN’s new SPHM recommendations with these five things to know from the guideline:

Use ergonomic tools to standardize practice.

The seven ergonomic tools in the guideline address specific perioperative SPHM practice concerns, such as:
- how to safely move patients on and off the OR bed,
- how to move the patient into various surgical positions such as prone and lithotomy, and
- how to handle SPHM equipment in the OR.

Think big with a dedicated SPHM program tailored for perioperative care.

To ensure a standardized approach to SPHM, the guideline outlines recommendations for developing, implementing and sustaining a SPHM program.

Regular communication among and to staff and leadership regarding SPHM practices, and actionable data to identify areas for SPHM improvement should all be addressed in such a program, Ogg suggests.

Choose and correctly install SPHM technology to meet your patient and staff needs.

The most challenging aspect of SPHM implementation continues to be the lack of safe patient handling equipment designed specifically for the perioperative environment, Ogg says.

However, she notes that “manufacturers are beginning to realize the need for OR-specific safe patient handling equipment, which continues to improve for moving, lifting and mobilizing patients. Equipment may also be adaptable to the OR such as air-assisted transfer equipment and slide sheets.”

Know how to accommodate staff returning to work after sustaining injury.

It is estimated that more than half of all nurses live with musculoskeletal pain that is aggravated by their nursing jobs.

When a nurse is injured in the perioperative setting, the health care organization should have a set process in place to facilitate return to work, Ogg shares from the guideline. “It can also be beneficial for the organization to monitor injury frequency, severity and the costs associated with injury in efforts to prevent future injuries,” she adds.

Recognize that patient obesity is a contributing factor in all practice settings.

“More than one-third of all surgical patients cared for are likely obese,” Ogg shares. “If nurses and other perioperative team members charged with moving patients aren’t given the tools, knowledge and support to safely handle these patients, injuries to staff and patients will only become more prevalent.”