Question

1. As an orthopedic nurse, a significant proportion of your nursing care consists of assisting patients in ambulating, transferring, and practicing physical therapy treatments to restore their mobility. (Learning Objectives 7 and 8)
   1. What steps would you take to prevent personal injury when assisting patients to stand?
   2. How do these steps prevent/reduce injury?
   3. Describe techniques that, along with using a gait belt, prevent a patient from slipping when attempting to sit in a chair.
   4. If your patient has hemiparesis, where would you stand to assist in ambulation?
   5. Outline the correct initial use of a cane.

Answer 1

ANSWERS :

a. Steps to preventing personal injury while assisting a patient to stand :

• call another sister for help.
• use your legs to lift the patient, not with your back.
• use strongest and longest muscle for lifting the patient.
• avoid twisting of legs while lifting the patient.
• use a gait belt.
• spread feet to shoulder width for more stability.

b. How these steps prevent injury ?

By using the above mentioned techniques, nurse is safe from injuring self and the patient as well.

c. first of all, we should let the patient know what we are trying to do. Gently let the patient to stand with help, make sure the area around the patients feet is clear.Provide slip resistant foot wear. Try to make the chair stable while shifting the patient to chair.

d. In hemiparesis patient, nurse should accompany the patient, walk behind and slightly to one side of   patient, on the side of hemiparesis.

e. Hold the cane in the hand of patients good side. so that it provides support to the opposite lower limb.move the cane and affected leg forward together.

Cane provide improved balance by widening the persons base of support.