The incidence of Australian private practice sonographers moving patients unassisted and their level of training: A pilot study

Abstract

Studies to date do not ascertain the incidence of sonographers moving patients unassisted. There is further conflicting research as to what level of manual assistance of patients is within a sonographer's scope of practice and what training they have or require in order to do so. The aim of this study was to ascertain the incidence of Australian private practice sonographers moving patients unassisted and determine what training these sonographers have in order to appropriately perform these procedures. This research is a pilot study with the results obtained through an online questionnaire. The survey results returned a sample size of n = 35, showing that 94.29% (n = 33) of Australian sonographers are moving patients unassisted for ultrasound examinations. It further portrays the need for change through education as 71.43% (n = 25) of sonographers state to have received no manual handling training throughout their career. There is also a lack of clear guidelines for sonographers regarding patient moves. This research exposes the need for guidelines similar to other health professionals, particularly nurses, who have such guidelines in place to avoid injury and work‐related musculoskeletal disorders.

Knowledge and use of work‐related musculoskeletal disorder (WRMSD) prevention techniques in the daily practice of final‐year Australian sonography students: A cross‐sectional study

“…Our study demonstrates a significant association between ergonomic education and knowledge of prevention techniques; however, three widely reported prevention techniques were not well recognised by the participants of this study. 1,3,7,16,18,30 These included varying the scans performed, taking sufficient breaks between patients, and the use of assistance when moving patients. Only 39%-55% of participants reported they were aware of these techniques, and only 23%-45% reported to used them regularly.…”

An exploration of movement and handling by physiotherapists in a rehabilitation setting: A motion analysis study

“…Measurement tools used to investigate safety during manual patient handling included video (Carneiro et al 2015;Kjellberg et al 2003), observation (Cantarella et al 2020;Kjellberg et al 2003;Larouche et al 2019b;Wade et al 2017), photographs (Carneiro et al 2015) staff training attendance (Brusco et al 2007) and surveys (Newton et al 2020). These tools were used to measure and assess risk during patient handling tasks or to implement a training programme aiming to reduce the risk to HCPs during patient handling tasks.…”

“…Physical demands during manual patient handling (Cantarella et al 2020;Garzillo et al 2020;Howard et al 2013;Kang et al 2013;Kurowski et al 2012;Larouche et al 2019;McCoskey 2007;Stringer and Rice 2014;Vieira and Kumar 2009;Wångblad et al 2009) Patient handling practice and tasks performed (Chen et al 2014;de Ruiter and Liaschenko 2011;Fiedler et al 2012;Hodder et al 2010;Kim et al 2015;Kjellberg et al 2003;Kurowski et al 2012;Kyriakidis et al 2021;Larouche et al 2019;McCoskey, 2007;Newton et al 2020;Nikolajsen and Nielsen 2015) Improving safety of patient handling (Brusco et al 2007;Fragala 2011;Garzillo et al 2020;Hodder et al 2010;Kurowski et al 2012;Theis and Finkelstein 2014;Vieira and Kumar 2009) Risk assessment of patient handling tasks (Brusco et al 2007;Cantarella et al 2020;Carneiro et al 2015;Fragala, 2011;Kim et al 2015;Larouche et al 2019;Larouche et al 2019;Maekawa et al 2009) Investigation of kinetics (loading) experienced by the HCP (Baptiste 2011;…”