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Gavin Wright

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As anyone reading this newsletter knows, nursing care involves complex patient handling tasks. While the need for training to transfer skills from classroom to workplace goes without saying, we are also aware that training on its own cannot reduce injury rates. This small scale Australian study may be of interest to anyone who would like to put this point forward to their management.

This paper draws upon the findings from a questionnaire completed by 100 nurses in an Australian private hospital in 2008. A substantial knowledge deficit was identified, despite previous training undertaken by participants. A striking finding was that although 82% (n = 82) of nurses surveyed believed they used safe manual handling practices, only 18% (n = 15) of these nurses correctly answered items assessing manual handling knowledge. The study suggests prudence in the assumption of skills and knowledge acquisition during manual handling training. It informs the development of

future implementation strategies, and provides a contributory explanation for the limited application of recommended practices after training completion.

This is the sort of study that would be easy to replicate within our own workplaces.

To read the full report, you will need access to the international Journal of Nursing Practice through Athens or similar.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1440-172X.2011.01930.x/abstract

This may be available through your hospital or university library