There are a multitude of potential injury risks for nurses. They could be injured in slip and fall accidents or when working with dangerous implements, such as surgical tools or needles. Some studies have even found that violence against nurses, often coming from patients or their family members, is a rising cause of injury.
But one of the main things to watch out for is simply lifting heavy patients. This is something nurses may need to do on a regular basis, but it dramatically increases the risk of musculoskeletal injuries, such as back injuries. It is one of the top reasons why nurses miss time at work, and back injuries can have a dramatic impact on someone’s life.
What activities are most dangerous?
Ideally, nurses should work together to lift heavy patients, or they should use assistive devices, such as hoists. But in reality, this is not always possible due to the limited availability of these devices and the fact that nurses often need to work quickly, so they may try to assist the patient on their own. Some of the most dangerous activities include:
- Transferring a patient from one side of the bed to another
- Helping a patient move from a chair to a bed
- Transferring a patient with mobility issues from a chair or bed to a toilet
- Lifting a patient while they are still in bed, perhaps to help them reposition to avoid issues like bedsores
- Making a bed that still has a patient in it
- Helping patients who have fallen stand up and move to a chair or a bed
Many patients may have injuries or ailments that mean they have limited mobility on their own, so this type of assistance is necessary. But when the patient weighs more than the nurse, it can be very difficult for them to provide that type of care on their own, and back injuries are frequent.
Nurses who have been injured on the job must know all of their options to seek appropriate workers’ comp benefits.
