AES - Safety Precautions: Body Mechanics

Why should your feet be shoulder-width apart when lifting?

• Keeps you from breaking the item

• Prevents you from dropping the item

• Helps you maintain balance

Meredith needs to transfer Mr. Grey to a wheelchair and take him to therapy. After putting on the transfer belt, Meredith realizes that Mr. Grey is too heavy for her to lift alone. What should she do next?

• Cancel Mr. Grey's therapy session.

• Ask another healthcare worker for help.

• Ask Mr. Grey to try harder to stand by himself.

Why must proper technique be followed for a patient transfer?

• To avoid a lawsuit

• To maintain comfort

• To avoid the patient becoming annoyed

• To prevent injury

What is the most common type of injury experienced by healthcare workers?

• Accidental needlesticks

• Stomach ulcers

• Infectious diseases

• Back injury

What is the best way to push an object?

• By leaning into the object with your body weight

• By using your hip and leg muscle

• By using your upper body strength

• By pushing with the strength in your arms

How should employees and patients move their feet when preparing to move in a different direction?

• Slide feet until the body is pointing to the right direction

• Keep feet still while turning the body in the right direction

• Keep body still while turning the feet to the right direction

• In short pivots until they point in the direction they want to travel

Always bend at your ____.

• hips and knees

• back

• ankles

• waist

For whom is proper body mechanics especially useful?

• Patients who need to lose weight for health reasons

• Those preparing for a marathon and those needing to get into shape

• People who want to complete strength training

• Patients in rehab and geriatric patients adapting to limitations

Which of the following situations is best handled by the Fowler's bed position?

• A patient needs to be made comfortable after being admitted for a back wound.

• An older patient in a hospital room has respiratory problems.

• You must limit a patient's movement in the surgical recovery room.

• You need to keep an unconscious patient's airway clear.

During a patient transfer from bed to wheelchair, where should the wheelchair be placed?

• In an open space with the seat facing the bed

• Anywhere in the room

• Beside the bed and against the wall

• At the foot of the bed