Week 7: Patient Transfer
- Laura Palmer
- Mar 12, 2019
- 2 min read
This week I joined one of the Patient Transfer services in Sudbury to transport patients from the hospital back to home or rehabilitation. It was a fairly quiet day with only a few transfers but I had an opportunity to practice using a stretcher, do sheet transfers, and communicate with patients.
Using a Stretcher
Yesterday provided lots of opportunities to practice using a stretcher. I was at the head and foot ends when transporting patients, lowered the stretcher by myself, raised and lowered the stretchered with a partner (with and without a patient), manoeuvred the stretcher into and out of rooms and elevators, and loaded and unloaded the stretcher. One of the things, I learned about myself yesterday was that although I know the mechanics on how to perform each of the aforementioned tasks, I was not nearly as quick or reflexive with it as the staff were. This is something I really want to work on, as paramedics use a stretcher at every call. My preceptorship will be much easier if using the stretcher is an automatic skill and is one less item to be flustered with at calls. I am going to make it a habit to use the stretcher each time I am in after-hours lab so that over the coming weeks I can become more comfortable.
Sheet Transfers
I also had the opportunity yesterday to assist with transferring patients from a hospital bed to the stretcher and from the stretcher to a wheelchair using bedsheets. This is something that I have done once before in lab and once in the ER but it is not a task that I have practiced. When done well, a patient can be moved easily with a sheet transfer, and it is also important to focus on body mechanics and coordination with your partner to prevent injury. To practice this skill, I am going to ask a couple classmates to practice with me in after-hours lab and also start to include it when we do scenarios.
Patient Questioning
When driving patients to their destination, I was in the back of the truck so I had a chance to chat. On one of our transfers for the day, we had a longer drive so I thought it would be a great opportunity to talk to the patient for my case study assignment. I explained the assignment to the patient and they happily complied for me to ask them questions. I had a conversation with them and interspersed SAMPLE questions but throughout the conversation I found that the questioning was invasive. Although they gave consent and were happy to talk, I felt that I did not have the right or a reason to ask medical questions. None of my treatment or interactions with the patient required me to ask these questions. I am going to keep these feelings in mind when engaging with other patients in the future and only ask questions that are truly relevant to providing medical care.
Hi Stephanie,
Thanks for your comments!
It seems the Platinum only hires AEMCA or AEMCA-pending individuals. I know that that is not the case with many other companies as many second year students worked doing Patient Transfer over the summer.
Platinum doesn't have power stretchers, they have manual ones similar to ours in lab, just with a few added features it seemed.
I found it surprisingly easy to do sheet transfers! One of the big things is to make sure the bed and the stretcher are at the same height so you don't have to do any lifting. Also if you put one hand around the shoulder area and one at the hip when you're grabbing the blankets, it's ver…
Hi Laura, I also do not get the chance to do patient transfer this semester. I've looked into severely patient transfer services in Toronto, which did not require attendants to be fully AMECA certified medics, was that the same for Platinum Patient transfers? I have seen the power stretchers but haven't gotten the opportunity to use it myself yet. Did you find it difficult to maneuver around corners or in tight hallways and spaces? If so is there any tips or techniques that can help with this?
I unfortunately haven't used a sheet to move a patient since first semester, however, while transferring patients using a sheet did you find that there was any strain to your back when moving…
Hi Mikayla,
Thanks for the comments!
Patient transfer had power stretchers, very similar to ours in lab but with a few added features (ie. the head end of the stretcher could be adjusted to be completely vertical which was very useful for fitting into small elevators). I also learned with small elevators that you do not want to trap yourself in! Put the stretcher in first and get in at the back.
All of the buildings that we went into had an elevator or ramp, but when that's not the case, patient transfer does have a stair chair (the same as ours in lab) and that would be used to transport the patient.
I felt that the questioning was invasive…
Hey Laura! I unfortunately do not have the chance to do patient transfers this semester. I am glad that you informed the sheet transfers and getting to know the stretchers. I am going to keep that in mind when doing after hours lab as well.
Whenever I get the opportunity to use the power stretchers, I always do because we do not have this luxury at school. At EVT, I was amazed how these worked effortlessly. Did you get the opportunity to manually lift these stretchers? If you did, was it more difficult than the lab stretchers?
Why did you feel like your questioning was invasive to the patient? Was it because you were to strictly transfer them? Also, if…