An ergonomic assessment of using laterally-tilting operating room tables and friction reducing devices for patient lateral transfers.

Patient lateral transfers between two adjacent surfaces pose high musculoskeletal disorder risks for nurses and patient handlers. The purpose of this research was to examine the ergonomic benefits of utilizing the laterally-tilting function of operating room (OR) tables during such transfers - along with different friction-reducing devices (FRD). This method allows the patient to slide down to the adjacent surface as one nurse guides the transfer and another controls the OR table angle with a remote control.

Using "best-fit" interventions to improve the nursing intershift handoff process at a medical center in Lebanon.

Background: Nursing intershift handoff involves communicating essential patient information between the outgoing and the oncoming nurses during shift changes. A subsequent review of reported patient safety incidents at Labib Medical Center (LMC), Saida, Lebanon, showed that medication errors, delay in treatment, wrong treatment, duplication of laboratory tests, and near-miss events were caused by patient information omissions during intershift handoffs. In response, LMC initiated a quality improvement project using a multifaceted intervention to improve the quality of nursing intershift handoffs.