1 4 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J U L Y 2 0 1 8
E
ndoscopy
nurses some-
times have to
do some heavy lifting
during a colonoscopy.
Literally. Imagine an
obese patient in the
left lateral position.
When the endoscopist
inserts the colono-
scope, a nurse has to
reach over the patient
and pull the abdomen
upward and hold it,
sometimes for as long
as 10 minutes. Sometimes, she'll have to press the abdomen to
facilitate scope passage. This can cause significant back pain and
fatigue to the nurse.
We wanted to find a way to ease some of that backbreaking
pain. And the solution was right in our own OR: a gel wedge that
we use to position patients for surgery. The gel positioner has
worked wonders on our nurses' backs and our GI efficiency.
Susan Fetzer, RN, PhD
Southern New Hampshire
Medical Center
Gel Wedge Positions GI Patients So Your Nurses
Won't Have To
NO MORE HEAVY LIFTING
• TAKE A LOAD OFF Your GI nurses will thank you when you show them how
to use a gel wedge to position obese colonoscopy patients.
Nashua, N.H.
sue.fetzer@unh.edu