M A R C H 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 7 3
W
e place
many of
our
neuro
patients
in the prone position. Until
recently, we were also re-posi-
tioning them in the prone
position. Quite a bit. Not
good. The more you move
patients in prone, the more
likely they'll suffer the
adverse effects of poor posi-
tioning — post-op pain,
brachial-plexus injuries to the
shoulders, arms and hands,
and, of course, skin break-
down and pressure ulcers.
In an effort to prevent this
needless suffering, we took a step back and asked ourselves, "What
are we doing wrong and how can we fix it?" What we came up with
was a methodical, team-based system for preventing prone position-
ing injuries that you can apply to all types of surgical positioning.
Here's a detailed breakdown of our approach.
Perfecting the Prone Position
By adding a methodical, aviation-like checklist that focused
on teamwork, we reduced repositioning and patient injuries.
Denise M. Lawyer, BSN, RN, CNOR | Allentown, Pa.
• UP AND DOWN Our positioning protocol checks each pressure point
along the way: first starting at the head and working our way down to
the feet, and then starting at the feet and moving up to the head.
Lehigh
Valley
Health
Network
