A Room Where Nurses Learn How Not to Get Hurt

04 December 2011

An MU nursing student practices using a lift that helps transfer patients from one chair to another

This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.

Nurses spend their lives helping other people recover from injuries and illnesses. Yet nurses suffer a surprising number of injuries and illnesses themselves because of their work. In fact, the United States Department of Labor says nursing is the second leading profession for on-the-job injuries. It

ranks

higher than construction work and law enforcement. Only freight and stock movers report higher injury rates.

Nurses and other health care workers do a lot of heavy lifting on the job. Lifting and moving patients improperly leads to sprains, strains and muscle tears -- leading causes of injuries to nurses.

Gretchen Gregory is an instructor at the Sinclair School of Nursing on the Columbia campus of the University of Missouri. She says back problems are the greatest threat that nurses face when they lift or move patients.

GRETCHEN GREGORY: "You’re talking about people that have

handicaps

or limited mobility, that need much assistance. And we have untrained people to do that assisting and that puts them at risk for hurting their backs."

Ms. Gregory leads a new training room where nurses can learn to keep themselves and their patients safe. She says most nurses lack training in how to lift patients.