Try the 5/10/20 Rule of Assisted Patient Transfer

Caregivers assisting patients to move from their bed to wheelchair, wheelchair to toilet or other seated surface does not have to be a struggle. Everyone uses number rules to summarize information, so here is a rule for assisting patients to move one seated position to another.

The rule of Safe Patient Transfer is 5/50/20. The five (5/) represents the five fundamental transfer techniques to move people with limited mobility. You must choose the correct transfer method for the patients condition and situation. The Ten (10/) Represents the maximum time to required to transfer a patient once the preparation is done.  The Twenty (20/) represents the maximum amount of force expressed in pounds required  to transfer a 200 pound person. A 20lb force is equivalent to the energy it takes to lift a bag of groceries. If you can just pick up and set down a bag of groceries you can move a 200 lb person by using the balance pivot principle without injuring either of you.

Learn how by visiting mrswivel.com and requesting by email a link to a free training session.