Patient handling as an healthcare activity : a simulation-based training methodology
Résumé
Patient handling, a thankless, under valued task, generates each year many occupational accidents. 'Gestures and postures' training programs, that propose a behavioral and biomechanical approach, prove to be inefficient in terms of prevention (Kate, Glass & Evans, 2014; Nelson, 2006; Hignett, 2003), sometimes leaving caregivers powerless in certain situations. This contribution presents a training program whose goal is not to learn the 'right way’ or to transpose a handling technique imported from industrial, commercial or building contexts. The goal is to support caregivers in the construction of a relevant and efficient gesture, integrating the variabilities of the situation, preserving health and encouraging the autonomy of patients: the “reasoned handling care”. This learning perspective changes the goals and the teaching methods. Role play simulations, based on scenarios of real activity, lie at the heart of the device. The training simulations presented in this contribution have been performed in a surgery department. Video recordings of the sessions were transcribed and analyzed. Caregivers were able to develop and test various modes of action, choosing whether to integrate new knowledge and know-how offered during training. These exercises, performed without risk to the patient, have allowed professionals to share and discuss the choices made during the debriefing. These exchanges between peers time enrich the resources available in actual practice and allow caregivers to develop skills regarding a “reasoned handling care”