Whether it’s ergonomics training, safety training, or training on how to use a piece of equipment most effectively, every job is made more efficient with a little hands-on practice. But how many people are willing to be the hands-on part of training for future surgeons?

Thanks to new technology, now no one needs to be. Instead, future doctors can tweak their technique before they ever see a real patient.

They’re using virtual patients: mannequins that, according to a CNN.com report, come complete with injectible veins, movable eyes, pulses, beating hearts and breathing lungs. Some can even be programmed to simulate medical crises and respond appropriately to the doctor’s treatment. The “patients’” conditions can improve, or worsen, depending upon decisions that are made by the doctors. And medical residents report that the mannequins are so lifelike that the doctors have even been known to start mouth-to-mouth resuscitation when a “patient” falters, as a last resort.

Medical errors, often associated with ergonomics-preventable issues like work schedules, workplace conditions, or even an over-worked industry, are rapidly becoming the focus of more and more studies and projects that set out to improve both patient and worker safety in healthcare facilities. For example, the studies have already shown that surgical residents who train on virtual patients both make fewer errors and work faster than residents who learned the traditional way – via observation and, later, under supervision.

But the recent HealthGrades Patient Safety in American Hospitals study indicates that 195,000 patient lives were lost between 2000 and 2002 in the United States due in part to potentially preventable in-hospital medical errors. The Canadian Medical Association estimates that between 9,000 and 24,000 patients die each year in that country due to preventable medical mistakes as well. Additionally, health care workers are also at risk of both making errors and becoming injured as the nursing industry in particular faces staffing shortages, long work shifts, and a population of patients that is gaining weight while also aging, and ultimately putting greater strains on both the hospitals and the caregivers who work with them.

These factors prompted the recent HealthCare Ergonomics Conference in Portland, Oregon. For three days in late July, the first-of-its-kind national conference helped participants learn to address employee and patient safety issues, particularly as they related to healthcare ergonomics.

Over 200 ergonomists attended the event, themed “Shared Challenges; Real Strategies; Practical Solutions.” Presenters from Canada, Australia, Denmark and the United States covered a wide variety of topics and events that promoted networking between participants, presenters and vendors as well.

Nurses, health care managers, educators, support service staff, ergonomists, and safety and health professionals from hospitals, long term care facilities, emergency services, home health and nursing education facilities learned from health care ergonomics experts like Guy Fragala, Ph.D., PE, CSP, Director of Compliance Programs for Environmental Health & Engineering, as he presented “Saving Nurses and Healthcare Workers from Back Injuries.” During his session, Fragala emphasized the importance of a “Program Approach” when addressing ergonomics issues in health care and how it can most benefit workers.

One of the greatest challenges in healthcare is protecting workers while also ensuring patient safety and dignity. Speaking on the subject, Joe Jolliff, retired nursing home administrator, shared real-world success stories to demonstrate how nursing homes and long term care facilities can implement successful safe lift programs in his session entitled “Changing to a ‘No-Lift’ facility: The Challenges and Opportunities.” Additionally, Butch de Castro, Ph.D., MSN/MPH, RN, Senior Staff Specialist in Occupational Health and Safety with the American Nurses Association, offered a look inside the association’s “Handle With Care” Campaign in his session entitled “Multi-Component Strategy to Address the Prevention of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Nurses.”

According to conference organizer, Lynda Enos, MS, RN, COHN-S, CPE, feedback from conference attendees indicated that, “all workshops and conference sessions were successful” in providing evidence-based, practical information, applicable “in a variety of health care environments.”

As Chair of the Oregon Coalition for Healthcare Ergonomics (OCHE), the conference’s sponsor, Enos stressed the organization’s goal of making healthcare safer and more workable for workers which ultimately improves patient safety as well. “The OCHE is a partnership that was formed in 2002 between business, labor organizations, and government for the purpose of investigating and developing strategies that will reduce the incidence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders [WRMSDs] reported by healthcare workers in Oregon,” said Enos. “One of [OCHE’s] strategies is to increase education and awareness of ergonomics issues related to worker- and patient-safety and to promote communication of ergonomics best practices and injury prevention strategies throughout all sectors of the healthcare community in Oregon. Thus OCHE partnered with the Oregon State Association of Occupational Health Nurses [OSAOHN] and Oregon OSHA to organize this event,” she continued.

Unlike other industries, healthcare workers are constantly faced with the challenge of working with people who come in all shapes, sizes, conditions and abilities. Ergonomics, particularly when working with bariatric or obese patients, can be an even greater concern and challenge. For an in-depth look at the subject, see the new on-line version of Ergoweb’s premium newsletter, The Ergonomics Report. Visit www.ergonomicsreport.com to read the latest on the subject. Sources: CNN.com; Winnipeg Sun; Medical News Today; Lynda Enos, MS, RN, COHN-S, CPE