Maneuvering those giant beds...

[Csv321]

So I'm enjoying doing nothing during what's left of 4th year. In the midst of thinking about nothing, I remembered how ridiculous I looked during my trauma surgery rotation as I tried to push patients to/from the scanner and the trauma bay. Then I realized that I should probably master this skill soon. And I know it can't just be because I'm petite because I've seen bigger women and some men who can't drive the beds either.

Is there some secret no one let me in on? How do I look as smooth as those radiology transport guys? Or maybe it's time I make use of those jokes about Asian women drivers... 😉

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[veetz]

I find that placing the bed in the 'steer' position helps.

 

[Gimlet]

I used to be a patient transporter in the hospital where I'll be doing my residency, which required pushing people either in wheelchairs, on carts, or in their hospital beds all over the medical center without any help. On my anesthesia rotation, OR nurses would always get mad at me for pushing the carts/beds too fast, thinking I was behaving dangerously and not realizing that I was completely under control.

There are some tricks, but dexterity with the carts and beds comes mostly with experience. It definitely helps to have a good sense of humor about the minor bumps you might run into along the way (or the major ones when you catch a bedrail on a doorframe).

The main thing to do is to always make sure you have the bed/cart on "steer" if you're pushing it yourself - usually this mode can be selected with a footpedal. The steer mode on our hospital beds locks the front two wheels in a straight alignment, which allows you to kind of pivot around the corners with the back of the bed. The steer mode on most carts drops down a 5th wheel in the middle of the bed which allows you to glide around corners in a curve. If you have either on steer mode, it's actually easier to pilot alone, which makes it frustrating when someone thinks they're helping by grabbing the front end of the cart. If you're not using steer mode, it's definitely a 2 person operation.

Another thing to help avoid looking like a rookie -- keep an eye on the height of the bed's IV pole...there are few worse sounds in a hospital hallway than that of a too-tall IV pole screeching under a doorframe as you pray it doesn't snap off.

 

[Csv321]

I've always wondered what that foot pedal does...

I'll just have to accept that there might be some bumps on the way to the OR. I wonder if I have to explain that as one of the risks when I meet the patient. 🙂

I know this is a silly thread but my brain is resting while it can and this is one of the random things that came to me. I seriously feel like it has been rotting, to the point where it would probably smell if my head was somehow cracked open.

 

[jennyboo]

So I'm enjoying doing nothing during what's left of 4th year. In the midst of thinking about nothing, I remembered how ridiculous I looked during my trauma surgery rotation as I tried to push patients to/from the scanner and the trauma bay. Then I realized that I should probably master this skill soon. And I know it can't just be because I'm petite because I've seen bigger women and some men who can't drive the beds either.

Is there some secret no one let me in on? How do I look as smooth as those radiology transport guys? Or maybe it's time I make use of those jokes about Asian women drivers... 😉

Doesn't matter if you can't push them easily. There is only one piece of advice that the orthopods gave me when I was a medical student, that I have kept and pass on to you. Keep your hands on the INSIDE and do not let them get banged between the bed and a wall/door/chair/equipment. The bed doesn't say OUCH if you bang it against a wall. You, however, cannot work without your hands.

 

[LongSnow]

Not only will you have to be able to manuever that bed, sometimes very quickly, but also manage the airway, several infusion pumps, labile hemodynamics, and sometimes go into full code mode during transport.

In a routine anesthetic, I consider the transport from OR to PACU the most vulnerable and dangerous period of the anesthetic. I keep a stesthoscope over the trachea and listen to breath sounds, and I push that bed as fast as safely possible. Especially for peds tonsils. Nurses gripe occasionally - but in jest - the good ones know why we move fast on transport. I "educate" those who gripe for real.

Before taking a long transport on a critical intubated patient, make sure your O2 tank is full. Got stuck in in elvator one time and nearly used a whole tank (you do know how many liters are in each tank, right?) - was afraid I might have had to resort to the mouth to tube technique (fortunately not.) Since then, I always took those trips with a ambu bag, which of course, self inflates. The maplesons require fresh gas flow to inflate the bag.

Pushing the bed does require some strength, but mostly experience. Like others have said - use "steer" when solo. But, it is always better to get extra help so you can focus on more important stuff.

 

[Impromptu]

Post-op nausea and vomiting is a big problem, and I've heard that those "manly" men who like to whip their patients around corners actually contribute to that N/V. Anyone can move a bed fast, but moving a bed right is tougher, because it takes both forethought and strength.

 

[Josh L.Ac.]

All I have to do is hurl the bed in the general direction of PACU and it makes the 30-40 meter trip in under 2 seconds.


Sans collisions too.

 

[DO4lifer]

i got it done in 1.72 seconds.

All I have to do is hurl the bed in the general direction of PACU and it makes the 30-40 meter trip in under 2 seconds.


Sans collisions too.