This is from Sheri Taylor's Workshop Blog.....Best Workshop out there... Click the above link to go to her page.
Steps in preparing to ambulate the patient
- Review the patient’s medical record for an authorizing physician’s order or look at your kardex
- Review the patient’s nursing care plan, chart, or kardex for information regarding the following:
- Physical limitations
- Mechanical equipment being utilized; that is, IV infusion pumps, chest drainage set, urinary drainage sets
- Distance patient is to ambulate
- Length of time patient is to be out of bed
- Frequency patient is to get out of bed
- Review the most recent Nurse’s Notes to identify the patient’s previous tolerance of the activity specified
- Explain the rationale for getting out of bed to the patient
- Assess pain using designated scale, and pre-medicate for pain prior to getting out of bed, if necessary
- If the patient has been medicated, wait about 20 minutes before ambulating
- Ensure that the patient is appropriately clothed, including non-skid footwear
- Assist the patient to sit on the side of the bed (dangling) for a couple of minutes and assess for dizziness or weakness
- Assist the patient to stand (and if the patient has a weaker side, position yourself on the weaker side
- Have the assistive devices (if required) ready for the patient’s use
- Assist the patient to transfer to a chair, or to ambulate to the designated area or for the designated length or as tolerated
- When ambulating the patient in the hallway, the patient needs to be on the inside near the wall and you need to be positioned in the open hallway
- Assess the patient’s tolerance to the activity and pain level
- Chart what the patient did, the distance, assistive devices, and how they tolerated along with pain status using designated pain scale
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