Do RNs do a lot of heavy lifting?

ScrappytheCoco · Jan 17, 2016

ED is tons of heavy lifting and turning.

It seems like there wouldn't be a lot of heavy lifting in L&D but in my short stint there I did a lot. Pts who get epidurals sometimes require a two or more person assist just to turn over...pts have to be transferred on and off the OR table, pts are sometimes unsteady when they first get up after delivery...and God help you if you're the one designated to hold a leg in a weird position while an overweight pt is pushing.

I did work at one hospital that had a turn and lift team. We utilized them a lot when I worked as a

PCT in the OR. They were wonderful.

Mavrick, BSN, RN · Jan 17, 2016

It's a team effort and you are expected to do your share. If you want your workmates to help you, then you better be there for them. Usually it only takes two people to pull a patient up in bed or turn to them to change a bed but when you get the 300+ pounders it's "lifting help to room xxx"

My job description (PACU nurse) includes ability to lift 50 pounds, and reach overhead. Probability my greatest challenge is walking on a concrete/vinyl floor for 12 hours. Invest in good shoes and insole support.

graceephil · Jan 17, 2016

A peri-op nurse,where i work is like a gymnasium,a lot of lifting all time.....

Hoosier_RN, MSN · Jan 17, 2016

I work in a ltc where its all RNs. The few CNAs are all pregnant (yes, true story!). Who do you think does the heavy lifting?

CamillusRN, BSN · Jan 17, 2016

Depends on the setting. In my ICU there are no LPNs/CNAs - we do LOTS of heavy lifting. Administration/Management RN's (typically) don't do heavy lifting where patients are concerned, but boxes and cases won't lift themselves! :up:

kbrn2002, ADN, RN · Jan 17, 2016

I do heaving lifting constantly. It depends on where you work, and what type of unit if in the hospital.
In LTC you won't have to do much lifting. NICU/nursery won't be heavy, obviously.
I work med-surg and do heavy lifting all shift. Many patient requires multiple staff to turn/move and we all help out. Special equipment helps (hover mats, ceiling lifts, ect). We get a large amount of total care patients.

Bolding mine. I do want OP to be aware that this is not true. I do way more heavy lifting than I really should. The CNA's are not always available, or they may need help and another aid isn't available. Especially if you work NOCS when staff is really limited the nurse has to help so yes, there is a lot of heavy lifting in LTC

emmy27 · Jan 17, 2016

Yes, lots of lifting in acute care.

There are probably settings (I'd imagine mostly LTC) where there is just one RN and many CNAs/LPNs and so the RN is kept busy with administrative tasks, but in the majority of nursing settings, RNs do LOTS of heavy lifting.

When I was a floor nurse, I probably turned/lifted/changed patients in excess of 200 lbs 12-40 times a night (my team Q2 hours and the team of the nurse who was helping me Q2 hours). As an ER nurse it isn't quite as often, but it can be more unexpected or urgent, like picking up someone who collapsed in the lobby from the ground on to a stretcher.

None of this even touches the increasingly common extremely obese patients who require lift teams, but when you're lifting a patient who is 600+ lbs, even having the maximum number of people who can physically surround the patient lifting them puts an unsafe burden on everyone's back.

And of course I've had large (although even the smallest adult is still a risk) grab for me unexpectedly or yank on my arms and back when they felt scared or unsteady or combative.

This is not a good career if you have a pre-existing back condition. Nearly everyone who stays in direct patient care long term eventually develops back problems; starting with one is a terrible idea.

Cafelattee · Jan 17, 2016

been a nurse since I was 22, I'm now almost 46 and work ER. I still lift heavy and have no injury or problems. But its because trough out my whole career I've been into weight lifting and exercise. It's the fountain of youth and protects your body from injury IMO. I'm 5'3" weight 125lb and stills squat 130lb and deadlift 110lb.

I've watch a lot of my peers decline with age and leave for desk jobs do to not being able to keep up with the physical demands.

Oh and I'm a RN that does not shift work of to an assistant if I've got the time to do something myself. There are times yeah I've got meds and other repsoniblits I don't have time for a bed pan but if its slow and I've got time its as much my job as an assistant to help my patients.

I'm older and old school and dont' like the idea of RN's are king of the sit-on-their-ass nurse. See it quite a lot and dispel that that notion fast with the new grads.

There are nursing jobs in clinics and other areas that lifting, pulling etc want happen. Its not usually in the hospital direct care positions

SmilingBluEyes · Jan 17, 2016

To the person getting cosmetic surgery: OB has a LOT of heavy lifting. All those ladies with epidurals are pretty much dead weight and you WILL be turning and repositioning them in bed. You will be moving them from bed to stretcher/OR table in the OR for c-sections, and then back. You will be helping them with leg positioning during pushing and each leg can weigh 50 pounds or more. You will be pushing beds with patients in them to new rooms or the OR and back.

So many OB patients weight AT LEAST 200 pounds and many a lot more. You do the math. Two nurses repositioning a patient who weighs a mere 250. Yea that's a lot of weight.

I never understood where people get the notion that L/D does not demand a lot of lifting. It was a huge part of every shift, every day, I was there. Many a day I went home with a backache and shoulders hurting due to my routine lifting in OB.

BSNbeauty, BSN, RN · Jan 17, 2016

RNs do as just as much lifting as CNAs and LPNs.

AngryAngel · Jan 18, 2016

I am sorry to tell you that they did research on this some years ago but still recently. Their conclusions were that no matter what approach they tried, even getting 4 people involved in lifting and moving patients, they were still overly stretched and prone to eventual injury. I always tried to watch my back and never really hurt myself openly. Yet now I have a Spondlythisis of my L5-S1 and can hardly stand for more then 10 minutes without truly bad pain. They uncovered the skeletons of the men who built the pyramids and researchers could tell from the bones who were the supervisors, and who were the workers 3,000 years ago. Heavy lifting leaves its mark. So some areas of nursing might not require much heavy lifting, whereas other areas will require a lot. Look into it before you commit.

Karou · Jan 18, 2016

Bolding mine. I do want OP to be aware that this is not true. I do way more heavy lifting than I really should. The CNA's are not always available, or they may need help and another aid isn't available. Especially if you work NOCS when staff is really limited the nurse has to help so yes, there is a lot of heavy lifting in LTC

It probably depends on the facility and staffing. When I was a CNA in LTC, I was responsible for 30 residents along with another CNA. Lots of lifting there! When I became an LVN, I rarely had to lift patients unless someone had fallen or we were really short staffed. I was responsible for passing medications to 45 residents. Now pushing the med cart was actually really straining, especially for a short person.

I did more lifting in an acute rehab facility than LTC, but neither compare to the amount of lifting I do on med-surg. In comparison, LTC didn't require nearly as much. That's just from my personal experience. Almost every job will require an amount of lifting, LTC was just a lot less (my experience).