[MCOH-EH] fit for duty

[Swift, Melanie]

If you don't have a dynamometer, you can get in the ballpark with a scale and some duct tape.  :)
And yes, I'm from Tennessee, no wise cracks, we have electricity. (We use it to cook our grits.)

Seriously, who CAN lift 150 lb? Not I.

NIOSH has guidelines for safe lifting, I believe they have 35 lb for a woman and 40 lb for a man, but you can check on their website. I would not want to be asking people to do more than that in a FFD exam, unless they are a professional weightlifter!

Melanie Swift, MD
Director, Vanderbilt Occupational Health Clinic
http://occupationalhealth.vanderbilt.edu

From: MCOH-EH [mailto:mcoh-eh-bounces at mylist.net] On Behalf Of Quin Bond
Sent: Friday, May 08, 2015 3:32 PM
To: MCOH/EH
Subject: Re: [MCOH-EH] fit for duty

Kim-
If I read your final pro item correctly, it seems that the person/persons who did the ergonomic assessment did not actually measure the forces to push/pull the beds/stretchers.  How was the 150 pound requirement derived?  The forces required to push/pull the bed can be measured with a dynamometer.   If  not all of your surfaces are of the same surface type, you will need to measure pushing/pulling on the different surfaces.  Also, do you have ramps in your facility?  If so, make sure you get a pushing value for going up the ramp as well as a value going down the ramp while maintaining control of the bed/stretcher.  We have set up testing for patient transport for an outside vendor that services two different hospitals.  The majority of demands (as measured) were the same between sites and equipment was similar between sites.  The big difference was in the pushing and pulling values as one facility had all level floors/no ramps while the other facility used ramps to connect floors between buildings.

Sincerely,
Quin Bond

--------
Quin Bond
Manager, Motion Analysis Laboratory
Biokinetics LLC
PO Box 81
Middletown, NJ  07748
www.biokineticsllc.com<http://www.biokineticsllc.com>
v: 732-741-5085
f: 732-741-5087
On 5/8/2015 12:55 PM, Kim.Thompson at hcahealthcare.com<mailto:Kim.Thompson at hcahealthcare.com> wrote:

Awhile back, I asked this group for opinions related to value of Fit for Duty exams for pre-employment screens. Thanks to those who answered. Now, regardless of your opinion of their value, I need your help once more.



I have attached a Fit for Duty for a RN position. We do these to ensure that the individual can meet the physical demands of the job. It is also a good way to detect perhaps undisclosed pre-existing issues. We are struggling with the 'lift 80#' and the 'push/pull 150#' portions. A couple of pros/cons are listed below and I would like you opinion and/or experience with this.



For what it is worth, we have only had 2 people fail the Fit for Duty exam since we implemented this process. Approximately 80 have successfully passed. Healthcare is a physically demanding job and we want to ensure our employees are strong and healthy enough to prevent injury to themselves and/or our patients.



Thank you in advance.



Pro:

While we don't expect our employees to lift >35# without lift equipment, the reality is that they do transfer/reposition patients without the equipment AND patients faint/fall which causes a sudden load of weight onto the caregiver. The Fit for Duty piece which requires them to lift 80# one time is to ensure that they are physically strong enough to handle that load.

Con:

Obviously, we don't want anyone to get hurt during their pre-employment screen. Is 80# too much? If so, what is reasonable - 50, 60, 70#? Or should it be a % of their body weight? We already have them lift/carry a 40# box around the room.

Another solution might be to simulate their job duties more appropriately and we are thinking of having them do a lateral transfer and a repositioning in bed of a dummy/sandbag of 150#....



Pro:

Employees are required to push beds/stretchers with patients in them. Because these are on wheels, it is hard to know exactly how much weight they are actually pushing but 150# seemed reasonable. The push/pull of the sled of 150# has not posed a problem for any of our new hires so far but the question was raised re: using this weight for some of the shorter and/or lighter (100-100#) employees.





Kim Thompson RN, BSN

Employee Health Nurse Manager

Medical Center of McKinney

4500 Medical Center Drive - MOB, Suite 105

McKinney, TX     75069



972- 540- 4218 (phone)

469 - 713- 8660 (fax)














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