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In This Issue:
October is Sonography Awareness Month and National Ergonomics Month
Yongsheng Li, senior sonographer in the Vascular Diagnostic Lab, takes his time performing ultrasounds on each of his six to seven patients per day. “Ultrasound has to be done precisely to get the best results,” he said.
For some patients, that means holding the probe steady in one position for several minutes to get the clearest picture. For other inpatients, it means traveling to their rooms with heavy equipment and moving furniture to complete the ultrasound accurately. Because of the repetitive nature of their job and the need to adjust and transport equipment frequently, sonographers are at high risk for musculoskeletal injuries.
As work-related injuries among sonographers are on the rise nationally, BWH is taking action to keep this valued group of professionals safe.
“We know the repetitive nature of sonographers’ work is physically demanding,” said Tucker O’Day, MSPT, program manager of Ergonomics for Partners HealthCare. “We are working on several initiatives to help keep sonographers safe, comfortable and healthy.”
Among those efforts is providing one-on-one consultation for sonographers in each Ultrasound area of the hospital. The consultants observe sonographers’ positioning and equipment location and make recommendations to ensure their comfort. “They examine everything from where the linens are placed to the equipment being used to the positioning of the table and the lighting to make sonographers’ work less taxing,” O’Day said.
Li found the recommendations helpful. He already has changed habits that could have led to injury and is incorporating the consultants’ advice into his daily routine.
Other initiatives include surveying sonographers about their injuries and educating them on proper positioning. “This is a group of professionals who tend to tough it out and not report their injuries,” O’Day said. “But the surveys are giving us a better idea of their level of discomfort, and that will help us to address and prevent injuries.”
That will help sonographers like Li do their best work and concentrate fully on patients. “I always talk to each of my patients and try to make them feel comfortable during the test,” said Li, who added that patient interaction is the best part of his job. “I want them to have confidence that I’m doing my job thoroughly.”