The incidence of Australian private practice sonographers moving patients unassisted and their level of training: A pilot study

Studies to date do not ascertain the incidence of sonographers moving patients unassisted. There is further conflicting research as to what level of manual assistance of patients is within a sonographer's scope of practice and what training they have or require in order to do so. The aim of this study was to ascertain the incidence ofAustralian private practice sonographers moving patients unassisted and determinewhat training these sonographers have in order to appropriately perform these procedures. This research is a pilot study with the results obtained through an online questionnaire. The survey results returned a sample size of n = 35, showing that94.29% (n = 33) of Australian sonographers are moving patients unassisted for ultra-sound examinations. It further portrays the need for change through education as71.43% (n = 25) of sonographers state to have received no manual handling training throughout their career. There is also a lack of clear guidelines for sonographers regarding patient moves. This research exposes the need for guidelines similar to other health professionals, particularly nurses, who have such guidelines in place to avoid injury and work-related musculoskeletal disorders.