Training in “reasoned handling care”: (Re)discovering meaning in work

Context: Patient handling has had adverse health effects on nursing staff for many years. In order to prevent these effects, training programs using a demonstration-based pedagogy, aiming at promoting “good” handling practices, are often proposed.
Goals: To develop a training program that enhances learners’ reasoning abilities and allows them to formulate situation-appropriate handling practices that emancipate the professional and respect the patient’s autonomy and well-being.
Method: A training program targeting nurses and nursing students was designed and implemented. Learners were requested to design the simulation scenarios themselves. The training sessions were recorded and analyzed.
Results: The scenarios designed by learners were pedagogically and subjectively relevant. Interactions during the different phases—design, simulation, and debriefing—allowed learners to assess acceptable and adapted solutions and to discuss their own practice, considering patient handling as a care activity in its own right.
Conclusion: The training program appears as an efficient alternative to classic training programs. It develops learners’ reasoning abilities and restores meaning to nursing work.