title: Clinical skills: bed making and patient positioning.
abstract: Providing a clean, comfortable bed and positioning a patient in the optimum posture for prevention of complications and to enable maximum independence are fundamental nursing skills. Bed-making is a daily routine that requires practical and technical skills. Selecting the correct posture for a patient in bed or in a chair is essential for physiological functioning and recovery. In this article bed-making is described, as are positioning and re-positioning in relation to patients in bed, armchairs and wheelchairs. Infection control and moving and handling issues are also considered.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health and Social Science, Aylesbury Vale Education Centre, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.
authors.forename: Glynis Collis
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Pellatt
mesh_terms: D001510:Bed Rest / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods / Q000451:nursing*; D001512:Bedding and Linens; D001513:Beds; D002983:Clinical Competence; D006804:Ergonomics; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control; D017770:Lifting; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D011187:Posture; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014910:Wheelchairs