To enhance empathy and kindness towards patients, the Center for Training in Safe Work and Mobilization Practices (CPPTMS) at the Poitiers University Hospital offers « Vis ma vie » workshops. These sessions aim to make healthcare professionals aware of the daily challenges faced by patients with obesity or who are elderly during their hospital care journey.
Using specially designed kits, caregivers can experience difficulties with actions such as lying down, getting up from a bed or the floor, picking up an object, or climbing stairs. The goal is to better equip them to support these patients, by preserving their abilities or helping them overcome obstacles. Dorothée Touchard, an occupational therapist, and Stéphanie Villanneau, a nursing assistant and trainer at CPPTMS, led a workshop on June 19 at the Maillol pavilion.
These practical simulations involve wearing suits or accessories that replicate physical limitations (reduced mobility, joint stiffness) associated with obesity or advanced age. Participants are then confronted with everyday situations, such as moving around or dressing.
Particular attention is given to patient lifting, whether from bed or after a fall. The Poitiers University Hospital recently acquired ten Raizer chairs, an innovative device for gentle lifting, beneficial for the patient (dignity, pain-free, prevention of post-fall syndrome) and for the caregiver (reduction of musculoskeletal disorders).
At the request of Céline Escaffre, head nurse of the hepato-gastroenterology department, workshops were held on May 6 and 13. Following difficulties revealed by an obese patient, a multidisciplinary working group developed an adapted reception protocol with the help of CPPTMS. Feedback from caregivers was very positive, with participants particularly appreciating the practical activities. This workshop was subsequently extended to the digestive-urology-nephrology-hemodialysis unit.
This protocol aims to improve the care of obese patients, an increasingly common issue, especially in departments performing visceral or bariatric surgery.
CPPTMS offers to assist departments wishing to implement this immersive experience.
