Student: Teresa Allen
Advisor: Dr. Khalid Almasloukh
Early mobilization has a significant impact on patient recovery. However, early mobilization is not a frequent plan of care for patients on mechanical ventilators. Numerous studies conducted research on the diverse types of physical and occupational therapies and their effects on patients’ physical abilities while intubated. The results demonstrated that early mobilization such as turning in bed, limb exercises, passive or an active transfer to a chair, standing, and walking improved respiratory and musculoskeletal function and shortened their duration of stay. As a result, it is suggested that nurses will need to integrate safe and effective mobilization into their practice by not using a ‘one size fits all’ method, but instead a multi-factorial method that includes a prominent level of clinical thinking and decision making.
Keywords: Mechanical ventilation, early mobilization, occupational therapy, physical therapy