Developing skills in safe patient handling: mentors' views about their role in supporting student nurses

Although great reliance is placed on clinically based mentors to ensure pre-registration student nurses gain the required competencies for safe moving and handling practice, anecdotal evidence derived from discussions with students suggested that little attention was given to this topic during practice placements. This prompted a study to explore mentors' views on their role in teaching and assessing students' moving and handling (M&H) practice and students' perceptions of the relevance of M&H training. This paper reports on mentors' perspectives, drawing on data gained via focus groups with 15 hospital based mentors. The main approach to teaching students about M&H was to focus on the practical aspects of the activity. There was little emphasis on problem solving and discussion or on assessing students' competence. Although challenges were associated with the topic, suggestions were made on how to maximise education for safe M&H. The findings highlight the importance of a joint approach to education for safe M&H between Universities and Trusts. Consistent approaches must be taught in both settings and mentors need to be aware of students' learning needs, taking care to ensure that knowledge underpinning clinical decision making is transparent.