SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-Interprofessional Education to Advance Patient Mobility at an Academic Medical Center

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This quality improvement pilot aimed to build a culture of patient mobility at the Medical University of South Carolina through an interprofessional education curriculum. The project addressed a major inpatient problem: hospitalized patients spend much of their time in bed, and immobility is linked to poorer functional outcomes, longer stays, and higher mortality. Barriers such as limited staffing, lack of training, and low confidence among nurses and other staff make mobility promotion difficult.<br /><br />The course, IP 790: Advancing Patient Mobility, was designed for low faculty effort but high educational and clinical impact. It included a physician-led lecture, physical therapist demonstration, unit orientation, supervised safety check-offs, 20 hours of independent inpatient mobilization, and a final skills assessment. The pilot involved 12 students: 3 physical therapy students and 9 occupational therapy students.<br /><br />Results were encouraging. Students completed 503 ambulation events with zero falls. They improved in knowledge of patient selection and interpretation of AM-PAC mobility scores, and they reported greater confidence in safely mobilizing patients, communicating with nurses, and maneuvering patients from lying to standing. 91.7% of students strongly agreed that the course made them more confident mobilizing patients and more aware of the importance of ambulating patients. On the hands-on assessment, 75% scored 4 out of 5, indicating they could perform mobility tasks well and in a timely manner.<br /><br />The curriculum has continued beyond the pilot and is now in its third semester. It has been integrated into the core Doctor of Physical Therapy curriculum, with 68 physical therapy students actively mobilizing patients. The team is also exploring expansion into the nursing program.

Asset Subtitle

Leonidas N. Walthall IV

Meta Tag

Author List Caroline Raburn, Jingwen Zhang, Justin Marsden, Leonidas N. Walthall IV, Marc Heincelman, Meghan K. Thomas

Category Innovations

Concept Mobility

Concept Immobility

Concept Ambulation

Concept Mobility Skills

Concept Patient Mobilization

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization Medical University of South Carolina

Presenting Author Leonidas N. Walthall IV

Track Education

Keywords

patient mobility

quality improvement

interprofessional education

hospitalized patients

ambulation

functional outcomes

physical therapy

occupational therapy

patient safety

nursing education

Mobility

Immobility

Ambulation

Mobility Skills

Patient Mobilization