Ergonomic Guide forDocumentation and Charting

Implementing Ergonomic
Principles and Tools to
Enhance Caregiver Wellness

Ergonomic Guide for Documentation and Charting

Table of Contents
3

Introduction

5

Ergonomics, Efficiency and Ease

7

Identifying the Documentation Pain Points

15

8

Inefficient Workflows

10

Limited Access to Supplies and Technology

12

Staff Shortages and Long Hours of Charting

13

Poorly Designed Equipment

How to Select the Right Ergonomic Workstations forYour Organization

17

Conclusion

This information is provided for educational and informational purposes only. No medical advice is being provided. This is not a substitute forprofessional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have questions regarding the potential impact of work furniture and equipment on
your health, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.

2

Ergonomic Guide for Documentation and Charting

3

Introduction
The healthcare industry continues to work overtime to meet patients’ needs. Overcrowded hospitals, long hours, andlabor shortages have led to caregiver burnout, especially for nurses.
The critical nature of what these caregivers do can’t be underestimated. But on top of current shortages
nationwide, research shows nurses at all levels experience chronic stress, driving many to consider quitting theprofession altogether.

By 2025, U.S. healthcare institutions will experience nursing assistant and practitioner
shortages of 125,000. Shortages associated with increases in a nurse’s substantial workload
are already contributing to a negative work experience.

95% of hospital nurses have

31% noted that burnout has madereported work burnout in the lastthem consider quitting in the last

three years.

three years.

What nurses report as the reason for burnout:

80% report low staffing

76% report emotional

75% report high

55% report physicalin their facility.

exhaustion.

workload demands.

exhaustion.

Source: 2021 Nursing CE Central survey

Ergonomic Guide for Documentation and Charting

4

Burnout even holds a place in what the Institute for Healthcare Improvement champions as the quintuple aim foradvancing healthcare.

TH E QUINTUPLE A IM
A FIVE-PART APPROACH TO ADVANCING HEALTHCARE

IMP ROVEPO PUL ATI ON
HEALTHENHANCETHE CARE
EXP ERI ENCEA DVA NCE
HE A LT H
E Q UIT Y

REDUCECOSTS
ADDRESSCAREG I VER
BURNOUT

While healthcare organizations can’t fix every facet of caregiver burnout, they can at least take steps toward solving
part of the problem.
But where does the industry start? How do leaders support nurses by promoting their physical and mental healthin the workplace? And how do they ensure a satisfied workforce in one of the most required—andoverworked—professions?
One solution is to change the way caregivers perform their duties and to provide better tools for their jobs. Giving
nurses the correct equipment to aid in their most time-consuming responsibilities by providing a more comfortable,
physically safe work environment can make a vast improvement during a shift.
Our own Ergotron survey shows that providing ergonomic tools and equipment, like height-adjustable medical
carts and wall-mounted workstations, can help reduce physical pain points and create more efficient workflows.
Mobile or fixed workstations can contribute to smoother, faster and more comfortable experiences forcritical caregivers.
This eBook is a guide for healthcare leaders to implement ergonomic solutions and tools for a key workflow:
documentation and charting. Armed with statistics, surveys, and suggestions for equipment, healthcare decisionmakers can use this guide to support their nurses with the right products for charting to help reduce burnout andimprove well-being.

Ergonomic Guide for Documentation and Charting5

Ergonomics, Efficiency and Ease
Comfort on the job starts with ergonomics: the science of designing the job to fit the worker and not the other way
around, taking into account the furniture and equipment in the working environment. Three key elements must cometogether for ergonomic working, which we call the Ergonomic EquationTM. It explains how neutral posture, voluntary
motion and rest time add up to working comfortably.

ER G O NOMIC EQUATIONHOW ERGONOMICS ADDS UP TO WORKING COMFORTABLY

Computing comfort starts with paying attention to your body’s experience.
Just three basic elements define the Ergonomic Equation:

Neutral Posture

Voluntary Motion

Rest TimeErgonomic Guide for Documentation and Charting6

In a physically demanding job like nursing, ergonomics becomes even more critical to the work experience. Manual
patient handling, long shifts, hours spent standing, and challenging work environments can lead to cumulative
trauma disorders (CTDs) like carpal tunnel syndrome, lower back pain, and other musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).
Daily nursing work runs all these risks. Almost half of the nurses Ergotron surveyed reported discomfort while
performing charting duties, including back pain (experienced by 52% of nurses), exhaustion (38%) and sore necks(33%). This physical discomfort or pain can distract nurses and impact the care they provide.
But an ergonomic environment and tools can help mitigate these risk factors and help increase efficiency andsatisfaction on the job. Ergonomic improvements can include customizing both wall-mounted and mobile workstation
desk heights for each worker, setting proper monitor viewing heights and distances from the viewer, and upgradingolder workstations that aren’t designed to accommodate computer use.
Choosing and adapting the right equipment and workstations, and implementing workstyle changes that follow theErgonomic Equation, can help decrease a nurse’s physical stress, reducing the chance of injury and mental toll on the job.

Ergonomic Guide for Documentation and Charting

7

Identifying the Documentation Pain Points
Healthcare organizations can improve the nursing experience by tackling the most time-consuming part of their shift:charting and documentation. According to a survey by Medscape, administrative tasks can add up to three hours toa nurse’s 12-hour shift. Equipment that provides efficiency and comfort can help prevent injury and free up time fromtedious, yet necessary tasks to care for patients.
Nurses themselves agree, with 95% of healthcare providers surveyed by Ergotron stating that having better,more ergonomic equipment could improve their health and well-being. By improving this workflow withergonomic principles and equipment that address top documentation pain points, healthcare leaders can help
enhance nurses’ physical and mental health.

D OCU MEN TATI ON PA IN POINTS F OR NURSES

Inefficient
workflows

Limited accessto supplies andtechnology

Staff shortages andlong hours of charting

Poorly designed
equipment

Ergonomic Guide for Documentation and Charting

8

I N E F F IC IE N T WOR KFLOWSDocumentation at the point of care can help decrease inefficiencies, reduce the number of errors made, and allow
the nurse to stay by a patient’s bedside rather than leaving the room to complete a chart, according to a survey
by Medscape.
But current hospital designs and workstations don’t always support that type of workflow. Centralized charting anddocumentation stations outside the patient room impede a nurse’s ability to communicate with patients or keep themwithin their line of sight for monitoring. A study by AMN Healthcare found only 21% of nurses surveyed reported
doing their charting work in the room with the patient. Many hospitals aren’t equipped with workstations in thepatient’s room or mobile solutions, requiring a nurse to visit a centralized nursing station to perform those duties.
This breaks the communication between patient and nurse while contributing to an increased likelihood of errors.
Even workstations within a room may disrupt the sightline between the caregiver and patient if they aren’t adjustableor mobile.
Ergonomic workstations at the point of care can help solve for these pain points. Easily adjustable workstations allow
a nurse to sit or stand depending on their comfort and how they want to interact with the patient. Screens that canbe repositioned give nurses the opportunity to look patients in the eye as they communicate while still having easy
access to documentation. Thoughtfully designed wall-mounted or mobile workstations in the patient room enable
more nurse-patient interactions and efficient workflows.

S ELECT ER G ONOMIC WORKSTATIONS THAT:

Can accommodate

Enable fast, easy and safe

Give convenient, intuitive

documentation and chartinginteractions with criticalaccess to supplies andworkflows with easetechnology

peripheral equipment

Ergonomic Guide for Documentation and Charting

9

Ergotron’s CareFit™ Combo Wall Workstation
provides a comfortable, patient-centereddocumentation experience at the point of care.
With a panning feature that lets a nurse moveor reposition the screen, caregivers can easily
share information with patients and maintaineye contact while charting. Intuitive access totools supports efficient workflows with a onehand stow feature that opens up more space
to provide care when not in use.

CAREFIT COMBO WALL WORKSTATION
Supports nurse-patient connections, caregiver comfort
and uptime by enabling efficient documentation at the
point of care.
•

Flexible workflows•

Comfortable documentation•

Neat workspace•

Supports uptime•

Warm aesthetic•

Quality construction

Ergonomic Guide for Documentation and Charting

L I M IT E D AC CES S TO S U PPLI ES A ND TECHNOLOGY
Access to supplies and technology is critical to a nurse’s ability to provide the best patient care. But many nurses
today struggle to efficiently locate what they need at the right time or complete documentation at an available
workstation. This means multiple trips to nursing stations or supply areas, which takes time and energy away fromdirect patient care.
Choosing workstations with drawers will keep extra supplies and items within reach. To support efficient workflows,organizations should apply the principles of ergonomic zones to documentation workstations to ensure technology
that’s used the most stays closet to the caregiver. Using the primary work zone for items used most often can help
reduce stress on the body and enhance productivity with easy access.
When trialing mobile medical carts or height-adjustable wall
workstations, check to see if the technology and accessories are
intuitive to access and allow the user to maintain a neutral standing

ERGOTRON’S MEDICAL

or sitting position—one of the principles of ergonomics. Additionally,

CART FINDER CAN

organizations should consider whether a wall-mounted workstation or

HELP ORGANIZATIONS

a mobile cart may be more appropriate for the hospital’s design.

DETERMINE THE BE ST
MOBILE MEDICAL

Mobile medical carts are a helpful tool for improving how caregivers

CARTS FOR THEIR

complete their work while supporting the essential technology they

WORKFLOWS AND

use. These workstations travel with the nurse to help reduce extra

ENVIRONMENT

trips, keep supplies easily located and move documentation to thepatient room to support personal connections.

We’ve learned from nurses that workstations are criticalto enabling them to do their job. The ease with which
they can maneuver or adjust the workstation, accesskey accessories and supplies comfortably, and have aworksurface with enough space adds up to less strain
on their bodies, lower frustration, and results in higher
job satisfaction.”
JESSICA GRENWISERGOTRON’S DIRECTOR OF SEGMENT MARKETING – HEALTHCARE

10

Ergonomic Guide for Documentation and Charting

11

Ergotron’s CareFit Pro Medical Cart with Drawers gives nurses the space for everything they need in a flexible designthat can adapt to changing needs and workflows. Effortless sit-to-stand adjustment and reliable battery power makethis mobile workstation a popular choice for nurses and IT professionals alike. With CareFit Pro on the floor, timespent on separate trips to find supplies or complete charts can instead be spent on a nurse’s most important job:patient care.

CU STOMI ZA BLE DRAWER STORAGE

The CareFit Pro Medical Cart offers preconfigured set-ups, inaddition to customizable storage options to fit your workflows.
Preconfigured carts with drawers:

8 D RAW E RS ( 4 X 2 )5 D R AW E R S (4 X 1+ 1)

2 D R AW E R S (2 X 1)

1 TA L L DRAW E R ( 1 X 1 )1 D R AW E R (1X 1)

Customizable drawer options:

1 TA LL D R AW ER (1X 1)

1 D R AW ER (4X 1+1)

5 DRAWE RS (1X1)

2 DRAWE R (2X1)

1 DRAWE R (1X1 )Ergonomic Guide for Documentation and Charting

12

STA F F SH O RTAG ES AN D LON G HOURS OF C HA RTING
Healthcare providers face a unique double-headed demand as they juggle creating an efficient, safe working
environment while managing large patient caseloads. A nursing shortage report noted that the current loss of nurses
is primarily caused by early retirements and professionals leaving the field, driving an even more significant caseloadthat can lead to burnout and increased errors.
To address this, nurses and caregivers may spend hours of overtime charting or completing administrative tasks they
may not have time for while providing care. Already a large part of a nurse’s workday, charting and documentation
becomes even more cumbersome when the number of patients under a nurse’s care increases. Alongside longshifts, these factors cause an increased mental load that contributes to burnout, resignation and errors on the job.
Ergonomics can pave the way for nurses to complete their work more efficiently, allowing for a reduced
mental load. By intuitively placing technology and equipment, hospitals can prevent physical blocks and help
nurses move more quickly from patient to patient or location to location while focusing on their patients.
With many nurses taking on extra shifts in different care areas or organizations hiring traveling nurses to address
shortages, it’s critical to invest in equipment that easily adapts to each workflow and user. Look for height-adjustablewall or mobile workstations that intuitively adjust to fit individual ergonomic needs. This includes height andpositioning to keep caregivers of all statures the ability to create a comfortable workspace for how they work best.
Ergotron’s patented Constant Force™ technology allows for effortless movement, which promotes individual
ergonomic adjustments that help minimize aches and pains that are often associated with documentation. Many
Ergotron solutions include this industry-leading technology, like the StyleView® Cart with LCD Pivot.
StyleView medical carts are also compatible with various drawers and accessories to meet the needs of different
workflows and users. When selecting documentation workstations, look for options like StyleView medical carts thatprovide customizable features and multiple accessory installation locations for application-specific use.

STYLEVIEW® CART WITH LCD PIVOT•

Innovative and easy to maneuver•

Sit-to-stand height adjustment•

Independent screen positioning•

Adjustable back-tilt keyboard tray

Ergonomic Guide for Documentation and Charting

13

POOR LY DES I G N ED EQU I PMENT
In addition to quality wall-mounted solutions like Ergotron’s CareFit Combo System, many healthcare organizations
choose to also offer mobile medical carts for documentation. Yet many mobile workstations today can’t move easily
between all the different rooms nurses visit throughout their shifts. Large, bulky carts both take up space and areheavy to move, meaning nurses are more likely not to use them, or to sustain injuries from moving around theseinconvenient workstations.
Ergonomic mobile solutions, on the other hand, are intuitive to use and to move wherever they’re needed. Nurses
can bring these workstations from room to room with features such as handles and adjustable settings from sitting tostanding to adapt to any situation, task or room. Ergonomic, height-adjustable medical carts can help keep nurses ofvarying heights as comfortable and physically supported as possible while accomplishing their tasks.

Given that nurses spend a large
amount of time, often after theirshift ends, to finish charting,
we know they value solutions
that allow them to do thiswhere they can focus on theirtask uninterrupted. Charting
requires accuracy andefficiency; providing flexibility
in workstations to help them dothis important part of their job
gives them choice.”
JESSICA GRENWIS

Ergonomic Guide for Documentation and Charting

When selecting a mobile medical cart, ensure it can quickly
move between rooms and floors and fit into tight spaces.
Poorly designed carts may not move easily or safely
through a crowded healthcare setting, resulting in trafficjams, lengthy trips, or even accidents. This reduces thetime nurses can spend administering care to patients andincreases the time it takes to move between those under
their supervision.
Look for mobile medical carts with compact footprints andhigh-quality casters for ultimate mobility. Check that the
product has undergone rigorous testing to ensure it cansafely accommodate your equipment, especially while inmotion, and adjust to fit a broad range of nurses.
Ergotron offers a wide variety of mobile medical carts, including options with a small footprint to easily fit next toa patient’s bedside or even a crowded hallway. Products such as the CareFit Slim 2.0 LCD Cart are adaptableand easy to move throughout a hospital’s different rooms and zones. It adjusts to fit users of different heights andaccommodates large all-in-one computers for comfortable documentation from anywhere.

CAREFIT SLIM 2.0 LCD CART•

Expansive height range that adjusts to each user’s needs•

Lean, compact frame that’s easy to move all-in-one
computers and monitors up to 20 lbs.

•

Large portfolio of accessories
allows customization•

Multiple drawer options

14

Ergonomic Guide for Documentation and Charting15

How to Select the Right Ergonomic Workstations
for Your Organization
When evaluating new workstations whether wall-mounted solutions fixed in patient rooms or mobile carts that can
travel with the caregiver, keep ergonomics, flexibility, and quality top of mind.
Assess how easy it is to adjust or move each workstation, intuitively access key accessories and supplies, and if
there’s enough workspace to complete tasks. This helps ensure less strain on their bodies, lower frustration, andmore job satisfaction.
Determine if the workstation is modular and can work with a variety of accessories. With a flexible design, the rightergonomic workstation can evolve with your organization’s needs to make the most of your investment. Ensure thesolution integrates well with the built environment or if mobile, can easily fit in tight spaces like patient rooms.
With infection control remaining a top priority, workstations should also be easy to clean during shifts andbetween patients.
Nurses want to be confident that their workstations will reliably function during their shifts so they can focus on
patient care. That requires an investment in quality designs that can withstand the rigors of daily use in fast-paced
healthcare environments. Consider the length of warranty and the service and support offered from implementation
and beyond.

KEY ER G ON O MIC EQUIPMENT F EATURES

Workstations that

Panning features for

Human-centered

Available drawers

Compact footprints

maintain sightlines

screens to be easily

designs that are

and accessories to fit

and quality casters forwith patients

repositioned

intuitive to use

specific workflows

mobility

Ergonomic Guide for Documentation and Charting

16

INSIGHTS FOR HEALTHCARE LEADERS

65%

of caregivers and 59% of IT staff believe
improvement is required to ensurethat caregivers have the appropriate
equipment to do their job well92%

believe caregivers should have moreof a voice when it comes to selecting
ergonomic equipment and newtechnology at their organization
THIS IS EVEN MORE LIKELY FOR CAREGIVERS
IN LARGE ORGANIZATIONS (78%)

Source: Ergotron eBook: Caring for Healthcare Workers

To determine if a healthcare workstation will fit your specific users and their workflow, set one up in a patient room totest. Some manufacturers also offer clinical showrooms to experience their solutions. This is the best way for nurses
and IT leaders to try the product and understand if it meets your criteria and adapts to your specific workflows.

FI N D THE R I G HT SOLUTION WITH ERGOTRONAs the healthcare workflow experts, we offer multiple options to ensure you
select the right solutions for your organization:

Access to our clinicalComplimentary trials to

A medical cart finder

Installation and integration

showroom for in-person

experience products

to help you identify theservices to train you andor virtual demos

within your own

best solution for your

your employees on how

environment

workflows

to use our equipment

Ergonomic Guide for Documentation and Charting

17

Conclusion
In a post-COVID world, hospitals and healthcare institutions must contend with a critical but overworked employee
base whose work directly impacts patient lives. Long hours, cumbersome technology, and the physical and mental
toll of the job are all problems that nurses and healthcare providers face every day—all of which contribute to
growing burnout rates. Despite this, there are ways to mitigate these challenges.
Ergonomic documentation workstations can help solve key pain points in this critical profession.
Implementing ergonomic equipment is an important step in caring for nurses and mitigating burnout. Access to theright tools can help increase documentation efficiency, comfort, and overall satisfaction. This, in turn, allows nurses
to form personal connections with patients and provide the quality care that they aspire to give amid the demands oftheir busy profession.
As organizations operate on the other side of a global pandemic, now is the time for healthcare leaders to examine
their tools, equipment and practices to help alleviate the reasons nurses crash and burn or even quit. Ensuring thiscritical group continues providing exceptional care while staying satisfied benefits everyone.

AB OU T E R G OTR ON
Ergotron, Inc. is a global company focused on improving how people work, learn, play and care for others. Usinghuman-centered design principles and the Technology of Movement™, Ergotron builds products and custom solutions
that help people thrive in healthcare, education and contract furniture environments, and in office settings, both athome and on-site.
Through its 40-year history, Ergotron has served as an innovative industry leader known for professional-grade
products and customer-obsessed service. The company has earned more than 200 patents and establisheda growing portfolio of award-winning brands including WorkFit®, CareFit™, LearnFit® and JŪV™. Ergotron is
headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, with a presence in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. For more
information, please visit www.ergotron.com.