Impaired venous return to the heart and ventilation-to-perfusion mismatching are common complications. Support the patient’s airway and maintain circulation throughout the procedure (e.g., surgery, examination, specimen collection, and treatment).

Specifically, patient positioning goals include: The ultimate goal of proper patient positioning is to safeguard the patient from immobility injury and physiological complications. In most settings, proper positioning of patients provides airway management and ventilation, maintains body alignment, and provides physiologic safety. In surgery, specimen collection, or other treatments, proper patient positioning provides optimal exposure to the surgical/treatment site and maintenance of the patient’s dignity by controlling unnecessary exposure. Positioning patients is an essential aspect of nursing practice and a responsibility of the registered nurse. Patient positioning involves properly maintaining a patient’s neutral body alignment by preventing hyperextension and extreme lateral rotation to prevent complications of immobility and injury.

Support Devices for Patient Positioning.