Safe patient handling and mobility for CNAs and nurses

For CNAs, nurses, therapy aides and home health aides: move and mobilize patients and residents safely with the right equipment, within your scope, every time.

For: Certified nursing assistants, nurses, therapy aides, patient care technicians and home health aides in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living, rehabilitation and home care

  • 2 contact hours
  • 8 modules
  • 9 interactives
  • 4 job aids
  • Updated October 11, 2026

What you will be able to do

  • Explain why manual patient lifting is hazardous, including the NIOSH 35-pound guidance and caregiver injury data.
  • Describe the elements of a safe patient handling and mobility program, including the ANA national standards and examples of state SPHM laws.
  • Use a mobility assessment level and individualized handling plan to select the right method and equipment, acting within your scope of practice.
  • Check and use patient handling equipment (lifts, slings, sit-to-stand aids, slide sheets, transfer boards) safely.
  • Promote mobility, independence and dignity while preventing falls, and respond safely after a fall, including for bariatric patients.
  • Report injuries, equipment problems and changes in condition using SBAR, and know when to escalate to the nurse, physician or 911.

Learn why lifting people by hand is one of the biggest injury risks in healthcare, and how a safe patient handling and mobility (SPHM) program protects both caregivers and the people they care for. You will use mobility assessment levels and individualized handling plans to choose equipment, check and use lifts, slings, slide sheets, sit-to-stand aids and transfer boards, and respond safely after a fall.

Built for frontline caregivers and the nurses who lead them, in facilities and in the home. The course is clear about scope of practice: nurses and therapists assess and plan; aides follow the plan, observe, report and escalate.

This is theory and awareness training. It does not replace the hands-on competency check your employer must do on each piece of equipment. Each module opens with a realistic US care scenario, and you leave with a care checklist, an SBAR and stop-and-watch template, a reflection worksheet and an in-service sign-off record.

What you’ll be able to do Monday morning

  1. Check each person's handling plan or mobility level before any transfer, and follow it.
  2. Inspect the lift, battery, sling label and brakes before you use them.
  3. Use a friction-reducing device and two caregivers to reposition someone up in bed.
  4. After a fall, keep the person still, call the nurse, and do not lift them off the floor by hand.
  5. Report a change in someone's ability to stand or bear weight to the nurse using SBAR.
  6. Say no to an unsafe manual lift and ask for equipment or help.

Curriculum

8 modules · 32 lessons · about 2 contact hours

01Why is lifting a person by hand so risky?Free preview14 min
  1. How often are caregivers hurt moving patients?
  2. Why can't good body mechanics make manual lifting safe?
  3. How does manual lifting hurt patients too?
  4. What does this mean for your shift?
  • Self-assessment: My safe handling habits

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

02What makes a safe patient handling and mobility program work?14 min
  1. What do the national SPHM standards say?
  2. Which laws apply to safe patient handling?
  3. What is your role in the program?
  4. What does a strong safety culture look like on a unit?
  • State rules selector: Example state safe patient handling laws

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

03How do assessment and the handling plan tell you what to do?15 min
  1. What is a mobility assessment?
  2. Who assesses, who plans, and who does what?
  3. What goes into an individualized handling plan?
  4. How do you check the plan against the person in front of you?
  • Decision tree: Which transfer method fits today?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

04How do you check and use lifts, slings and other equipment?15 min
  1. What equipment is used, and for what?
  2. What should you check before every use?
  3. How do you do a lift transfer safely?
  4. How do you use slide sheets and gait belts well?
  • Spot the issue: Spot the problems in a lift transfer log

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

05How do you promote mobility, independence and dignity while keeping people safe?14 min
  1. Why does mobility matter so much?
  2. How do you encourage independence during transfers?
  3. What rights do patients and residents have in handling decisions?
  4. How do you handle people who are confused, anxious or resistive?
  • Ethics dilemma: The resident who refuses the lift

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

06How do you prevent falls, and what do you do after one?15 min
  1. Why do falls happen in care settings?
  2. What are everyday fall prevention habits?
  3. What should you do right after a fall?
  4. How do you help a person who is starting to fall?
  • Spot the issue: Spot the fall hazards in a room check
  • SBAR builder: SBAR: a change in mobility after a near fall

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

07What changes for bariatric care and for handling in the home?14 min
  1. What is different about bariatric handling?
  2. How does handling differ in a person's home?
  3. What did Kaylee do?
  4. How do you protect yourself when working alone?
  • Branching scenario: Planning a bariatric transfer

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

08How do you report injuries, equipment problems and changes in condition?14 min
  1. How do you report equipment problems?
  2. How do you report a change in someone's condition?
  3. How and why do you report your own injury?
  4. What should you document?
  • Sort activity: Who do you tell, and how fast?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 3-question knowledge check

Final assessment: 23 questions, 80% to pass, then your certificate

Try it now, no account needed

Planning a bariatric transfer

A branching scenario from this course. Your choices are not saved.

Free sample activity

Planning a bariatric transfer

You are a CNA at a hospital in Hastings, Nebraska. Mr. Delroy Pinnock, 68, weighs about 330 pounds and is two days after knee surgery. His plan says: bariatric floor lift, bariatric full-body sling size XL, 2 staff, for bed-to-chair transfers. Make each decision.

Inside the course

Practice activities

  • Self-assessment1
  • State rules selector1
  • Decision tree1
  • Spot the issue2
  • Ethics dilemma1
  • SBAR builder1
  • Branching scenario1
  • Sort activity1

Job aids you keep

  • Safe Patient Handling Shift ChecklistChecklist
  • Stop-and-Watch and SBAR Report: Mobility ChangeTemplate
  • Safe Patient Handling Reflection WorksheetWorksheet
  • In-Service Sign-Off Record: Safe Patient Handling and MobilityLog

Credit and approval status

Certificate of completion

This course awards a certificate of completion for 2 contact hours of instruction. It has not been approved or accredited by any state nurse aide registry, state health department, board of nursing, the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) or any other accreditor. It is theory and awareness training: it does not certify competence with any lift or device, and your employer must still train you hands-on and confirm your competency with the equipment you use. Nursing homes must provide nurse aides at least 12 hours of in-service training each year; check with your employer or state agency whether this course can count toward your in-service or continuing education needs.

Pathways we are pursuing or may pursue include nursing continuing education through a provider accredited by ANCC and acceptance as part of employer nurse aide in-service programs. No approval exists today; any approval will be shown on this page only after it is granted.

Our full approvals list

State notes

There is no federal OSHA standard specific to safe patient handling; OSHA addresses it through the General Duty Clause, guidance and recordkeeping. Several states have their own laws, mostly for hospitals and in some states nursing homes. Examples:

  • California: Labor Code Section 6403.5 requires general acute care hospitals to maintain a safe patient handling policy for all patient care units, provide trained lift teams or other trained support staff, train staff in the use of lifting devices, and protects a health care worker who refuses to lift, reposition or transfer a patient because of safety concerns or lack of trained staff or equipment from disciplinary action.
  • Texas: Health and Safety Code Chapter 256 requires hospitals and nursing homes to adopt and implement a policy to identify, assess and control risks of injury from patient handling, restrict manual lifting of all or most of a patient's weight to emergency or exceptional circumstances to the extent feasible with existing equipment, and set procedures for nurses to refuse handling they believe in good faith poses an unacceptable risk.
  • New York: Public Health Law Section 2997-k (Article 29-D, Title 1-A) requires health care facilities to establish safe patient handling committees and programs, with at least half of committee members being frontline non-managerial direct care employees, annual training, and a process to refuse handling the employee reasonably and in good faith believes is an unacceptable risk.

OSHA's safe patient handling page also lists laws in Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Washington (and notes that Ohio's 2006 law was repealed in 2015). Requirements, covered settings and dates differ. Ask your employer about your state's rules and your facility's SPHM policy.

Questions about this course

Will this course certify me to use a mechanical lift?

No. It earns a certificate of completion for 2 contact hours of instruction and teaches the theory. Your employer must train you hands-on on each lift and device you use and confirm your competency. The course is not approved or accredited by any board, registry, state agency or ANCC.

Does it count toward my nurse aide in-service hours?

It may, if your employer accepts it. Nursing homes must give nurse aides at least 12 hours of in-service training each year based on their needs, and safe handling and fall prevention are common topics. Ask your staff development coordinator whether this course can be part of your in-service plan.

Who is this course for?

CNAs, patient care technicians, nurses, therapy aides and home health aides who reposition, transfer or mobilize people in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living, rehabilitation or home care. Supervisors and staff educators can use it as a refresher and teaching aid.

Does it cover lifting boxes and supplies?

No. This course is about moving people. Lifting objects is covered in this site's Safe Lifting and Back Injury Prevention course.

My state has a safe patient handling law. Does this course meet it?

State SPHM laws mostly set requirements for facilities, such as policies, committees, equipment and training programs. This course explains the general approach and gives examples from California, Texas and New York, but it is not a state edition. Your facility decides how training is delivered and documented.

How long does it take, and how is it assessed?

About two hours, with eight short modules, interactive practice including an SBAR exercise, and a final assessment of 23 questions drawn from a larger bank. You need 80 percent to pass and can review and retake it.

This course is general education and training awareness on safe patient handling and mobility from CE Courses Hub. It is not legal, medical or professional advice and does not replace your employer's policies, the person's care plan, hands-on equipment competency checks, or advice from a qualified professional. Completing it earns a certificate of completion for the stated contact hours; it is not approved or accredited by any licensing board, state agency or accreditor unless an approval is shown on the course page. Check with your board, employer or state agency whether this course meets your specific requirement.