How to reposition a patient and do a log roll
Other platforms explain it with text and video. In VMS you practice it on the patient.
Moving patients safely protects their skin and spine, and your back. Plan first, then move together on a count.
Step by step
Plan
Check mobility, weight, pain, lines and drains. Get enough people and a slide sheet. [1]
Prepare
Clean your hands, introduce yourself, explain, lock the bed, raise it to working height and lay it flat. [1]
Move up in bed
Slide sheet under the patient, knees bent if they can help, everyone pulls on "one, two, three". [1]
Turn to the side
Cross the far arm and leg, roll the patient toward you, pillows behind the back and between the knees, about a 30-degree tilt to take weight off the sacrum. [1]
Log roll for spinal precautions
At least three or four people. The person at the head holds the head in line and gives the count; everyone rolls head, shoulders and hips as one unit. [2]
Check the skin
Look at the back and sacrum while the patient is on the side. [1]
Make safe and record
Bed low, rails as ordered, call light in reach. Write the position and the skin findings. [1]
Common errors
- Moving without a count.
- Dragging the patient (shear damage to the skin).
- Too few people for a log roll.
Practice it in VMS
In VMS you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.
VMS cases that train this skill
Sources
Steps adapted from Open RN, Nursing Fundamentals 2e, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts and steps also follow NREMT psychomotor skill sheets (EMT and Paramedic). VMS is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.