Overview
Maine OSHA mandates yearly training sessions for employees who carry a designation of VDT operator within their job description. At UNE this initially took the form of a yearly workshop;however, users expressed considerable dissatisfaction with that model. Coincidentally, instructors from the Departments of Physical and Occupational Therapy were searching for a means to involve their students in "real-world" evaluations. The program grew from this mutual need.

VDT Operators
The University currently is composed of two campuses, separated by approximately 20 miles. There are over 100 individuals across the University who carry the job description "VDT operator." In addition, there are approximately 200 faculty and 1,200 students on the two campuses. Operators range in age from 23 to 81, and report a mean time spent at the computer as five hours daily. Because student evaluations are conducted only during the fall semester, new employees receive a VDT workstation inservice within 90 days of employment. The VDT/Ergonomics Committee conducts yearly briefings regarding trends and interventions for UNEFIED.

Students
Senior occupational therapy students matriculate through courses in anatomy, physiology and kinesiology during the third year of their professional program. In the fall semester of their fourth-year, additional coursework addresses current concepts in ergonomics and provides an overview of workstation assessment. Students, working in pairs, are then assigned three VDT users to assess using a form developed by members of the VDT Committee. The students are responsible for the mechanics of contacting the user, scheduling and conducting the workstation assessment. Assessments are performed at the user's workstation and results are due to the designated instructor by a specified date. The students are required to provide suggestions to the user if a condition is discovered which may result in injury. Students "flag" problem areas on the form prior to submission to the instructor.

The instructor reviews each submitted evaluation for flagged items and schedules a follow-up evaluation with the user for any workstation identified as problematic. The original plan was to have OT and PT students work together on the evaluations. However, scheduling problems have consistently prevented this. Therefore, physical therapy students have been integrated into the program by having them accompany the instructor on re-evals during the Spring semester.    
       

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