Partial bed bath/washcloth procedure

caliotter3 · May 31, 2011

I always put my rinse washcloth in the basin, but then I walk all the way back to the bathroom to rinse the soapy washcloth. This is on the job, how I want to do it. I have no idea what they want in "school mode" and that is what you have to demonstrate for your skills exam.

caliotter3 · May 31, 2011

We had a CNA textbook. It should be in there. Didn't you have one for class?

deetrain · May 31, 2011

Yes, We were given a book and we received a hand out for the skills test. The hand out for the skills instructions are vague.

K_girl · May 31, 2011

i'm not sure how they taught it at your school but my instructor told us not to put it back in the basin of water. We use one washcloth for wash then another for rinse. I believe she told us we need 7 washclothes total! It seemed like way too much to me.

Dorali, BSN, LPN, RN · May 31, 2011

Once it's dirty/used, you can't put it back in the basin. I don't remember exactly how we did it in class, but at work, I use 2 basins: one for soapy water and one for clean, rinsing water.

i'm not sure how they taught it at your school but my instructor told us not to put it back in the basin of water. We use one washcloth for wash then another for rinse. I believe she told us we need 7 washclothes total! It seemed like way too much to me.

That's because you never know how many you are going to need. We used to have a very obese woman, too heavy to put in a Hoyer, so she always got bed baths. We took close to 30 wash cloths to do her baths. We have to sign out our linen, so that's how I know, but she had lots of nooks & crannies that would get really gunky. The moral of this story is to prepare for the worst. You never know what's going to happen while you're there and you don't want to have to run out for more when you're halfway through.

karamarie91 · Jun 2, 2011

Watch some videos on youtube. Look up jtduncan

No need to buy a DVD. good luck

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Jun 2, 2011

fill the basin with soapy water and throw a bunch of CLEAN washcloths in it...or keep them on the side. Dip the washcloths into the basin then start bathing the patient...but don't put that washcloth back in the basin! It's considered dirty. Throw it aside and grab a clean, unused washcloth.

Think about it - If you are giving a patient a bed bath and say they are also incontinent and you have to provide peri care, do you really want to throw a poppy washcloth back into a basin with clean, soapy water and then use that same water to bathe the patient?