Inserting Urinary Catheters: Oh Funny Nursing Story

stacey2275

After rounding up a list of patients who needed catheters inserted from the staff nurses, our instructor found one elderly gentleman who willingly consented for a student nurse to place the catheter while the rest of the classmates watched.

Before heading to the patient's room, our instructor went thru the step by step procedure once more and chose a student who would get the first experience. She was confident this student would be able to perform the procedure without event.

So there we were, all at the patient's bedside, eagerly awaiting the insertion of the first "live patient" catheter insertion. The student nurse inserting it was the youngest of our group, and she could be a little timid at times.

After verbally explaining the process to the patient and answering his questions and the questions posed by our instructor, she proceeded to properly drape him and arrange her supplies, all the while maintaining perfect sterility.

She had just finished cleansing the urethral area with the betadine and was getting ready to insert the catheter when our instructor reminded her to hold onto his "part" properly so she could introduce the catheter without him slipping.

Our young classmate was holding onto him with just her thumb and forefinger, so she adjusted herself and gently grasped him with the tips of her fingers. The instructor once again reminded her to hold on firmly so he didn't slip away while she tried to get the catheter into his bladder.

This time she took heed of the instructor's words and she grasped onto him very firmly.

Very, very firmly!

With all our eyes on him, the patient's eyes started to bulge and his face started to get a little red, but he never uttered a single word!

Luckily for him, after a few seconds our instructor looked up, saw his face and told our student, "no, no, not that hard baby, you don't need a death-grip on the man! Just hold on enough so it doesn't slip away from you!!!"

The student immediately lightened up her grip, resulting in the man letting out a light "thank you." She went ahead and proceeded to insert the catheter without any difficulty.

Once she cleaned up the area and gave a report to the staff nurse on duty, we were all dismissed from the clinical area and instructed to meet our instructor in the post-conference area. We were all glad she was the guinea pig to do the first insertion of our group, but boy did we have a good laugh at the case conference afterward!

Our instructor will probably never forget that day, and I am sure she probably tells students not to put a death-grip on the male patients during catheter insertions. I know I always tell the students coming thru the hospital on rotation or a new hire I am orienting to the floor!

Inserting Urinary Catheters: Oh Funny Nursing Story

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