What's a bed bath worth?

I have learned more from my patients when talking to them during a bath than reading the chart. Of course you don't always have time to give bed baths, but what a great way to get to know your patients. Nothing sounds better than having a patient thank you for helping them get cleaned up and for talking to them. All the extra duties are important (labs, EKGs, monitors..), but isn't nursing supposed to be about the nurse-patient interaction?

And what a perfect time to do a good physical assessment on the pt!

A bed bath is an ideal time to interact with a patient and do a thorough skin assessment. However, when you have a full assignment with high acuity patients it should be assigned to an aide. Abnormal lab results, O2 sats, Cardiac arrythmias, ect, ect, all take priority.

If I had time, I would spend a half hour cleaning them, assessing them, clean between their toesies, shave them. style them and clean the junk out of their room all for $11 (half of my hourly rate) and that would be just peachy with me.

One of our private hospitals specializes in giveing patients "Hot towel sponges"

Take a bucket of hot water add capfull of "dermalux" and a couple of drops of lavender. Place two rolled towels in the bucket and then place the towels over the patient and gently rub.

Umm It is less "sensuous" than that description sounds espectially since the clientelle of this hospital averages at 80= years.

Gwenith, I've actually done the "Hot towel sponges" on residents who had showers every second day in a nursing home I used to work in. We did the sponges the day they didn't have a shower, though we called them "Hot Towel Massages". The hot towels felt really good through my gloves.

Someone please sign me up for one.

Yes I know!! It was just when I came to describe them they sounded slightly "naughty". These were done in ICU on the bedbound patients and were just wonderful as a lovely change. Certainly beat the old luke warm slip, slop slap with a wet chux/daylee wash cloth!

Yes Raphael, I agree with you. That is my opinion, although I may have been just a tad aggrivated when posting mine

Tongue in cheek

Charge for nursing services by the hour. Easy enough for all those hospitals that have staff/patient tracking systems. That way the patients who utilize nursing services more get charged more. Add $ for procedures that require more specialized skills, Dressing changes, conscious sedation, education, etc.

I may be completely wrong but I think the original point of the thread was not necessarily should bed baths be done by nurses. I took it as what would the amounts be if the nurses duties were itemized. Kind of like what would the charge be for each service provided. Hospitals do that so much for ekg so much for ct scan bla bla bla. I think maybe the point was what would the nurses wage actually be if the tasks we perform were charged on an itemized bases. Geez I hope that made sense. Kind of reminds me of when Edith made a list for Archy the charges for making breakfast, ironing, making beds etc. Anyway that is just my thought of what the question was asking. I could be wrong that often happens.