I have to be bathed by my classmate???

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:imbar Ok call me old fashioned but I am kind of concerned. I had my nursing orientation today, and I was informed that as part of one of my practical nursing classes I will have to be sponge bathed by one of my classmates and in turn need to sponge bathe a classmate. Ok fine. No worries. HOWEVER, the next breath was, you will have to strip down to your underwear only and your classmate will drape you and sponge bathe you and vice versa. I understand that as a nurse I will give sponge baths to patients and I have no problem with that. But one of my classmates that I am going to spend hours and hours with for the next 2 years bathing me is a whole other story! True, like the instructor said it lets you know first hand how the patient will feel while you are abthing them, so you will want to treat them with dignity but being an overweight gal I am uncomfortable with this because I will have to look at these classmates for the next 2 years. Did anyone else ever do this as part of their curriculum? I don't mean to freak out but I never heard of this. They can stick me with all the needles they want for practice, but bathe the mannequins...lol :uhoh3:

hey amy,

well i don't go to school here in paducah i drive an hour to go to shawnee cc in ullin illinois. there entrance procedures were so different is why i go there. pcc had a 2 year wait for the program where as shawnee you just take a test and they place you from there, and i did well enough to not have to do any waiting. how cool is that huh? lol

so what's it like out in texas?

i'm still not happy about doing this by any means but have found resolution after reading some of the posts. on that day i will wear shorts and if they say strip to undies i'll say i forgot to wear any...lol:roll :lol2: :roll thanks to everyonr that made me feel betterabout it though!

whew!!! i just saw that you are from paducah, ky. i am originally from murray, ky. i almost went to your school for nursing but then decided to move to dallas, tx. i sure am glad i did!!! it seems like there should be some kind of rule or something that would make this out of the question. i would definately find out about that. that sounds horrible. good luck to you though![/quote

:rotfl: :chuckle :rotfl: :chuckle :rotfl:

There I lay exposed and vulnerable in my shorts and tanktop. . .I can feel the 40 pairs of eyes of my classmates and instructor as they snicker watching, waiting. . . I shudder as I watch my partner, evil grin masking her face, dunk the sponge into a pan and draw up water. I close my eyes tightly, grimacing painfully as the warm cloth is harshly scrubbed against my tender flesh. Again and again she tortures me with this treatment, laughing hysterically everytime she encounters a glimpse of my copious cellulite. My only solice occurs when she directly peers at my bulging fat rolls and is forced to pause momentarily to vomit into the pail she has placed at the side of the bed. . .Later I overhear my instructor and the other students recounting details regarding how horrific it was to view the procedure. A few are even crying softly and being consoled by other students. I hear they are now planning a post traumatic stress meeting. . .

Nursing school survivors must sometimes utilize a very important coping mechanism--Humor! Often, it's the only way you can get through all the s**t they fling at you!! If all else fails try to laugh a little & find a partner who will make you feel at ease. Good luck! :rotfl:

umm i'd call it chunky dunking..(or maybe tsunami mommy..lol)not skinny dipping...but i'd never get in someone's pool just so you know...:p

get over it already. you will hop in the neighbors pool buck naked and call it skinny dipping, but won't bare an inch of skin in class?

be respectful and expect your partner to be as well.

We were allowed to pick a classmate we felt comfortable with and to wear bathing suit/trunks. It does give you an idea of how the patient feels. Also it is important that one is able to demonstrate clinical skills safely in school. Some say how important is clinical skills for sponge bathing. I remember my 1st patient, he had experienced a CVA and was paralyzed on his left side. When I came into his room to do my assessment, I was so nervous that when shaking down the thermometer (that's how long ago this was) it slipped from my hand hit the wall above his head, hit the top of the overhead light above his head and landed on the pillow beside his head. I was mortified. Picked the thermometer off, wiped it off with an alcohol sponge, noted that it had been shaken down adequately and placed it under his unaffected arm to get an axillary temp. Anyway after vitals, I sponge bathed him real well. I was really suprised how his color went from ashen grey to normal color with a good sponge bath. It was very therapeutic.

One of my instructors told me something that I'll never forget when assisting with the bath. "Wash down as far as possible, then up as far as possible, then let the patient wash 'ole possible' "

When I was in nursing school, our class didn't have to bathe each other. We used mannequins, but another class that was in the same room on that lab day did have to wear shorts and shirts and they had to bathe each other. I would have died if they would have told me I had to strip down to my underwear and be bathed by another student. I personally don't think that is right. That's what the mannequins are for.

My first semester our class wore shorts and tank tops so we could bathe each other's face, arms, legs and feet. I didn't see it as a problem with anyone and it gave a new perspective on how the pt feels. To be honest, there are tons of non politically correct and insensitive things that seem to happen in nursing school ---can't focus on it or you'll lose focus on what you're doing there and accomplishing getting out :)

Personally, I would object. Being bathed by a peer and being bathed by a professional in a hospital are totally different. It sounds like your gut instinct is telling you not to and don't let ANYONE tell you you're being ridiculous.

I also think that the "we did it, so you do too" way of thinking and teaching is ridiculous. Everyone has been in an embarrassing situation and there's no reason to intentionally put someone in that environment so they "can learn how it feels."

There aren't enough patients in clinicals that need bathing that you have to practice on each other?

Good luck!!

On a side note, other health care professionals do not do this kind of thing. You don't see RTs intubating each other. They don't have "Lap Chole Day" in med school.

Indeed it is a little scary and uncomfortable knowing a classmate you will see for the next two years will be bathing you. Generally though, you will not be fully exposed to your classmate. When you give bed baths to your pts. you will keep them covered to help prevent heat loss and maintain some privacy. Your classmate should do the same as well. Depending on your class size, you may become very close to your classmates and feel like family by the time school is done, and think back to your experience as no big deal. Has your instructor informed you of the possibility of having to do breast exams on each other yet? I had to do that in school and I was much more nervous about that than sponge baths. On the brighter side you will more than likely forget all about your uneasiness and embarrassment shortly after doing each, your classmates will want to do the same. Hope this helps you out some.

:nurse:, jse517

Specializes in OBGYN, Neonatal.

I am with ya! I don't wanna get nekkid with my class partners either but we did have to do Physical Assessment on each other. We didn't get nekkie though. We wore what ever was comfortable and had a gown on. I, being a big beautiful woman (HEHEHEHE!) felt the need to wear my shorts and a tank top under my gown! My partner is very fit so I was feeling really bad as my big ole gut hung out.

But by the end of the Physical assessment labs (several weeks) I just ripped off my shirt and let her practice the heart sounds again LOL!

If we have to do baths on each other I will surely wear a bathing suit!

Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.

I never responded to this thread, because at my school we "bathed" each other fully clothed and just kinda going through the motions with a dry washcloth. I did see the value, however, in getting used to handling and moving an adult-sized human being.

I'm probably gonna get flamed for this, but just thinking though ... for rotations which require changing into hospital scrubs - O.R., L&D, etc. ... you'll have the locker room situation. I think the posters who have said "get over it" are referring in general to the physicality of nursing - this is not the place for someone whose perception of personal space doesn't allow physical contact. You're entitled to feel that way of course, but it's going to make clinicals awfully distressing. JMHO.

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