Issues placing a bedpan

Nursing Students Student Assist

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Hi everyone

I have huge issues with placing a bedpan. The patients I work with most of the time are unable to lift their hips so I find it difficult to get the pan evenly under the patient then urine ends up all over the bed and I have to change the whole thing. All the videos and literature cater to patients who are able to lift their hips. Anyone have any tips for me or links that show patients who cannot lift their hips?

Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

Our pts have their own powder bedside so it is handy. it does really work well, especially with larger pts. Another thing I do is put the pts head back up after placing the bed pan under them, the angle helps the urine go where it is supposed to.

With the type below, the handle goes to the front of the patient and the flat part goes under the buttocks.

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To remove the bedpan: Tell the patient not to move. Get a firm grip on the bedpan to hold it steady. NOW have the patient roll off the bedpan while you keep the bedpan from tipping. Gently wipe, then remove the bedpan carefully, keeping it horizontal.

It's like any other skill, the more you do, the better you get.

Isn't that one also specifically used for patients who have had hip fractures? At least that is what I have been told.

Specializes in Utilization Management.
Isn't that one also specifically used for patients who have had hip fractures? At least that is what I have been told.

I grab the smallest one that can do the job. I've never gotten in trouble for choosing the fracture pan over the large size yet. ;)

Wow thanks for all the great tips!

I realize this post is a little old, but for anyone coming across it looking for advice, here's another tip. When using the rolling technique to get the pt on the bedpan, always roll the pt away from you, then roll back onto the pan. Then go to the opposite side of the bed and pull up a bit on the draw sheet. The pt is sometimes not fully on the pan and when you pull up from the opposite side it helps to get them centered. Works like a charm!

Bedpans are the cause of lots of extra work when your patient does not move well and even when they do have mobility. Decreased mobility affects a high percentage of the patients in the hospital and LTC/Rehab facilities.

A great solution is the Hygie bedpan and commode liner with a fluid absorbing insert that literally changes the fluid to a solid through absorbtion. The Hygie bedpan and commode liners also allow you to contain the smell and potential infectious pathogens at the bedside and prevent you from exposing yourself to those pathogens.

I hope this was helpful.

Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

One trick I use(aside from the powder trick) is get the patient positioned on the pan while flat and then put the head of the bed up so they are in more of a "sitting" position while they are urinating. This way they are not peeing "uphill".

Specializes in PACU, Surgery, Acute Medicine.

Bedpans got a lot easier for me once I realized that most of our patients need to have their legs held apart in order for the urine to escape and not just funnel up to their bellies. A pillow between the knees may work, but I find that I often have to actually have my hands in under their bent knees prying their thighs open down near the vulva (obviously the urine is only an issue for the gals!). I'm in the OR now and rarely put a patient on a bedpan, but sometimes I need to and when I do, I always have to pry the thighs apart.

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