Bathing Patients..thought only CNAs do that?

Ruby Vee, BSN · Mar 9, 2011

lpns bathe patients, clean up poop and other bodily substances and do just about whatever it takes to keep the patient clean and safe. so do rns.

KimberlyRN89, BSN, RN · Mar 9, 2011

Nurses usually delegate these responsibilities to the ancillary personnel such as CNA's, PCT's, etc. but there are times that nurses may have to perform those skills.

Sheller86 · Mar 9, 2011

i just got so upset bc im so excited to start school march 21st and i dont know if ill be comfortable doing that type of care. How do you get used to it?

exit96 · Mar 10, 2011

If someone is not prepared to do any and all direct patient care tasks then they SHOULD NOT get into nursing of any kind...you are wise to rethink your decision. As a CNA, and LPN presently (RN by December) I thank you for not assuming that someone else will do ALL the dirty work, and for being honest about your hesitance. Good Luck to you :-)

elkpark · Mar 10, 2011

You get used to it by doing it. :)

Best wishes!

allnurses Guide · Mar 10, 2011

Yep - it's all part of the job of a nurse and my own feeling is there aren't lesser tasks in importance, there are tasks that are more complex (requiring education). If you've ever been a patient on wet wrinkly sheets or have a dry horrible aftertaste in your mouth you'll know that for sure!

KimberlyRN89, BSN, RN · Mar 10, 2011

i just got so upset bc im so excited to start school march 21st and i dont know if ill be comfortable doing that type of care. How do you get used to it?

When I started college @ age 17, I knew I was gonna be a nurse and make lots of money. A lot of the girls in my class were CNA's. I thought, "ugh that's so gross. Why would I want to clean someone? I'm gonna be a nurse & make lots of money!" But @ 19, my mom(an RN) suggested I take a CNA class to really learn what the nursing field was about. Honestly I thought it would be a waste of time. But I ended up loving it! At first I was hesistant about cleaning poop & giving baths, but I got used to it. I love helping people & these last two years I've spent working as a CNA have been such a great learning experience. I just started nursing school this week, and when we go to clinicals in a few weeks, I know I won't feel SO overwhelmed due to my experience as an aide. My suggestion to you is take a CNA class. If you are still uncomfortable with performing those type of skills, than that's fine. There are other fields in healthcare you can consider too. I wish you the best of luck :yeah:

Busia · Mar 10, 2011

The hospital I am doing my med-surg clinical at right now does not use CNA's. The LPN's and RN's do ALL direct patient care, we do the baths, the wiping, the linen changes- all of it. I agree with the above poster- take a CNA class and get a job as one for awhile- it will be a good indicator of how you will handle the things to come. If you don't like the idea of doing those types of personal cares, how will you feel about doing catheters or removing fecal impactions- those are LPN duties. If you work as a CNA for awhile, you may find that doing the personal cares no longer bothers you.

ComeClarity · Mar 10, 2011

Cleaning up poop isn't as bad as one would think. Then again, I have an iron stomach so maybe I'm not the best gauge. I've even had patients comment to me as I was providing them peri-care, "I could NEVER be a nurse and do what you're doing right now! Ugh!" I just chuckle and tell them that it's actually not that awful of a task, just something that has to be done. We all poo and pee, and if patients are not kept clean, it can lead to skin breakdown and worse. Yes, in many cases, you will be delegating ADL's to your CNA/PCT because you will be busy passing meds and performing treatments and other things only a licensed nurse can do, however, you should never be above wiping a butt. And I know that in certain cases such as home health, hospice, ICU where they only have 1 or 2 patients and no techs (and some patients are so critical that it is dangerous to delegate bathing to a PCT), you as the nurse will be responsible for all baths and peri-care.

I second the notion of you taking a CNA class to determine whether you can stomach it or not. If not, then you won't be out too much money and it'll only be 3 months of your life wasted. If so, it will greatly help you in nursing school.. because in nursing school, you are expected to be the CNA for the patients you're assigned to on top of administering their meds and treatments, and if you've already went through CNA training, it will be immensely helpful - I wish I would have done so prior to nursing school, it would have made things a lot easier for me in clinical.

3dayRN · Mar 10, 2011

you are in for a rude awakening if you think only the aide does this. Nurses help cleaning patients, changing beds, giving baths, feeding patients etc....I even empty the trash if I have time, fill water pitcher.....yeah some of this is technically the aides "job" but everyone pitchs in to get the job done. If you are in a patients room and they ask for the bedpan and you leave to get an aide to do this you will have one P@$$#& off aide!

Christine2009 · Mar 10, 2011

I totally agree with what everyone is saying...nursing is not all about passing meds, treatments, care plans, ect. It is bedside patient care...every nursing school you go to whether you are trying to obtain your RN or LVN starts with basic CNA duties. Sometimes the CNA's are so overwhelmed that they are unable to do some of these things so the nurse needs to pitch in and do it.

If you were in the hospital unable to care for yourself, wouldn't you want someone to come and clean you up whether it is a nurse or CNA? I treat every patient I come into contact with as if I were in their shoes. I strongly suggest that you think about your decision to become a nurse, if you are unable to stomach cleaning up a patient or give a bed bath.