Bathing Trouble

I've been a CNA for 3 years and I still get anxiety over giving showers. I've worked evening/night shift my entire CNA career and have only needed to give showers PRN. It's awkward, I have no routine, I wind up soaking wet, but in the end I get my patient clean. Haha.

I wear those "rain boots" when I shower a resident.

putting a bra on an unresponsive resident....I'm surprised you are required to do that (because usually unresponsive residents just don't wear them anymore.) but, slip arms in, fasten the back then pull down over breasts. You may have to actually lift the breasts one at a time into the bra.

Your facility may or may not dictate using a shower bed or chair for each person. If not, it's best to use a shower bed rather than a chair with a resident that can't help at all. If they squeeze their legs, do the peri care when you roll them onto their side & move the top leg to the side. It's easier to clean peri area.

Dressing: Choose a dress if at all possible! Otherwise, start with the pants, pull up as far as you can. Button up shirts are usually easier...slip effected arm in and roll resident. Tuck shirt under resident and pull up pants as far as you can on the one hip. Roll to other side, pull up pants on other side and pull out shirt and finish. OR: to put on shirt, wait until resident is in a sitting upright position (even if that means raising the head of bed to highest point) and then put on shirt. Some residents it's better to put both arms in then pull over their head, others it's much easier to pull over their head then the affected arm then the other while keeping the shirt high around the neck until arms are in.

If you're using a shower bed that doesn't quite fit into the shower draining area, put towels under the bed mat at the end that sticks out. This way the water will run down and drain at the proper end and away from you and the floor outside the shower.