Bedpan Changing Question

[rnk1712]

I have a quick question regarding bedpan changes before my nursing clinical tomorrow. We have private patient rooms with a very tight bathroom with just a toilet and sink. I was wondering what to do with a bowel movement when cleaning. First, does that count as an output measurement. And secondly, where would you clean out the bedpan or BSC at? I feel like it would be really unsanitary carrying it all the way to the supply room and punching the code in with clean gloves on. I don't want people to get the wrong idea that I'm wearing soiled gloves. Also, I wouldn't want to wash it out in the patient's sink. Oh and is toilet paper okay for wiping. The head management heavily stressed we only use three wipes per patient. Is toilet paper sufficient as well? Any advice from your guys' experience? Thanks!

[Julius Seizure]

Yeah the toilet paper idea is awesome!

On another note, whichever dimwit bean counters who came up with the "3 wipes you're out" idea clearly never worked as a bedside nurse or aide.

Not all poop is created equal! Some is sticky, some is watery. Some is pasty and some is soft. And heaven help you if the poor patient has diarrhea and or C. diff.

Obviously nurses use as many wipes as possible JUST for fun. Gotta keep those nurses in line!

[AceOfHearts<3]

Oh heavens, glad I don't work there! I sometimes run through a whole pack in one go!!

The toilets in my facility have little "shower heads" that we can pull down for rinsing things. They come down at a 90 degree angle over the toilet and as soon as we start to push them back up while flushing the water stops. No clue if that explanation makes sense.

[verene, MSN]

Use to toilet in the bathroom to dump the BM into. Put water from the sink in to rinse, and then pour into the toilet. I'm fortunate that the facility I work in has toilets like the ones picture above which have a shower head in them specifically for rinsing waste into the toilet. Only time there has been an issue was when one family member thought it was a bidet - she turned the head upside down and water went every where.

[smf0903]

If one of your patients only uses 1 wipe, can their wipe deficit be given to another patient? My oh my, the wipes police!!! Now that's a good one!

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

They only allow 3 wipes per person? I have never heard of such a thing!!! Sometimes, I go through a whole pack. I would ask if this was evidence-based practice? Was a study conducted that only 3 wipes are needed? What if it's really messy? They could be looking at skin breakdown if poop if left on the skin and somebody used their 3 wipe limit.

If there is a toilet in the room, you dump it in there. In the ICU unit I was just in, we had to walk down the hall. There were no bathrooms in the rooms. I had to be really careful when emptying catheters and carrying that down the hall. It was the only time I ever wore my gloves out of the room.

The 3 wipes thing is one of the craziest things I have ever heard.

[Julius Seizure]

If there is a toilet in the room, you dump it in there. In the ICU unit I was just in, we had to walk down the hall. There were no bathrooms in the rooms. I had to be really careful when emptying catheters and carrying that down the hall. It was the only time I ever wore my gloves out of the room.

Thats how it is where I am as well. And the soiled utility rooms used to be locked with a key - a key that only the aides had. So you had to track down a busy aid and ask them for their key before you could dump the foley/urinal/bedpan.

Now they have changed to a system where to soiled utility rooms are locked and you have to scan your badge to get in...so now you have to try to unlock the door without touchign your badge WHILE holding somebodys pee or poop. Fun.

[amytree]

In the ICU unit I was just in, we had to walk down the hall. There were no bathrooms in the rooms. I had to be really careful when emptying catheters and carrying that down the hall. It was the only time I ever wore my gloves out of the room.

Likewise. Thankfully, the ICU I work in is small and the one bathroom is a max of 20' away from any room. You can place a folded bath towel over the bedpan while carrying it to the toilet as well. You really have no choice in that situation but to wear your gloves out.

This thread is great!

[RicRock, MSN, CRNA]

Put lotion around the edges too. It helps keep the bed pan from sticking to the skin of peeps that can't roll that well.

[cccns2016]

The hospitals that I do my clinicals at all have sprayers connected to the toilets so there's no need to use the sink to rinse/clean it... if the toilets didn't have the spayers then I'd use the sink to rinse and dump the dirty water in the toilet. But definitely don't take the soiled bedpan out of the room.

[cccns2016]

These are what I was talking about in my comment about the "sprayers"...

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

at having to walk down the hall!!!! I've worked in 2 ICUs but both had a toilet w a curtain in each room, w the sprayer. Personally I'd just chuck the whole full bedpan into the trash. The majority of our pts are sedated and incontinent anyway, but we do have a fair amount awake with loose stools, either from tubefeeds or multiple abx, or lactulose... no way in hades I'd risk spilling a pan of that on myself. Not to mention infection control. Really, what if it's undiagnosed (or known) C. diff????

Anyway to the OP, good suggestions so far!

If by chance the wipes police are out issuing citations for empty containers or your CI says something about it, you could use washcloths and water. Just be careful if it's fragile skin, blot don't scrub, etc. because terrycloth is a bit rougher. My hospital uses these barrier cream impregnated wipes, which seem to spread the stool around rather than clean it off.

[Kiki1970]

YouTube has some good basic skills videos on assist with bedpan. It might help having a visual of the steps involved.