How did you get through your first bed bath?

[Nesher]

I am a clinical instructor for a group of students who will have to do bed baths on "real" folks next week. They have practiced on each other, but of course did not wash breasts or genitals. They are expressing how freaked out they are about this. I'm not so out of touch as to not recall my own fears, but what I wonder is how you as students managed your first time? Was there anything your instructor did to help (besides allowing them ample time to discuss their fears)? Part of me feels they just need to jump in and do it, sink or swim sydrome, but I want them to have a successful experience, so to that end I would appreciate your input.

[JustJen, BSN, RN]

I know it might sound silly, but the first time I did a bedbath I took a moment to visualize my favorite old person (my grandma) and set out to treat my patient as if it were her. I took care to treat my patient the way I would hope my grandma would be cared for. It is so basic, but often just "doing to others" is the best way to handle anything.

[crb613, BSN, RN]

Thanks everyone for the great advice. My students despite their fears did great. In the end I decided to just see how things went and didn't pair them up on purpose. As a result some of them did the bathing on their own. Some ended up pairing up as all the patients didn't want or need personalized care. I had to hunt down other patients we weren't working with and found a few gems that gave the students a real sense of accomplishment and who greatly enjoyed the attention. One elderly man asked if his student would be back - she was so delighted- I thought the smile on her face would slide off either end it was so big!

One thing they noticed about themselves was how nervous they were in entering the rooms - they felt they were disturbing the patients - well by the end of the day they were in and out and feeling much better about that issue.

In post conference they were filled with the stories of the folks they had worked with, what they had seen and insights on what worked and what didn't. Needless to say I'm very proud!

Great job!! to you & your students. I think you have that big smile on your face as well! You seem like a great CI.