I have to be bathed by my classmate???

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:imbar Ok call me old fashioned but I am kind of concerned. I had my nursing orientation today, and I was informed that as part of one of my practical nursing classes I will have to be sponge bathed by one of my classmates and in turn need to sponge bathe a classmate. Ok fine. No worries. HOWEVER, the next breath was, you will have to strip down to your underwear only and your classmate will drape you and sponge bathe you and vice versa. I understand that as a nurse I will give sponge baths to patients and I have no problem with that. But one of my classmates that I am going to spend hours and hours with for the next 2 years bathing me is a whole other story! True, like the instructor said it lets you know first hand how the patient will feel while you are abthing them, so you will want to treat them with dignity but being an overweight gal I am uncomfortable with this because I will have to look at these classmates for the next 2 years. Did anyone else ever do this as part of their curriculum? I don't mean to freak out but I never heard of this. They can stick me with all the needles they want for practice, but bathe the mannequins...lol :uhoh3:

Ummm...what are you going to do if you're ever the patient that needs a bath? It's a great way for you to experience what your patient does.

I have to disagree with this. By this logic, every nurse should experience chemotherapy, defibrillation, catheters, etc and etc. Patients go through a lot of s***. That doesn't mean the nurses should too because we are giving the care. Where is the line drawn?

Why does stripping down to your underwear in class make one a better nurse? I am wondering, but no one has quite answered that yet. We cannot and should not be forced to experience these things to be qualified as nurses.

If it came down to it and I was required to do this in my program, I would walk and find another school that doesn't make you do it. Sorry. I will suffer for my craft but this is too much intimacy. I am very modest and religious, and no one but my husband is going to touch me/bathe me unless I am truly in the hospital and being given real care.

It is a personal choice and should not be required.:uhoh3:

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Specializes in Geriatrics/Oncology/Psych/College Health.
There is no way I would do that. What are they going to do kick you out?

Yep.

I agree that while it does not enhance one's technical skills one whit, it does give you a whole helluva lot of empathy the next time you're bathing a real pt.

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Specializes in ER.

Don't worry. I spent all last year freaked out about some upcoming embarrassment in lab, and NONE of it was any big deal. Nobody pressured anyone to do anything that they were uncomfortable with, and no one was "exposed" to the point of humiliation.

At least no one is telling you you have to do BREAST EXAMS on each other. I was really hot under the collar when I heard that one. All the students that had already taken health assessment at our school swore that, YES, you have to bare all for the breast exam. I was all ready to dig in my heels and be a trouble maker, but when the time came we were allowed to do whatever we were comfortable with. The important part was demonstrating that you understood what to do. We were allowed to use these strap on, fake boobies (that was HYSTERICAL, I tell ya'), or just keep bras on.

The bed bath was similar in that the big issue is demonstrating that you are competent to perform the skill on a client, not how much you expose.

Don't worry...it'll all work out fine! :)

P.S. Lab can be one of the FUNNEST things in nursing school. My partner and I laughed through the entire thing. Don't pass up a single opportunity. I highly recommend putting an adult diaper on your partner over his/her clothes. And nothing was funnier than listening through the curtain to the pair next to us during the breast exam practice... "Oh, your breasts are so smooth." "Why, thank you, they are smooth, aren't they" (they were using the strap on boobs).

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Specializes in Gynecology/Oncology.
Thankfully they wont let you practice or make pin cushions out of each other.

HIV/hep A-Z stopped that.

I heard we would have to inject each other with saline. Is it no longer allowed?

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O Heeeeelllllll Nooooooooo!!!!!!

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RE: Enemas in nursing school

OMG!!! Alright, things could always be worse! When I first came across this topic, I thought....what the??? baths in school? (I am beginning in August) But after reading THIS posting, I am viewing things differently! Baths wouldn't be so bad......SG

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Specializes in Rehab, Med Surg, Home Care.
I know how you feel, I was a bit surprised we had to do this too. It was very embarrassing for both of us involved. I lived through it, but hated it. It certainly didn't enhance my skills in anyway.

Can't picture you being embarrassed about ANYTHING, Tweety. Must have been many moons ago!

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Specializes in Pediatrics.
I have to disagree with this. By this logic, every nurse should experience chemotherapy, defibrillation, catheters, etc and etc. Patients go through a lot of s***. That doesn't mean the nurses should too because we are giving the care. Where is the line drawn?

Why does stripping down to your underwear in class make one a better nurse? I am wondering, but no one has quite answered that yet. We cannot and should not be forced to experience these things to be qualified as nurses.

If it came down to it and I was required to do this in my program, I would walk and find another school that doesn't make you do it. Sorry. I will suffer for my craft but this is too much intimacy. I am very modest and religious, and no one but my husband is going to touch me/bathe me unless I am truly in the hospital and being given real care.

It is a personal choice and should not be required.:uhoh3:

While I do not have a problem with the bathing itself, in your case, it's religious and understandable that you choose not to be bathed. An alternative must be offered, but outright refusal without seeking common ground with the instructor could be detrimental to your education. Personally, as a happily (most of the time LOL) married woman, I do not want another person of the opposite sex touching me or even looking at me too intently. On the other hand, if it's a female it could be ok, especially since these are the same people whom you will spend everyday with for years... your peers who will see you cry, moan, b*tch, complain, and cry some more. They will cry with you. It's all a bonding experience that will help us be better nurses and care for our patients holistically.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

We had to inject each other with saline. Oh that hurt. A couple of the SC injects that i was supposed to receive wound up as IMs.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

And we did breast exams on each other.

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Part of our physical assessment labs included doing a breast exam on a classmate with the instructor supervising.

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Specializes in Cath Lab, OR, CPHN/SN, ER.
I have to disagree with this. By this logic, every nurse should experience chemotherapy, defibrillation, catheters, etc and etc. Patients go through a lot of s***. That doesn't mean the nurses should too because we are giving the care. Where is the line drawn?

Why does stripping down to your underwear in class make one a better nurse? I am wondering, but no one has quite answered that yet. We cannot and should not be forced to experience these things to be qualified as nurses.

If it came down to it and I was required to do this in my program, I would walk and find another school that doesn't make you do it. Sorry. I will suffer for my craft but this is too much intimacy. I am very modest and religious, and no one but my husband is going to touch me/bathe me unless I am truly in the hospital and being given real care.

It is a personal choice and should not be required.:uhoh3:

We have a woman in our class who is Menninite (don't think I spelled it right, but similar to Amish, but def. more liberal). My school has been so understanding with her. She was in a different lab than mine, so I don't know what she did, if she did it. If your choice is for a religious reason, I don't see why you should do it. I am fully against bathing in underwear, or even swimsuits. We did ours in shorts and a tank top. I'm not asking we do all sorts of invasive procedures to each other. I do think it's helpful that some people experience what it's like. In EMT school, we never put each other on the ambulance and drove around. I was asleep (or trying to) in the back of the ambulance one day while we were coming back from somewhere, and it's very scary. I think sometimes it's ok to do things that put you in the patients point of view, but again, non-invasive. As Kiyasmom said, talk to someone about it first, because it sounds like most people have had to do this in their program. Don't just say outright you're not doing it. -Andrea

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