why the lack of baths

AmericanRN · Jul 1, 2011

"Being woken up for VS, etc, is par for the course when you're in the hospital. So many people have this same complaint, but really.....if you didn't need to be monitored around the clock, you wouldn't need to be in the hospital at all."
Yes that is veary true BUT every hour /40 mins how about coming in and doing more then one thing at a time ?and waking me up just to tell me I my BP is low "thanks I know that its also in my chart" But really how can I sleep ?

your blood pressue was checked every hour? well then you must have been more unstable physically then you are aware of. As for low BP if you were my patient and your BP was dropping below your normal baseline of low BP you better believe I would be waking you to make sure you still had the ability to wake up and wasn't about to code. As far as your soaked bandages weren't you post op? Some surgeons don't want anyone but themselves to do the first dressing change so that might be why they mentioned needing an order for your bandages and a bath. Were they truly bloody or was it drainage of another sort? Perhaps your surgeon also said "no bath" or "no full immersion in water for 24-48 hours' or whatever it was that he or she wrote.

I agree that your basin should have filled with water so you could brush your teeth and wash your face. That also would have prevented you from having to get up as unsteady as you said you were. That I have a problem with it as you could have fallen. I think it was an oversight more then neglect when it comes to that basin of water.

I am sorry you had a bad experience but at this point you are nitpicking about the vs checks, meds and blood draws. I'm thinking you were asleep most of your stay and some point needed to be woken up to take your meds. We don't get to pick what time blood is drawn, lab needs it by a certain time and thats the way it is. Wouldn't you rather we be in there checking your vital signs and snapping you out of an overly sedated sleep then taking a chance that you could have dying in that room from some post surgical complication? You also mentioned many people were in your room on and off. That doesn't sound to me like they had necessary staff to be able to bathe you, sounds more like they were concerned you were going to be the next rapid response and were getting multiple sets of eyes in there to observe you.

Trekfan · Jul 1, 2011

Yes you are right and I see your point about every one comming in:) and I did not mean to nitpick at some point someone asked me on here and I just made a comment ,thats all and yes in I was glad that they did come and check on me:):redbeathe , I was just a little upset more about the leaving the room when I needed help to the sink then anything eles , " but oh well stuff happens "

did not mean to start a war between ,floors, night and day shifts just wanted to ask and commint :)

anotherone, BSN, RN · Jul 2, 2011

Different reasons I guess. On a similar note I strongly dislike HAVING TO ENCOURAGE OR ASSIST WALKIE TALKIES WITH BATHS/SHOWERS. . Do you really need me to tell you it is bath time? Some times we don't even have cnas which means. I get report and start vitals/assessments and med pass by the time that is done it is sometimes 10am. then i can start baths. keep in mind other things occur, soon its 12 meds, etc. Some patients, the ones that actually need someone to wash them up can take about 30mins and another staff member to help turn and repo. so i need to coordinate what i have to do and have someone else be free at that time. well meanwhile pt 204s bs is 35 so now i gotta deal with that. sometimes. it is never ending and baths get pushed to the back. When we have adequate staff on our floor everyone gets washed up unless they refuse. I resent having to ask walkie talkies " want to get washed up!!!!!?!?!?!?!!??!" and the ones that need help want it at a specific time which would be fine except 8am IS MAJOR MED PASS TIME AND that is the priority. we tried to do some baths at night where i work and aside from there being even less staff the pts who were oriented enough to know what was going on did not want to be washed up during our 3-5 am downtime......

thehipcrip · Jul 3, 2011

when a patient is about to be discharged i don't normally offer to help them clean up for two reasons. first, most people would rather just wait until they get in their own home and bathe there. secondly, if you're about to be discharged, you need to start doing things on your OWN. nobody is going to be there to clean between your toes when you get home.

Having no one to help a patient bathe or having an inaccessible tub/shower at home may, in fact, be the reason that some patient seek help with bathing just before being discharged.

There have been a number of times when I was released from a hospital stay without being able to step into the tub/shower combo I had at home. The assistance of a CNA or nurse with using the hospital's walk/roll-in bathroom right before being discharged enabled me to take one last real shower and wash my hair before heading home to bed baths and no rinse shampoo. Being able to go home with a clean body and hair was a godsend, and I've never forgotten the nurses who made that possible.

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Jul 3, 2011

Some of these posts remind me of when I work post partum. 9/10 mommies complain that they didn't sleep a lick last night because the baby wanted to latch on every 2 hrs. All this while their spouse snored away at her bedside.

These are the same women who do not hesitate to call the nursery to send the kid off so they can sleep and are bottle fed at night and breastfed in the day. lol

My answer is always.........."welcome to motherhood" ha!

Anyhow, way off topic.............carry on.

ashleyisawesome, BSN, RN · Jul 3, 2011

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I haven't read the whole thread yet and I hope someone has addresses this.........
If I am alert and oriented and you WAKE ME UP!!!!! to offer a bath and I am NOT in critical care........beware you WILL recieve an ear full of expletives and obscenities. If I have to choose sleep at night or missing a bath.....I'll miss the bath and have my family help me.
A BATH TECH???? What are the qualifications and educational requirments to becomming a bath tech?
What is the problem? I am confused............Giving baths have always been apart of nursing. We have ALWAYS been "BUSY" How do you make sure your patients get their baths.....do you give the bath yourself? and If you can make notice that the CNA's are sitting around and could be giving baths...why not grab one of them and say...."Let's go wash up "324" together and get it over with........it should be pretty quick with the 2 of us..."
When did being a nurse and bathing become mutually exclusive? I noticed this when my Dad was in the hospital right before he passed.......bathing seemed to be a special order and an additional charge. I would ask if my Dad had been bathed and I would be told he was "washed up". I found him with betadine still on him from the day before (he had a vascath inserted) surgery EKG leads still on his back and last night's dinner crumbs in bed. WHen I complained everyone looked suprised.....I was told they "straighted his linnen up, changed his gown and helped him wash his face" andhe said he was fine......Really? Dad was pretty obtunded at the time, had a new vascath. a foley, an IV, and O2.......I was P.O.'d:devil:
From then on they got what they hoped......I did my fathers care.....

i work per diem at a LTC and we have a position that they affectionately refer to as "bath girl". haha. its the shift i mostly take because its only 4 hours (5-9 at night), and all i have to do is all the showers for the night, and help with dinner. i can see how this position could be helpful in acute care too, it would free up the other cnas to do all their other tasks and not be rushing around to do baths all night.

AmericanRN · Jul 3, 2011

Yes you are right and I see your point about every one comming in:) and I did not mean to nitpick at some point someone asked me on here and I just made a comment ,thats all and yes in I was glad that they did come and check on me:):redbeathe , I was just a little upset more about the leaving the room when I needed help to the sink then anything eles , " but oh well stuff happens "
did not mean to start a war between ,floors, night and day shifts just wanted to ask and commint :)

Oh shift wars between days and night are easily started with nurses, techs, and mds. No way is any of that related to anything you said.

I did agree though that you should not have been left to get to the sink by yourself especially with that hx of low BP. I wasn't there but I do feel that every patient should at least have access to wash their face, armpits and privates and in that exact order :lol2:

I have some concerns regarding your memory issues with words that you mentioned in an earlier post. I know you have tools you use to see better but I am concerned that you forget what it is you were looking at so quickly after reading it. I am not the spelling police and please don't think I'm picking on you but it seems that many of your misspelled words appear to be more neurological in nature and not just a vision issue.

Have you seen a neurologist and had a thorough neuro workup that included both CT scan and MRI of your brain with & without contrast? Have you ever been hooked up to an EEG for long term monitoring? I would like if you checked into getting this done if you haven't done so already.

wanderlust99 · Jul 3, 2011

Many times patients forget they received a bath, or what one person thinks of a bath ( a wipe down the the "warm wipes" ) isn't a bath to the patient.

Trekfan · Jul 3, 2011

Oh shift wars between days and night are easily started with nurses, techs, and mds. No way is any of that related to anything you said.
I did agree though that you should not have been left to get to the sink by yourself especially with that hx of low BP. I wasn't there but I do feel that every patient should at least have access to wash their face, armpits and privates and in that exact order
I have some concerns regarding your memory issues with words that you mentioned in an earlier post. I know you have tools you use to see better but I am concerned that you forget what it is you were looking at so quickly after reading it. I am not the spelling police and please don't think I'm picking on you but it seems that many of your misspelled words appear to be more neurological in nature and not just a vision issue.
Have you seen a neurologist and had a thorough neuro workup that included both CT scan and MRI of your brain with & without contrast? Have you ever been hooked up to an EEG for long term monitoring? I would like if you checked into getting this done if you haven't done so already.

I was trying to find a way to e-mail you without posting it here but I could not . I did have an mri after I woke up with more vision loss one day and fell to floor so dizzy I could not stand and my legs went num do not remeber now if it was one or both . my eye doc said that the problem was not my eyes and sent for a mri that morning ,all they found was white matter headache spots witch i am told everyone has??

I was at some point sent to a nurolgest and that was useless they did an eeg but found nothing . my doc sent me for a 2nd appen after that day I was found frozen at my desk for 20mins but I ended up with a worst doc . this one wanted to charge me to read my med hesstry , told me I leid about having a referral . she then tried to defrode my insurance "what" anyway my doc. told me she wrote some nasty letter ad sent it out because she was mad that my frend went over there and crusted her out .. my doc did call me and said that she was sorry that she had put here name on a referral list without checking her out :devil: turns out this doc has a lot of complaints .

anyway now I at work when I come in I have to right what day it is and the date and put it infrount of me so I know if i do not i will put the wrong day on everything . its A RELLY bad filling to do work then look at a stack of work and then not remember doing it :confused: even worse is to look up and not remeber the co-worker sitting next to you and have to ask them theere name :uhoh3:my pcp just quit the office and the new one whats me to be tested for ADD but its not covered will cost $500-$700 and I am told that a lot of the test is visual and will not work well for me .

So yes I do sadly relize that there is little hope of me be coming an Rn at this point but hay I can hope .

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jul 3, 2011

if you want to sleep, go home. you don't go to the hospital for sleep.

Not every patient get awakened around the clock and we all know it....... :cool: . Patients get awakened enough for medical neccesities that unless absolutely necessary they should not be awakened at 3am for a bath unless non-responsive, confused, or soiled. Sensory over load and sleep depravation can lead to pyschosis and confusion......so rest IS important.

I get admitted for IVIG and believe you me if I could get it paid for by somehow doing it at home, or an outpatient, I would.I HATE HOSPITALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :devil: PEROID!!!!!!!!!!! I don't object to vitals, meds or medically necessary stuff being done but after vitals, meds, IV beeps, bag changes......I don't need a bath 2 hours later at 3 am. I am the first to admit.....I don't want help. I am fiercely independent and I am fighting to stay that way but sometime when someone asks...."DO you need help?" with their hand on their hip, looking at their watch, shifting their weight....it is abundantly clear you.....

#1 Do NOT want to help

#2 You clearly feel I don't need help

#3 You have better things to do.

I have been a nurse for 32 years and just VERY recently become disabled and unable to work. So I know Betadine comes off with soap and water. I have bathed open hearts when we gave full, head to toe betadine baths and they were painted with betadine in the OR......I was able to have the betadine and the old OR EKG patches off with the first bath. My dad was given substandard care and my complaint includes more than just a lack of bathing but there was a definate air of staff being inconvenienced when they were required to do more than my Dads vitals and some of these responses make it clear to me that in some cases something has changed in the way patients are cared for or the vibe of caring for others like it's an inconvience because something is needed........and before anyone askes you bet I complained.

I know I will get plenty of angry, derogatory, sarcastic responses tell me to get a life, how clueless and wrong I am and how miserable I am......how miserable they are, how poorly staff is treated and how hard nursing is but, nursing has always been hard. I always made sure my patients were clean and comfy with fresh sheets, teeth brushed, shaved and hair combed. Sure there have always been those lazy manipulative jerks trying as ever to work the system to their favor and had to be dealt with........ but over all pulling a chair into the bathroom for the surgical patient about ready to go home can't be that hard....sometime a smile and a "are you sure you don't need anything" and actually mean :idea: it can go a long way.

To some......I pray you always keep your health. Remember you too shall become old and weak and maybe confused and senile. I pray you will never be at the mercy of a complete stranger snapping her gum with clearly somewhere else she needs to be glancing at her watch every 2 seconds while you try to seek comfort, answers to question, or general information when you are frustrated and frightened and in a dependent position you have NEVER been in before today. :crying2: That if you can't get your arm over your head to comb your hair when you have been the type to wear mascara and blush to the mail box.......that you aren't faced with gum snapping, eye rolling, impatient nurse (not a rare occurence)that cleary wants to leave. :smokin:

I get it....you are stressed and busy. I get it I am not your priority. I would rather jump out the window that admit I require help being a recently sidelined nurse myself.......just try to remember to pause long enough so I think you know my name, have your smile reach your eyes, and try real hard not to keep looking at your watch to indicate you have somewhere else to be and that even a seasoned old broad like me can be afraid.

Try to remember this when you are having a bad day. It's not the patient's fault (most of the time) that they are in the hospital and need help. Yes there are plenty of jerks out there and they will never go away:uhoh3: but try to at least once a day, put yourself in your patients place and ask yourself.....is this how you would want to be treated or how you would want your mother, father, spouse or child to be treated? :oornt: Thanks....

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jul 3, 2011

I was trying to find a way to e-mail you without posting it here but I could not . I did have an mri after I woke up with more vision loss one day and fell to floor so dizzy I could not stand and my legs went num do not remeber now if it was one or both . my eye doc said that the problem was not my eyes and sent for a mri that morning ,all they found was white matter headache spots witch i am told everyone has??
I was at some point sent to a nurolgest and that was useless they did an eeg but found nothing . my doc sent me for a 2nd appen after that day I was found frozen at my desk for 20mins but I ended up with a worst doc . this one wanted to charge me to read my med hesstry , told me I leid about having a referral . she then tried to defrode my insurance "what" anyway my doc. told me she wrote some nasty letter ad sent it out because she was mad that my frend went over there and crusted her out .. my doc did call me and said that she was sorry that she had put here name on a referral list without checking her out turns out this doc has a lot of complaints .
anyway now I at work when I come in I have to right what day it is and the date and put it infrount of me so I know if i do not i will put the wrong day on everything . its A RELLY bad filling to do work then look at a stack of work and then not remember doing it even worse is to look up and not remeber the co-worker sitting next to you and have to ask them theere name :uhoh3:my pcp just quit the office and the new one whats me to be tested for ADD but its not covered will cost $500-$700 and I am told that a lot of the test is visual and will not work well for me .
So yes I do sadly relize that there is little hope of me be coming an Rn at this point but hay I can hope .

YOu need to keep searching for a doctor who will listen.....ADD??? Really? with your medical history? Keep searching......it took me a LONG time to finally find out what was wrong and about 20 doctors.....keep trying.:heartbeat

AmericanRN · Jul 3, 2011

Trek,

I sent a message to you privately. Hopefully you will be able to access it.

Esme I agree with you on MANY points. Our field is going downhill fast for many reasons. I am not sure how we can go about fixing this broken system we're in.