LPN students have to give bed bath to classmates

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I am taking lpn program and my teacher said we will be giving each other a bed bath anyone else have to do this? She said we can wear a bathing suite..I am freaked out.

Specializes in Cardiac Thoracic Surgery, Emergency Med.
I'm in an ADN program and we had to do this as well, we could wear boy shorts for underwear but were topless under the sheets, the whole point is to be able to give the pt a bath without exposing them at all, if it's done right you won't be seen, only felt through gloves and washcloth

That is ridiculous! You could still wear a bra or halter and reach the same goal. I absolutely would have a problem if my instructor had asked me to take my bra off.

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Specializes in DOU.
That is ridiculous! You could still wear a bra or halter and reach the same goal. I absolutely would have a problem if my instructor had asked me to take my bra off.

Yes, me too. It's not as if giving a bed bath is a highly specialized skill. I think this was WAY over the line.

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Specializes in 5th Semester - Graduation Dec '09!.
...we could wear boy shorts for underwear but were topless under the sheets...if it's done right you won't be seen, only felt through gloves and washcloth

Well, better hope that "it's done right!"

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Specializes in Med/Surg <1; Epic Certified <1.

Thankfully, we never had to do any of this with each other. I seriously think with all the problems with sexual harassment, etc., this is not a great idea anymore. There are enough weirdos in the world without us having to disrobe for each unnecessarily. UGH!!

I prefer to get to know my peers over a nice lunch, not over bedsheets!!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, ICU, ER, Peds ER-CPEN.
Yes, me too. It's not as if giving a bed bath is a highly specialized skill. I think this was WAY over the line.

While it may not seem as "cool" as other skills, it is the basic comfort to many of your patients, and in time you will have a patient that is so far down that the only thing they have left to their name is their dignity, if you cannot preserve your well classmate's dignity in this most simple of tasks and they yours, how do you think that patient would feel?? Sometimes it's the simplest tasks that take most care and thought :twocents:

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No, we didn't do that, and it's a good thing because we had such a varied group of students - from young hetero men to young gay men - and older women, including one who was the mom of one of the men - and several very obese women -two weighed over 400 lbs.

We did bed baths in our first clinicals which started the very first block. I thought that was good enough.

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If that freaks you out, don't go to midwifery school! We had to do lady partsl exams, Paps and breast exams on each other. At least since we were all women we had the same pieces and parts, and as midwifery students, we all knew we were going to be dealing with female anatomy on an everyday basis.

I found exam practice in the EMT program far more disconcerting, as all but one of the other students were male. Even though we were fully clothed, I felt very self-conscious and uncomfortable, especially since some of the guys seemed kind of pervy.

Zookeeper had great points about dignity, maintaining it and the care behind it. No one wants to have to have to have a bed bath, not patients nor students. It does put you in the same position, which can be an important reminder of the shoe on the other foot.

You will be ok, even if it feels a little crunchy, it will be over soon.

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Just be glad your not in Proctology School.:uhoh21:

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My physical assessment class was at the master's level. You haven't lived until you've done a breast exam on your lab partner. (Keep in mind our lab is set up like fourteen little offices with hospital curtains and all the equipment.)

(I will never forget this. We actually drew numbers to see who would go first. My partner drew the short stick, as it were. She came back into the curtained area with her gown on and sat on the edge of the table, looking nervous. I told her I would look away while she took her gown off and she said she'd be OK. She sat there for another couple of seconds. Then suddenly, she said, "OK, let's get it over with," and just whipped her gown off. We were both so startled by what she did we burst out laughing - and then we were OK!)

So a bathing suit for a bed bath really isn't that big of a deal - but I get where you're coming from. (Even though I understand and benefited from the whole head-to-toe physical exam deal, I really could have done without the stress myself.)

We all thought we'd be traumatized for life, but in truth, being uncomfortable in front of my classmate was actually a good learning experience. NOW the new class has professional model patients! We used to remind them of this little perk!

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Specializes in Cardiac Thoracic Surgery, Emergency Med.

We were not even allowed to do finger sticks on each other in college.

I am sorry, but there is absolutely no reason for anyone to have to get naked in class. Not only that, but for the poster that said that in midwifery school that you did lady partsl exams and paps on each other... what happens if you find something really wrong with your fellow student -- like maybe a tumor or something... what do you do? There is WAY too much that can go wrong. There was once a patient in the nursing program at my school that decided to be the guinea pig for an EKG. Well, she was the last one, because the instructor said that it was bad enough to send her to the hospital for a while and the EKG showed heart damage.

We had some really expensive "dummies" that were as close to human as possible. Other than that, we worked on patients. We did bed baths on patients in nursing homes in Nursing I. I just don't think it is appropriate to do pap smears on your fellow students.i

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Not only that, but for the poster that said that in midwifery school that you did lady partsl exams and paps on each other... what happens if you find something really wrong with your fellow student -- like maybe a tumor or something... what do you do? There is WAY too much that can go wrong.

Well, I am not sure what could really go wrong. Many women have had uncomfortable VEs, even at the "hands" of experienced practitioners. Other than that, it is really a matter of psychological discomfort. I should have prefaced by saying that students could opt out of the exam, but they couldn't then expect to perform an exam on someone else. Obviously, women on their menses or suspected of being pregnant were excused, as well anyone who felt strongly about it - perhaps a hx of sexual abuse, etc. Most really wanted the opportunity and were willing to undergo the exam. It can be easier to give your first exams on someone who can give you feedback, rather than on a patient or inanimate model. Though a variety of those were used as well. That is just not the same, no matter how realistic.

Naturally, everyone present knew that the student exam was not to take the place of an exam by a trained care provider. The Paps were for the student's technical experience, not to provide clinical information for the subject. The obtained samples were never sent in. If anything unusual was discovered on the exam, it would be recommended to consult an MD. Same as any other unusual finding. Same as finding someone has high blood pressure or whatever. I don't think anyone cancelled their well-woman annual visit because of the clean bill of health from their fellow classmates.

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I personally think it is ridiculous and see no benefit in it even after reading the posts. Mannequins in my opinion serve the purpose well enough for bathing.

Otherwise it really just opens up a can of worms. Religious and moral issues are two that are readily apparent.

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