LPN students have to give bed baths to classmates?!

[Namine]

In class today, our instructor informed us that we would be required to give one another bed baths as part of the course. The majority of the class are females, and we also have a few men. We were told the men would work with the men, the women with the women.

Basically, we'd be required to bring a bathing suit to class, change and be (I hate to use the term this way) forced to recieve a bed bath. For many of us, this doesn't exactly sit well. I understand the experience is to give us a sense of empathy and compassion for patients, but for me personally, this is going a bit over the line and even though this is coming around in a few weeks, I'm already feeling extremely violated

We were also informed that if we refused, we would be kicked out of the program. Also, many of us don't even own bathing suits - as we were discussing it on break, about 70% of us don't even own one; we brought this up to our instructor and were told that if we didn't own one, we'd have to do it in our bras and underwear. Personally, this is really overwhelming for me.

Now, mind you, I do not have anything against giving a bath or bed bath to an individual - I worked in a NYS ARC for a period of time and that was part of my job as a direct support professional.

My issues with this are extremely personal - its not about stretch marks from pregnancy or weight gain like many of the other women had mentioned; I have some severe scarring from being a victim of abuse years ago. Its not something I wish to flaunt or have to explain to people. Even going to the doctor's office, I have a very difficult time undressing and more often than not, I keep my clothing on.

I read a previous post from 2008 on the subject - how many LPN students had to go through the same procedures, but there were also alternatives - dry baths, with students fully clothed, etc (I could deal with that).

I don't want to lose this oppertunity because of this (once again, refusal = dismissal from the program).

What would you do??

[SusanRN82]

you can watch a video, talk about it, demonstrate on a manikin, but there is nothing closer to the real thing than bathing another person. i was a cna instructor for 15 years and there was always a bath day when students would bathe each other (they would wear shorts & a t-shirt or bathing suit - it was up to them). they would demonstrate how to dress their partner after the bath (in sweats), fix their hair (as the "patient" requested), transfer them to a wheelchair, and then clean up the rooms, and finally make beds. knowing what it feels like to touch someone (who's not a loved one) and interacting with that person is a valuable part of this experience. also, putting all these skills together in one learning experience better prepared them for their clinical experience. most students wrote that they dreaded the bath day before it happened but, afterwards, almost everybody stated it was one of the best days in class (i always had them write their reflections about the experience.)

i had many students who confided in me about personal issues and how uncomfortable they felt being touched by another person or that they could not be "undressed" in mixed company. mutually agreed upon accommodations can always made - talk to your teacher. i'm sure s/he will be very understanding and caring. :redbeathe

[ChristinP]

We wore tanks and shorts in a class and pared females with females and the males with males. It really wasn't that big of a deal, we didn't use use water because our class room was freezing. The pericare was skipped, you verbalized the steps

It was a good learning tool. As the person receiving the bed bath you understood what a patient might be feeling and how vulnerable it is for some people.

[Spiker, ASN, RN, EMT-P]

My first inclination would be to go up the institution's "chain of command". As an RN for over 30 years, I always use this as the forum to voice a complaint or concern. Jumping over someone's head causes problems. That said, who have you approached regarding this? If it was your instructor, with no result, then up to the next level. I'm not sure what type of LVN program you're in: I was in college, with several levels of the "chain of command". Maybe there is a department head you could speak with. If not, how about the program director? I would also assume there is some form of student advisor department (like a guidance counsellor) who could help you get your concerns addressed. I myself find this "requirement" very objectionable, & I think the threat of dismissal for that reason would warrant further attention. When I was in college we learned bed baths by using mannequins. This should be more the norm, rather than forcing you to be given a bed bath. Good luck...I'll be curious to see the final outcome!

[tjstrong]

We did it during skills test....but the "patients" were other instructors/former students(from outside of our class) paid as "actors" but also professional enough to critique our technique. For practice we used mannikins/each other and were able to pick a partner, or choose an instructor/aide.

[cosmicsun]

Wow - it sounds like a total violation of privacy. Your relationship with your classmates is much different than with a patient. I would see if it is in the written policies that you have to participate in this or be kicked out. Being clothed and simulating a bath sounds reasonable.

I don't know who else you would go to - an agency that oversees Education....

[Guppy]

...that is completely WACKO...old school here and we had to do it on a life sized doll...tell your instructor to go to Macys or whereever to get one...no way would my classmates have been touching me...what the H...geez whats next

[CaDad]

Hmmmm-It amazes me that a few of the posters here don't get what the instructor is trying to get across, that is how the PT feels when they are subject to being bathed by someone they don't know. I find it amazing how a few think there is somehow a difference. Shorts and a top should be more than adequate though, I can't imagine an instructor not allowing this. Just because you have been abused ( and I am very sad this happened to you) does not excuse you or anyone else. Just what has that do do with becoming a nurse anyways? And I find it amazing that anmonimous suggests practicing on a PT, Hello! They are people also-how would you like someone practicing bathing you? I find it interesting how some wish to put the PT in the indifferent category, like they are not really alive with emotions and feeling.Just my humble 2cents worth.

[muffylpn]

Yup had to do it-hated did it moved on-we had on swim suits. Sorry to tell u there will be alot of things in LPN school u hate. It has not changed in 21 yrs cause my daughter just graduated in June.

[julopy]

:)I am in nursing school too, and we have done multiple labs in which we have carried out procedures on our peers. However, we are told to let the instructors know if we feel too much anxiety or embarrassment. As Far as bed baths we will be doing those in clinical not the classroom. My instructors want us to pass and be the best nurse's we can be. They are supporting and there for us. It sounds to me like your instructors need to be more considerate of the students. But if it is necessary to perform bed baths on each other then just remain in the nurses role and do your best.:)

[crossingfingers10]

That sounds crazy to me. We did bed baths on our mannequins, but if we were required to practice on each other it would have been with regular clothes on. There's no reason to strip down to your bathing suit. I'm sure most of your class feels uncomfortable about it, although you definitely have good reason to be more hesitant and uncomfortable than most. I would first try and talk to your nursing program director and see if this is something that the program has always done and go from there. If the whole class disagrees with this then you could approach it as a class, or you could talk to your instructor/director privately about your concerns. Maybe if you talked with them privately, you could bring up the fact that they don't know everyone else's pasts either, and this might be an issue for multiple students, and maybe a better alternative would be to just do practice baths with full clothing on. Also, you could have a class discussion and have your class president approach the instructor or director and say that as a class, you guys are not comfortable with this lab procedure and an acceptable alternative would be to do practice baths with clothes on. We did this multiple times in our program, although not for the same issue. We would have a class discussion, then our class president and vice president would talk to the director about our concerns and proposed solutions, then the director would come talk to our class. Hopefully some of this helped. Good Luck!

[Cuezee2]

We also had to do that in nursing school...it didn't sit well with us either. Most of the girls wore sports bras and running shorts, but some chose not to participate. We were not forced into doing this. The only "good" part of the exercise is that one can get an idea of how vulnerable our patients feel when they are the ones lying there naked, relying on us for bed baths and peri care. Our professors wanted us to understand how embarrassing it can feel and to keep that in mind when we took care of others; basically to treat every body with respect. Do you think you could discuss with your professor why you have such strong personal feelings against the exercise? Maybe if she understood where you are coming from she will make an exception. I wish you the best!!

[KeithT66]

I find this a bit extreme. I just graduated RN school and we worked on manequins in the lab and then were observed live bed baths with patients by our clinical instructors. I also work for a NY ARC as a trainer and often times ask that DSP staff experience things such as being in a wheelchair, or blindfolded etc... so they may feel what it is like to not have all their abilities so to better empathize with the individuals we serve but a bed bath is over the top.

My sister had to do the bed bath thing in LPN school many many years ago. I think that bottom line is this... you are going to have to do it. In most cases like this the school is going to win and if you refuse and are kicked out its going to delay you finishing school etc...

If I was you I would go out and get SPANX and where those as your "bathing suit." Dont say anthing just show up in your spanx and go for it. That way the spanx will hide the scars you dont wish to disclose while almost appearing as if you are unclothed and ready for a bed bath.

Then when you have your diploma - call a lawyer and file suit.

Good luck.