NOC Patient bathing

Nurses Safety

Published

Is it appropriate to insist that a patient receive a bath during the night shift to save the day shift some work and to suit the schedule of the hospital, or is the patient's rest more important?

Specializes in Government.

One of the reasons given for lower staffing at night is that nights doesn't have to do meals and baths. Sooo, doing a lot of bathing during 11-7 makes little sense staff wise. When I worked with brain injured/coma patients, I often did baths at night. Ditto the incontinent/ crying babies/ those who were up and requesting.

Specializes in Government.

One of the reasons given for lower staffing at night is that nights doesn't have to do meals and baths. Sooo, doing a lot of bathing during 11-7 makes little sense staff wise. When I worked with brain injured/coma patients, I often did baths at night. Ditto the incontinent/ crying babies/ those who were up and requesting.

I would think that if you put yourself in the place of your patient, asking how you would prefer to be bathed, etc., would make you remember that we are there for the patients. I would think that connecting with your patient and talking with them, will make them feel more at ease and make your job easier as well. So it really needs to be a patient by patient basis regardless of each shift. I will most likely start on NOC, so I would try as many of the posters above have stated, try to keep the patient in the loop of their care. If they are to have a early procedure, I tell them that they will be waked at a certain time. Patients that have at one time been very independent are going to find it extremely hard to realize that a lot of basic care is now going to be monitored by the hospital, and by allowing them some input would make it better for both patient and healthcare provider. Sorry for the rambling.

I would think that if you put yourself in the place of your patient, asking how you would prefer to be bathed, etc., would make you remember that we are there for the patients. I would think that connecting with your patient and talking with them, will make them feel more at ease and make your job easier as well. So it really needs to be a patient by patient basis regardless of each shift. I will most likely start on NOC, so I would try as many of the posters above have stated, try to keep the patient in the loop of their care. If they are to have a early procedure, I tell them that they will be waked at a certain time. Patients that have at one time been very independent are going to find it extremely hard to realize that a lot of basic care is now going to be monitored by the hospital, and by allowing them some input would make it better for both patient and healthcare provider. Sorry for the rambling.

Specializes in Home care, assisted living.

:uhoh3: Does anyone remember in the "old days" how all LTC residents were awakened and dressed around 4am and put in their wheelchairs for the convenience of day shift? All the residents would "snore" through breakfast. I am hoping this isn't done anymore.

Yes, it is. :angryfire

We have 16 residents on our Alzheimer unit. Day shift expects all the residents to be dressed, baths done, beds made, trash pulled (with a clean bag in EVERY trash can) and all residents sitting in the room at 7 AM. If every little piddlin' thing isn't done, they chew out the night shift and complain to mgmt. Recently day shift was told that they will be expected to help with getting residents up in the morning--and of course they balked.

I have come on that unit after 7 AM, and seen a resident's private sitter passing out the breakfast plates. Late one morning I noticed the day shift NA had her feet propped up, reading a magazine, while the residents were sitting in the living room, bored stiff. The director came over there another morning and told the NAs to get off their duffs and start getting the residents active. She gave them some activities to get them started. The nurse had no idea the residents were getting up so early and said it was no wonder they got their nights and days mixed up. Normally they get up around 5 or 5:30, but in the past we've had to start at 4 AM or even (gasp!) 3:30.

Specializes in Home care, assisted living.

:uhoh3: Does anyone remember in the "old days" how all LTC residents were awakened and dressed around 4am and put in their wheelchairs for the convenience of day shift? All the residents would "snore" through breakfast. I am hoping this isn't done anymore.

Yes, it is. :angryfire

We have 16 residents on our Alzheimer unit. Day shift expects all the residents to be dressed, baths done, beds made, trash pulled (with a clean bag in EVERY trash can) and all residents sitting in the room at 7 AM. If every little piddlin' thing isn't done, they chew out the night shift and complain to mgmt. Recently day shift was told that they will be expected to help with getting residents up in the morning--and of course they balked.

I have come on that unit after 7 AM, and seen a resident's private sitter passing out the breakfast plates. Late one morning I noticed the day shift NA had her feet propped up, reading a magazine, while the residents were sitting in the living room, bored stiff. The director came over there another morning and told the NAs to get off their duffs and start getting the residents active. She gave them some activities to get them started. The nurse had no idea the residents were getting up so early and said it was no wonder they got their nights and days mixed up. Normally they get up around 5 or 5:30, but in the past we've had to start at 4 AM or even (gasp!) 3:30.

Specializes in LTC, home health, critical care, pulmonary nursing.

Yes, it is. :angryfire

We have 16 residents on our Alzheimer unit. Day shift expects all the residents to be dressed, baths done, beds made, trash pulled (with a clean bag in EVERY trash can) and all residents sitting in the room at 7 AM. If every little piddlin' thing isn't done, they chew out the night shift and complain to mgmt. Recently day shift was told that they will be expected to help with getting residents up in the morning--and of course they balked.

I have come on that unit after 7 AM, and seen a resident's private sitter passing out the breakfast plates. Late one morning I noticed the day shift NA had her feet propped up, reading a magazine, while the residents were sitting in the living room, bored stiff. The director came over there another morning and told the NAs to get off their duffs and start getting the residents active. She gave them some activities to get them started. The nurse had no idea the residents were getting up so early and said it was no wonder they got their nights and days mixed up. Normally they get up around 5 or 5:30, but in the past we've had to start at 4 AM or even (gasp!) 3:30.

That is insane. Get ups start at 5:30, day shift comes in at 6:30, and we get right on the floor and help NOCs get people up. Breakfast comes at 7. They can't get 32 residents OOB in an hour and we cant get them up in 30 minutes. So we work together. WE make the beds after breakfast, baths are done during our shift, and as long as there is nothing smelly in the trash cans, and they're not overflowing, I say why waste the bags? I wouldn't want the next shift nitpicking at me, so I'm not going to do it to the shift before me.

Specializes in LTC, home health, critical care, pulmonary nursing.

Yes, it is. :angryfire

We have 16 residents on our Alzheimer unit. Day shift expects all the residents to be dressed, baths done, beds made, trash pulled (with a clean bag in EVERY trash can) and all residents sitting in the room at 7 AM. If every little piddlin' thing isn't done, they chew out the night shift and complain to mgmt. Recently day shift was told that they will be expected to help with getting residents up in the morning--and of course they balked.

I have come on that unit after 7 AM, and seen a resident's private sitter passing out the breakfast plates. Late one morning I noticed the day shift NA had her feet propped up, reading a magazine, while the residents were sitting in the living room, bored stiff. The director came over there another morning and told the NAs to get off their duffs and start getting the residents active. She gave them some activities to get them started. The nurse had no idea the residents were getting up so early and said it was no wonder they got their nights and days mixed up. Normally they get up around 5 or 5:30, but in the past we've had to start at 4 AM or even (gasp!) 3:30.

That is insane. Get ups start at 5:30, day shift comes in at 6:30, and we get right on the floor and help NOCs get people up. Breakfast comes at 7. They can't get 32 residents OOB in an hour and we cant get them up in 30 minutes. So we work together. WE make the beds after breakfast, baths are done during our shift, and as long as there is nothing smelly in the trash cans, and they're not overflowing, I say why waste the bags? I wouldn't want the next shift nitpicking at me, so I'm not going to do it to the shift before me.

I see this is somewhat of an old topic, but I'll reply anyway: at our facility, baths are labeled as a dayshift job. We have 5 nurses for 22 patients and 2 CNA's. They cannot possibly do all of those baths, or that's all they would get done. When a patient is requiring incontinent care routinely thru the night, it should not take that much longer to just give the complete bath. I don't see it really as an issue of convenience for the day shift. It is a matter of giving good patient care. Every little bit helps.

RN PA....IM FROM PA ALSO :) AND BOY, DOES YOUR STORY SOUND FAMILIAR!

Our night shift staff is encouraged to bathe patients who aren't oriented and maybe if they've had a bad episode of incontinence and need to be cleaned up anyway. They just give a little longer bath and they're ready for the day shift. I don't think it happens too often, though.

I quit working night shift a number of years ago at another hospital where I worked med-surg when day shift started demanding we do a certain amount of baths to help them out. It was the straw that broke the camel's back for me, dealing with their rotten attitudes every morning, and always getting management to dump more on us 11-7 staff. I had enough trouble caring for up to 14 patients-- no nurses' aides-- and an extremely lazy co-worker. Bleh! :angryfire BAD memories!

Specializes in Community Health Nurse.
Is it appropriate to insist that a patient receive a bath during the night shift to save the day shift some work and to suit the schedule of the hospital, or is the patient's rest more important?

I think it would be a nice suggestion for patients to receive their baths before bedtime so they can have a back massage, their sleeping pill, and lights out. They would no doubt sleep better, and rest is a very crucial part of healing. :) However..............:rolleyes:.........that is IF the hospital will permit patient's nurses to add this regime to patients plan of care (when possible). We have lost so much authority as nurses in doing what is best for patient's healing process that all we CAN do is suggest. :stone

If a patient is incontient during the night and needs a bath, give it. If a patient would rather shower during the evening then what's the problem? I think hospitals and nurses need to be more flexible and allow these alert, orientated and decision making adults the right to bath as they please. This blows my mind, I never had a problem like this in over 25 years!

+ Add a Comment