pt baths

[ekeeven]

I work in a hospital as a nurse where I use to work as a tech... in the last year the hospital has decreased the number of techs we have and I feel like it has had a big impact on our patients... when I can I try to help my techs and potty patients often but when it comes to baths I usually do not have time... although I do sometimes and if I do than I have no problem helping out... but if I don't do my pts baths, pottying, q2 turns, act then I don't always feel like its getting done and I have noticed that all my patients baths are not always done because the techs are under staffed... I really want any advice anyone has on how we can better pur practice to prove better pt care with less techs

[ChipNurse]

Can half of the baths be completed on day shift and the other half on night shift? Or if your facility does 8 hr shifts, then day, evening and night shift can each have an assignment. Also, if at least 1 nurse can complete just one bath, then it would be manageable. How many patients do the aides have and how many patients do the nurses have?

[nrsang97, BSN, RN]

We would split the baths between shifts.

[JDZ344]

We split the baths between shifts, but day staff do most of them as they are way better staffed for AM shift in most cases (generally 3 or 4 assistants instead of 1 or 2).

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

Schedule baths. If you have 2 techs on, they do bathing of scheduled patients starting at say 10 am (after morning meds). Every patient/resident doesn't need to bathe daily. If you have patients/residents that are not total care, they can be set up with a basin to wash up. If you are a hospital unit with independent patients, they can bathe with a call bell. They don't necessarily need a tech with them.

Another thought is that when you do peri care of total care patients, and you have to change bedding, you would give a bed bath then to those patients/residents who are bedbound.