Checklists for Clinical Nursing Skills

134

SKILL 7-1 Giving a bed bath (continued)

Comments

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Satisfactory

Needs practice

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15. Raise the bed side rails. Fill the basin with a sufficient amount of comfortably warm water (43°C to 46°C) and change the water as necessary throughout the bath. Lower the side rail closest to you when you return to the bedside to begin the bath. 16. Fold the washcloth like a mitt on your hand so that there are no loose ends. 17. Lay a towel across the patient’s chest and on top of the blanket. 18. With no soap on the washcloth, wipe one of the patient’s eyes from the inner part of the eye, near the nose, to the outer part. Rinse or turn the cloth before washing the other eye. 19. Cleanse the patient’s face, neck and ears, avoiding soap on the face if preferred. Rinse as necessary and dry. 20. Expose the patient’s far arm and place the towel lengthwise under it. Using firm strokes, wash the hand, arm and axilla, lifting the arm as necessary to access the axillary region. Rinse if necessary and dry. 21. Place a folded towel on the bed next to the patient’s hand and put the basin on the towel. Soak the patient’s hand in the basin. Wash the hand, rinse if necessary and dry. 22. Repeat steps 20 and 21 for the arm nearer you. Alternatively, to avoid back strain you can bathe one side of the patient first and then move to the other side of the bed to complete the bath. 23. Spread a towel across the patient’s chest. Lower the sheet or blanket to the patient’s umbilical area. Wash, rinse and dry the chest. Keep the chest covered with the towel between the wash and rinse. Pay special attention to the folds of skin under the breasts. 24. Lower the blanket to the perineal area. Place a towel over the patient’s chest. 25. Wash, rinse and dry the abdomen. Carefully inspect and clean the umbilical area and any abdominal folds or creases. 26. Return the sheet or blanket to its original position and expose the patient’s far leg. Place the towel under this leg. Using firm strokes, wash, rinse and dry the leg from ankle to knee and knee to groin.

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Copyright © 2014 by Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Checklists for Clinical Nursing Skills by Louise Sparkes, Jennifer Bassett and Elisabeth Jacob.