5.26 Skills Checklist: Assisting With a Bedpan
- Gather Supplies: Gloves, bedpan, barrier, and toilet tissue
- Routine Pre-Procedure Steps:
- Knock on the client’s door.
- Perform hand hygiene.
- Maintain respectful, courteous, and professional communication at all times.
- Introduce yourself and identify the resident.
- Provide for privacy.
- Explain the procedure to the client.
- Procedure Steps:
- Put on gloves.
- Turn the resident or raise their hips and place a barrier (e.g., a towel, waterproof soaker pad, disposable pad) under their buttocks.
- Position the resident on the bedpan/fracture pan correctly. The deeper portion of the bedpan should be directed toward their toes, and the resident should be centered on the bedpan. For fracture bedpans, the handle should be directed toward their toes.
- Raise the head of the bed to a comfortable level.
- Cover the resident with linens or a bath blanket.
- Leave toilet tissue within reach of the resident.
- Leave the call light within reach of the resident.
- Wait nearby allowing for resident privacy.
- When the resident signals, return and assist the resident to perform hand hygiene.
- Discard the soiled linen in the designated laundry hamper.
- Gently remove the bedpan/fracture pan.
- Assist with perineal care.
- Empty the bedpan into the toilet or into a graduated cylinder if output is being recorded. Note the amount and characteristics (i.e., color, clarity, sediment, or unusual odor) of the urine. Empty the urine from the graduated cylinder used into the toilet.
- Rinse the equipment used and empty the rinse water into the toilet.
- Remove the gloves, turning them inside out.
- Post-Procedure Steps:
- Perform hand hygiene.
- Check for resident comfort and ask if anything else is needed.
- Ensure the bed is low and locked. Check the brakes.
- Place the call light or signaling device within reach of the resident.
- Open the door and privacy curtain.
- Perform hand hygiene.
- Document urinary output in mL and report any issues or changes noted with the resident.
View a YouTube video[1] of an instructor demonstrating assisting with a bedpan:
- Chippewa Valley Technical College. (2022, December 3). Assisting with a Bedpan. [Video]. YouTube. Video licensed under CC BY 4.0. https://youtu.be/WCg57s4HGhc ↵
