Nursing is a professional job that deals with providing excellent patient care. But with their complex nursing skills, a lot of people usually ask, do nurses clean up poop? And the answer to that is yes. But cleaning stool is actually just a part of being a nurse. Students who are quite anxious about this should not worry.
It is important for nurses to keep the entire skin of the patient clean at all times to prevent complications and help make the patient comfortable, especially if they are suffering from a serious illness. It takes dedication and a compassionate heart for being a nurse, to properly handle their patients.
Do All Nursing Positions Require the Cleaning of Poop?
Some people want to know what kind of nurse does not deal with poop. Whether you are a registered nurse at any department in the hospital on any shift, you will encounter cleaning poop. Most of those who are in the nursing profession including those at the clinical and most nursing students clean poop.
It is not the most appealing part of being a nurse, and it is the same with handling vomit, blood, sputum, and others. But cleaning poop is actually done as a team effort. It is very important to clean the body of the patients in a team of nurses to ensure comfort for the patients and observe improvement in their health condition.
During this time of health crisis, nurses working on hospital floors are most to encounter cleaning poop because of the high number of inpatients. Hospitals are usually full from time to time which makes it more prone for nurses to experience cleaning.
As for nurses with specialties, there are those who seldom or may rarely clean poop because they are focused more on management work and on the business side of nursing; they could be nurse managers or head nurses.
To reach the level of a head nurse or nurse manager, you will still start off from being a registered nurse on the floor of a department.
How Often do Nurses Need to Clean Up Poop?
As nurses, cleaning stools can be a frequent experience depending on how many inpatients you may encounter in every shift. How often you clean stool depends on the health condition of each patient under your care. It will also depend on what part of the hospital you are needed most to work together with the doctors.
Consider yourself lucky if you experience fewer or no patients to deal with bowel problems the entire day. There are instances of the frequent need to put out stools. For example, if patients are diagnosed with illnesses causing irregular bowel movements, then expect to clean more poops.
It could be a case where a patient has an ileostomy. It involves assistance and frequent changing of ostomy bags and cleaning the stoma. Paralyzed or immobile patients also require consistent cleaning, not just of stool, but their entire skin. Sometimes they may need bathing, changing of clothes, and new bed covers.
Making sure that the patient's skin is really clean for them to be comfortable all day. You would not want any small amount of stool, vomit, or urine clinging to their skin as it may be a source of infection. And this is why cleaning should really be done by a team of nurses and not just assistants.
Tips on How to Clean Poop from Patient
Nurses who are just starting their nursing careers find new strategies on stool cleaning from each differing experience. To clean up a small amount of solid poop is much different when you deal with big solid poop and leaking liquid stools. These all depend on the bowel movement and habits of the patient.
First of all, it is important to know the things that are needed to be prepared before the cleaning work. Double-check the items with your fellow nurse team before starting the cleaning process. Next is to wear a pair of disposable gloves.
If you're worried about the scent of stool being stuck on your hands, wear two pairs of gloves. When you're done cleaning, make sure you wash your hands well with water and soap.
Below are Tips on How to Clean Poopy Patients:
Liquid Stool
If the stool of the patient is liquid, check if it is all contained in the underwear or diaper. If it is contained, you may use a towel or an extra bed pad to protect the linen. But if it's not contained, you will have to clean the bed too.
It's a good thing that liquid stool is easy to clean. Contain it first on the front going to the side then carefully roll up the underwear or diaper and remove it. Then wipe the patient from front to back with soapy water and cloth or wipes. Use a soft cloth to pat them dry.
Solid of Soft Stool
If the stool is solid or soft, it is difficult to clean but much easier to contain. You can wipe the poop with damp towels, then gently wash the area with warm water and a soft cloth.
Rinse thoroughly and dry the site properly. In case you are to encounter a large patient with chunks of poop, you may put an extra towel underneath. First, try to wipe up things on the front, then carefully clean going to the sides. Take note to use a mild or hypoallergenic soap if needed and do not use wet wipes if you find rashes on the area.
Always remember to wash from front to back especially for women. This will prevent poop from getting stuck in the genitals like the vaginal folds. Poop particles that lodge in the genitals contain bacteria that might cause infection.
Stool on Clothes or Bed Pan
If the stool is on the patient's clothes or the bed pad, wipe it off with a paper towel before taking them to the laundry. Toilet paper can be used to remove minimal quantities of poop. Sometimes the side railings of the bed and a lot of things around the patient are covered with poop.
Nurses should clean the patient first to avoid much mess during the cleaning job. Also, disinfect hard surfaces after the clean-up.
With the help of fellow nurses and assistants, each patient regardless of their weight receives the proper care they deserve as they recover. The nurses tend to get much better as they handle each patient as time passes.
What If a Nurse Struggles with the Smell or Sight of the Stool?
Many nurses who are new to the nursing profession struggle with the smell or sight of stool especially when they're new in the career.
But as a nurse, you need to accept and understand that the smell and sight of the stool are a part of the job. It takes deep compassion to take care of people to do these cleaning jobs as a nurse. If you really want to make your nursing profession fulfilling but still struggles with cleaning poop, here are some tips you may find helpful for your work.
1. Check the patient's chart first before going inside the room to determine any infections that may cause the bad smell of the stool. This will help you prepare for the bad odor.
2. Wear one or two surgical masks and try smearing toothpaste inside the mask to set it like a barrier to bad odors. You may also try dabbing peppermint oil, eucalyptus, or lavender inside the mask.
3. Empathize with your patient. Hold on to that very purpose why you want this job and focus on your will to take care of patients.
4. It may also help to expose yourself to unsettling sights. This will help you be less affected as you clean poop throughout your shift.
5. Keeping coffee beans in your bag may also work in eliminating all those mixed odors stuck on your nose. The strong and relaxing aroma of coffee will surely help you deal with the next patient you are to give care to.
Developing a strong stomach is just one of the many nursing lessons you are to learn while working on your goals. As a nurse, one of the most challenging parts of your work is to never give up and never stop giving quality care.
But aside from being available to every patient all day, sometimes you tend to forget about yourself. You also have to take good care of yourself and find solutions for every nursing struggle you experience.
Conclusion
Handling poop can be one of the biggest struggles of being a nurse, but with deep compassion for people, you won't see this as a struggle but a mission to fulfill. Aside from stool, nurses also deal with vomits, saliva, urine, and other bodily fluids.
Being a nurse might no longer sound being a glamorous job because of this part, but with the right focus and determination, you can be as efficient as you thought you can't be.
To reach efficient service for every patient you clean will take a lot of practice and consistency. Considering that almost every patient has a unique mess means they need a special way of handling it.
Always remember to prepare everything before you clean. This will help you accomplish your job neatly and save time to accommodate more patients. Make your newfound strategy in every patient be your habit. Also, as nurses, you should never forget to secure your own safety and health.
This why we listed tips about poopy patients and about handling bad odors and sight of stool. We hope these will be helpful for our dear nurses and aspiring students.
Now, do nurses have to clean poop? Yes, cleaning the poop of a patient is one of the nursing skills that our dear nurses have to learn and live with. Stool, being hazardous needs sensitive handling to avoid complications on the patient's condition. You may feel slow as you start developing your nursing skills, but by giving special quality care to every patient, you will be better.