Journal Instruction and Topic
The topic that we are going to write in our journal today is about “Bed Making and Providing Holistic Care.”
Holistic Care means caring for the whole person—the mind as well as the body.
Here’s my nursing assistant online class teacher’s instruction. . .
Think about, then write about, the following, or choose your own comments related to the topic of bedmaking.
You need to change the linens of a patient’s bed who had diarrhea, because she is having chemotherapy for cancer.
Besides sheets, what other supplies will you need to collect to provide care for this patient? What do you need to consider in order to provide holistic care?
Journal Entry: Bed Making and Providing Holistic Care to a Patient
Read my journal entry below. . .
When my husband was diagnosed with cancer, towards the end of his life he was under the care of hospice.
He had chemotherapy but he never had diarrhea.
One day a Nursing Assistant (NA) came to our house and gave him a bath and changed his bedding. I had observed how the NA changed my husband’s bedding.
When the NA changed his bed, she made the bed one side at a time. She assisted my husband to turn on his side toward the other side of the bed.
The NA rolled the soiled linen toward against the back of my husband and tucked it snugly (the dirty part was inside as she rolled the linen). Then she put a clean mattress cover, a clean bed sheet, and a draw sheet. Then she rolled my husband onto the clean sheet.
She went to the other side of the bed. Then she removed the dirty sheet and pulled the mattress cover, clean bed sheet, and draw sheet.
With the draw sheet, the NA asked me to help her in moving my husband up towards the head of the bed. The NA had changed his bedding systematically.
In my assessment with regards to changing the bed of a resident with a diarrhea, besides the clean linen, I would need clean gloves, a mask, a disposable gown to protect myself, and disposable bed protector.
Gowns are needed to wear over the uniform when there is a possibility of getting in contact with body fluids.
Diarrhea is a liquid stool, so an NA needs to wear the gown when making the bed soiled with diarrhea. Contact with feces is likely when changing a bed soiled with diarrhea.
Gowns, gloves and mask are one of the protective personal equipment that guard us from getting contaminated.
The disposable protector protects the bed linen from the liquid stool to penetrate through the bedding. This prevents the bed sheet from getting soiled from the diarrhea. It saves time to change the bed when another diarrhea would occur. You don’t need to change the linen.
The resident or patient might feel embarrassed about the soiled linen with diarrhea.
To provide holistic care for the patient I would consider doing the following:
While changing the linen, I would make a pleasant conversation with the patient. I might ask the patient about her job, how was her sleep last night, how is her family, etc.
I would smile when it is appropriate. I will bring a pitcher of water to her room and I would encourage her to drink more water to avoid dehydration, and also eat food with lots of fiber.
She also needs cream for skin care to prevent skin breakdown because liquid stools irritate the skin.
