How to assist a client with a bedpan
This skill is graded on the head-of-bed choreography and glove discipline. You lower the bed flat to place the pan, raise it while the client uses it, and lower it again to remove the pan, wearing fresh gloves and washing your hands for each of the two contacts. Privacy, tissue, a hand wipe, and the call light complete it.
Step-by-step
- 1
Explain the procedure, speaking clearly, slowly and directly while keeping face-to-face contact.
- 2
Provide privacy with a curtain, screen, or door.
- 3
Lower the head of the bed before placing the bedpan.Critical
- 4
Put on clean gloves before placing the bedpan under the client.Critical
- 5
Place the bedpan correctly under the client's buttocks.
- 6
Remove and dispose of the gloves without contaminating yourself, then wash your hands.Critical
- 7
After the client is positioned on the pan and gloves are off, raise the head of the bed.Critical
- 8
Make sure toilet tissue is within reach.
- 9
Make sure a hand wipe is within reach and tell the client to clean their hands with it when finished.
- 10
Place the signaling device within reach and ask the client to signal when finished.
- 11
Put on clean gloves before removing the bedpan.Critical
- 12
Lower the head of the bed before removing the bedpan.Critical
- 13
Keep the client covered except while actually placing and removing the pan.
- 14
Empty and rinse the bedpan and pour the rinse into the toilet.
- 15
Place the bedpan in the designated dirty supply area.
- 16
Remove and dispose of the gloves without contaminating yourself, then wash your hands.Critical
- 17
Leave the signaling device within reach and the bed in the low position.
Critical steps (do not miss these)
- Lower the head of the bed to place and to remove the pan; raise the head of the bed only while the client is sitting on it.
- Wear fresh clean gloves for both placing and removing the pan, with a hand wash between the two contacts.
- Keep the client covered for privacy except during the brief placement and removal.
- Leave tissue, a hand wipe, and the call light within reach and tell the client to signal when done.
Common mistakes
- Leaving the head of the bed up when placing or removing the pan, or forgetting to raise it while the client uses it.
- Reusing the same gloves for placement and removal instead of changing and washing hands between.
- Forgetting the call light, tissue, or hand wipe within reach.
- Exposing the client the whole time instead of only during placement and removal.
Why it matters
A bedpan is a two-contact procedure, and each contact touches body fluids, so the checklist demands a fresh pair of gloves and a hand wash for placement and again for removal to stop cross-contamination. The bed is lowered flat to slide the pan under the hips without shearing the skin, then raised so the client can void in a near-normal sitting posture, then lowered again to remove it cleanly. Tissue, a hand wipe, and the call light within reach preserve the client's independence and dignity while they are alone.