I had the opportunity to attend the catheter and Bowel training with Wendy today and I honestly learned so much. I learnt that It is important to assess your patient for a catheter before putting one in. A patient may need a catheter for many reasons such as urine retention, after surgery, long-term conditions or because they have a pressure ulcer on their bottom which could get infected if they are incontinent.

I also learnt that long-term catheters increase the risk of developing UTI’s and blockages therefore, it is important for patients themselves and Nurses to give catheter care by cleaning the catheter every day. Is important to clean down the catheter and not up and cleaning down will not spread infection up into the genital area.

I was taught what solution to use and how to use it if a catheter does block. I was also given a leaflet with the relevant information.

I was able to practise inserting a catheter into a female and male model which I found beneficial to understand how the procedure works and the anatomy of the reproductive system.

During bowel training, I learned different types of procedures that can be carried out if a patient is suffering from constipation such as enemas and suppositories. Enemas are to be used if the stool is lower down in the rectum and other types of treatment don’t work such as medication.

Again, I was able to practise this procedure on a model working in pairs with other students. firstly I explained the procedure to the “patient” and explained why it was necessary to carry out the procedure. I asked if they had any pain, if they needed to use the toilet before the procedure and lastly when their last bowel moment was.

I then washed my hands, put on my gloves and then I went ahead with the procedure on the model. I reassured my patient that it may feel a bit uncomfortable but it won’t last long. I inserted my index finger into the rectum and turned my finger clockwise and anticlockwise (12-6). Wendy had inserted faeces into the model to which we had to guess which type of stool it was from 1-7.

Overall, I found the training beneficial and would love to join Wendy again for other training.