Hi, I'm Meris. And in this video, we're going to
be talking about bladder scanners and different types of urinary catheters and important
considerations for them. I'm going to be following along using our Fundamentals of Nursing
flashcards. These are available on our website, leveluprn.com. But if you already have your
own, I'd invite you to follow along with me. I'm starting on card number 120. Let's get started. So
before we start, I wanted to tell you that if you stay until the end, I'm going to tell you a really
important piece of advice that my fundamental skills professor taught me when I was in
nursing school that I want to pass along to you. So let's go ahead and talk about bladder scanners.
As you can see here on this card, we do have a step-by-step list of how to use a bladder scanner.
I'll let you look at that in your own time. But the most important thing that I want to get across
to you is, why do we use a bladder scanner? So the bladder scanner uses ultrasonography to assess
how much fluid, how much urine, is in a patient's bladder. So this can help us diagnose things
like urinary retention or if they're having a large post-void residual. The big, bold, red
stuff here on this card is telling you about the placement of the transducer. You want to
make sure that it is above the pubic symphysis because we're not trying to scan bone, so about
one inch above that and point it down towards the bladder. Another thing I want to point out is to
make sure that you use the button on the machine to select whether or not your patient has a uterus
because this changes how the machine calculates or what it looks for. So be sure to think about
that when you're using a bladder scanner. All right. So now, let's talk about
different types of urinary catheters. Here on card 121 we talk about the difference
between an indwelling catheter and a straight or intermittent catheter. So indwelling is what the
name suggests. It stays in. That's where it dwells for a while. So you might hear this called a
Foley catheter sometimes, but Foley is actually a brand name. So indwelling catheters is what you
should be calling it in nursing school. So this is really helpful for patients who have things like
the need for really strict intake and output, things like cardiac problems, heart failure, a
patient who's comatose, all of those different indications. But what's your biggest concern
when you think about a patient with an indwelling catheter? What's your biggest concern? Pause the
video and think about it. I hope you paused it. If you did, it should be a catheter-associated
UTI. The longer an external device is inside your patient, the more likely they are to get
an infection. You're creating a bridge from the outside to the inside, so this puts your patient
at risk for a CAUTI, catheter-associated UTI. Now, a straight or intermittent catheter, again,
what it sounds like. It goes straight in and back out, so it doesn't stay in there. This is much
skinnier, much shorter duration of use. And usually, this is used to get a sterile specimen
or to treat a patient's urinary retention with the hopes that they're going to be able to void
after the urgent acute retention is relieved. Now, if you look on card 122, we talk about two other
types of catheters. I'm not going to go super in-depth into these. I'll let you look into
them in your own time, but this is suprapubic, so meaning above the pubic bone. Supra is above
and external, meaning not inside your patient. So suprapubic catheters are going to be placed
surgically. They go through the skin, so a big, big risk for infection. External catheter's really
great at decreasing the risk of infection. But now if I have my skin possibly sitting in moisture
for a prolonged period of time, what am I at risk for? Pause the video and think about it. I'm at
risk for skin breakdown especially with what we call a condom catheter. There are also external
devices such as wicking devices for a patient who does not have a penis. So these actually
are connected to suction, and they actively remove the urine as it is expelled from the body.
All right. This card 123 is one that I would say really, really focus and spend your time on.
This has to do with the care of an indwelling urinary catheter. So a lot of important stuff to
know, such as when we put it in, we use sterile technique, not clean technique, sterile. The bag
should always hang below the level of the bladder, and we want it to be on the bed frame. We want to
check for any kinks in the tubing. And we always want to make sure that we don't have any dependent
loops. Dependent means affected by gravity, so any loops where we can't get the urine to go
into the bag. Because basically, if I have a loop, the urine from the patient is going to have to
have enough force to go around the loop to get into the bag. We don't want that because now we're
at risk for urine backflowing into our patient and, again, infection. Other things to know
is that we need to remove these catheters as soon as appropriate. So as the nurse, your
job is to be your patient's best advocate. You need to advocate to remove an indwelling
catheter as soon as it is appropriate to decrease your patient's risk for infection. Be sure to
look over the other important points on that card, but those are definitely the highlights.
All right. So that is it for our review of bladder scanners and urinary catheters. I hope it was
helpful. If it was, please, go ahead and like the video. And I would love to hear any advice or tips
or ways to remember things that you might have. If you want to leave me a comment, I would love
to read them. Be sure to subscribe to our channel. You want to be the first to know when our
new videos come out. Next up, we're going to be talking about constipation, diarrhea, and
ostomies. Thanks so much, and see you next time. Okay. So when I was in fundamental
skills, my professor told me that you don't have to empty the Foley drainage
bag before removing it. You can remove the Foley first and then empty the drainage bag. But she
told me that it's her experience and her best advice that you should always drain the bag first
before removing the catheter. Because one time, she removed the catheter then went to empty the
bag, and the catheter flopped down and hit her in the face. So immediately, that was seared into
my memory for the rest of my life. I will never remove a Foley without emptying the bag first, so
that way, you empty it. You can measure it. And then you remove the Foley and put it immediately
in the disposal. You don't want to be touching that anymore. You don't want it resting on the
bed. So maybe that helps you. But if you have any other really good advice, I want to hear it.
I invite you to subscribe to our channel and share a link with your classmates and friends in nursing
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