371
Skill Checklists for Taylor's Clinical Nursing Skills:
A Nursing Process Approach, 3rd edition
Name Date
Unit Position
Instructor/Evaluator: PositionSKILL 18-2Collecting a Stool Specimen for Culture
Goal:An uncontaminated specimen is obtained and sent
to the laboratory promptly. Comments- Gather necessary equipment and bring to the bedside.
- Perform hand hygiene and put on PPE, if indicated.
- Identify the patient. Discuss with the patient the need for a
stool sample. Explain to the patient the process by which
the stool will be collected, either from a bedpan, commode,
or plastic receptacle in the toilet to catch stool without
urine. Instruct the patient to void first and not to discard
toilet paper with stool. Tell the patient to call you as soon
as a bowel movement is completed. - Check specimen label with the patient’s identification
bracelet. Label should include patient’s name and identifi-
cation number, time specimen was collected, route of col-
lection, identification of the person obtaining the sample,
and any other information required by agency policy. - After the patient has passed a stool, put on gloves. Use the
tongue blades to obtain a sample, free of blood or urine,
and place it in the designated clean container. - Collect as much of the stool as possible to send to the
laboratory. - Place lid on container. Dispose of used equipment per facil-
ity policy. Remove gloves and perform hand hygiene. - Place label on the container per facility policy. Place
container in plastic, sealable biohazard bag. - Remove other PPE, if used. Perform hand hygiene.
- Transport the specimen to the laboratory while stool is still
warm. If immediate transport is impossible, check with lab-
oratory personnel or policy manual whether refrigeration is
contraindicated.
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