A male patient is having difficulty using the urinal in bed. What does the nurse do to facilitate voiding into the urinal?

Question

a. Applies an external urinary catheter
b. Assists the patient to the upright position
c. Encourages the patient to void every hour
d. Instructs the patient to increase his fluid intake

Answer 1

B
The nurse assists the patient into an upright position to facilitate voiding into a urinal because men are accustomed to voiding in a standing position. If sitting upright is ineffective and the pa-tient can be upright without dizziness or weakness, the nurse assists the patient to dangle or to stand for urination into a urinal. Applying an external catheter facilitates containing the urine but not in a urinal. Decreasing or increasing the volume of urine, voiding hourly, or increasing fluid intake, respectively, can be ineffective strategies to facilitate using a urinal in bed if the patient must stand to initiate the flow of urine.