Title: Changing a colostomy bag is not that hard. Topic: How to change a colostomy bag Specific Purpose Statement: To inform audience how to change a colostomy bag Thesis Statement: Most people would think that changing a colostomy bag may be complicated but it is not. Changing a colostomy bag has very precise steps that are easy to follow, anyone can do it. Introduction When I first started working as a medication technician, I did not know that I would need to learn how to change a colostomy bag let alone actually do it. My first time I was very uncertain and not confident if I could do it, but I did and honestly it was easy and not as hard as it is made out to be. There was a list of instructions already printed at my disposal and the patient was more than glad to talk me through it because it is so easy that even a ninety-year-old could give step by step instructions on how to do it. Transition: Most things we learn to do we learn from hearing instructions and observing and then teaching it to others. Body I. I had no clue what I was doing nor where to start. A. On-hand training. When training to become a med tech either a nurse trains you or another certified med tech. Which installs confidence in you because the person training you or showing the ropes knows what they are doing. With that being said, B. I had watched the bag being changed about a handful of times. Yet I never thought I would need to change it because there was always someone there with more experience and who was comfortable and glad to do it. C. Until there wasn’t turnover in healthcare, it is high and fast and next thing you know you become one of the people with more experience and that is how you are next in line to change a colostomy bag. 1. If you don’t use it, you lose it or at least become rusty. I hadn’t seen someone change a colostomy bag or heard the directions in a while because like I had stated previously, I was never the person to do it. But I had to, and what got me through it was relying on past memories, reading the instructions over and over a couple times, and listening to the ninety-year-old who the bag was attached to. 2. Once the first-time jitters were out the way, it wasn’t hard, and I quickly became comfortable doing it. Practice makes perfect so every time it needed to be changed, and I was there I volunteered. Transition: Before I knew it, I had the steps memorized and the procedure down packed to a routine. II. It is smart to choose something that you can easily recall and know the steps to, and since this is something, I can confidently recite the steps to I thought why not, it'll either be incredibly boring or just a little interesting. Sub-point: There are 10 steps, and I will say each of them and show the ones I’m able to. Step 1. Wash hands. You must make sure your hands are clean; you know cause it’s sanitary. Step 2. Gather your supplies. You will need gloves, trash can, new pouch, small scissors, towels, wipes, stoma powder, and skin barrier wipes. Lay them all out so you have it ready to go. Step 3. Cut out the base of the pouch to the size of the stoma. We do this beforehand because it takes time and the cut out is a precise size based on the person. Step 4. Instruct the person to empty the bag beforehand and have them lay down on their back. If they don’t empty the bag there will be a mess and that we do not want. Step 5. Put on your gloves and have the trashcan nearby. Step 6. Remove the colostomy pouch currently on the person and discard it into the trashcan. Step 7. Grab wipes and gently clean the stoma, we can’t apply the new bag to a dirty surface. Then use the towels to pat dry around the stoma. Step 8. Once the Stoma is clean use stoma powder and skin barrier wipe and apply it to the skin around the stoma to keep skin from breaking down. Step 9. Once that is done grab the base of the pouch, we cut out in step 3. Apply it onto the stoma. Make sure the hole cutout matches up with the stoma. Step 10. After that apply the pouch onto the base and it is all done. Transition: Yes, that may seem like a lot but it’s not, and they are repeated the same in many websites such as the cancer center, Cleveland clinic, and Medline because they don’t change. The steps are easy to follow and with practice it’ll feel like you can do it on command. Conclusion: Changing a colon ostomy bag is not complicated, if the steps are followed anyone can do it. Like most things in life that we learn, we learn to do them by hearing how to and practicing and this is no different. Thank you. Bibliography Wechter, D. G. (2022, October 1). Changing your ostomy pouch: Medlineplus medical encyclopedia. MedlinePlus. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000204.htm Health, J. B. (2021, August 30). Guide to essential ostomy supplies 2021: Better Health. Better Health Supplies Blog. https://joinbetter.com/community/blog/ostomy/the-complete-listof-essential-ostomy-supplies-2021/ Clinic Medical, C. (2021, December 1). Colostomy & Colostomy Bags: Definition, procedure & care. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/22100colonostomy Chukwuemeka, O. (2023, April 7). Colostomy care: Stoma, Irrigation & Empty or change a bag. Cancer center. https://www.cancercenter.com/cancer-types/colorectalcancercenter/treatment/surgery/colostomy-care
