Reading Skills for Healthcare Workers

Knowing how to make a bed properly in a health care setting is an important skill for any nurse assistant. Making beds incorrectly can waste time, put unnecessary strain on your back, and can spread infection.

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Follow these steps to save time and energy when making beds. First, gather and stack all of the bed linens that you will need to use: a mattress pad, sheets, a blanket, a pillowcase, and a bedspread. When stacking the linens, the bedspread should be on the bottom and the mattress pad should be on the top. Be sure to check the bed for any personal belongings and move them to a safe place.

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Second, remove the soiled linens from the patient’s bed. Be careful to fold anything that you will be reusing, such as blankets and bedspreads, and set them in a clean place until you are ready to put them back on the bed. If the linens are soiled, always wear gloves when you remove them from the bed. Never put any linens, whether clean or soiled, on the floor. Put soiled linens in a linen hamper.

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Third, work on one side of the bed at a time. If the bed is adjustable, raise the bed to a comfortable height, and lock the wheels so that the bed doesn’t move. Take the linens in the order that they are stacked and unfold them on the bed. Tuck the corners under the mattress. When you finish with one side of the bed, move to the other. Replace the blanket and bedspread that you set aside unless they are soiled.

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Finally, you should either open or close the bed for the patient. If the patient plans to return to bed soon, open the bed by folding the top linens down to the foot of the bed. Close the bed if the person will not be returning to bed soon by folding the top of the bedspread over the pillow.