How To: Do a urinary catheterization procedure on a male

One of the hardest things a man can go through in life is a trip to the hospital, especially when he knows he's going to need a catheter. It's every man's worst fear. But for a nurse, it's necessary knowledge. Learning the male urinary catheterization procedure hands-on is difficult due to the urgency involved in patient care, so this video aims to prepare nurses so they can learn and stay fluent with the proper urinary catheterization technique of a male patient.

As with all procedures, washing your hands using the accepted technique prior is critical. Then, you'll be presented with a case study where you'll learn through situational experience. Through the entire procedure, you'll learn the following nursing steps to take for catheterizing a man through his penis.

—Getting Permission
—Preparing Yourself
—Preparing the Patient
—Preparing the Tray
—Catheterization Procedure
—Removing the Catheter
—Background Information

On a standard table for inserting a catheter, you should have the following equipment: a catheterization tray, some tape, a pre-filled 10cc syringe of 2% xylocaine jelly as an anesthetic and lubricant, an appropriately sized two-way indwelling Foley catheter, a urinary drainage bag and protective goggles for universal precautions. From here, you will learn how to insert the Foley catheter into the penis, and everything thereon.

This video on the urinary catheterization procedure on a male was produced as part of the Common Currency project at the Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. There might be slight variation of the procedure from institution to institution depending on policy and equipment used.