Bedside procedures

How to care for an ostomy

Other platforms explain it with text and video. In VMS you practice it on the patient.

Nursing (NCLEX)
Practice it in VR with Blocky

A healthy stoma is pink and moist. Good fit protects the skin.

Step by step

  1. Assess

    Stoma pink-red and moist; dark or pale is urgent. [1]

  2. Empty

    When one-third to one-half full. [1]

  3. Remove

    Gently, pushing the skin away from the wafer. [1]

  4. Clean and dry

    Warm water, pat dry, check skin. [1]

  5. Measure and cut

    Wafer opening about 1/8 inch larger than the stoma. [1]

  6. Apply

    Press for 30 to 60 seconds. [1]

  7. Teach

    Patient does each step with you. [2]

Common errors

Practice it in VMS

In VMS you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.

VMS cases that train this skill

Sources

  1. Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) (CC BY 4.0)
  2. AHRQ Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit (Teach-Back)
  3. OpenStax, Clinical Nursing Skills (CC BY 4.0)

Steps adapted from Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) and OpenStax, Clinical Nursing Skills, licensed under CC BY 4.0. VMS is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.