Bedside procedures

How to collect a stool sample

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 good stool sample is free of urine and toilet water.

Step by step

  1. Explain

    Collect in a clean container or hat in the toilet. [1]

  2. Avoid contamination

    Urinate first; no toilet paper or water in the sample. [1]

  3. Transfer

    Gloves, spatula, the amount the lab requires. [1]

  4. Label

    Identifiers, date and time. [2]

  5. Send

    Within the time limit, per test. [1]

  6. Precautions

    Contact precautions if infection is suspected. [3]

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

18 VMS cases train this skill: open the case library

Sources

  1. Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) (CC BY 4.0)
  2. The Joint Commission, National Patient Safety Goals
  3. CDC, Guideline for Isolation Precautions (2007) and PPE sequence
  4. 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.