posted 12-27-2005 10:16 PM            

Bathing includes washing, rinsing, and drying the body from the neck down (excluding the neck and back) in either a tub, shower, or sponge/bed bath. When scoring this item, consider thebody as divided into ten areas or parts, with each accounting for 10% of the total:
-chest
-left arm
-right arm
-abdomen
-perineal area
-buttocks
-left upper leg
-right upper leg
-left lower leg, including foot
-right lower leg including foot

If the only issue is that the person cannot wash, rinse and dry their neck or back, but can do everything else in a safe and timely manner they should be scored a 7 (the back and neck are not considered when scoring this item).

A person would be scored a 6 (modified independence)if they could wash, rinse and dry all ten areas, but required specialized equipment, took more than a reasonable amount of time, or had safety considerations.

posted 12-28-2005 04:25 PM            

"The FIM instrument measures disability. If the back was included in the Bathing item, then persons who are not disabled might score lower than level 7 - Complete Independence, because they may not wash their back everyday or they may use an assistive device (a long-handled sponge) to wash their back. If we do not include the back, we get a clearer picture of the patient's level of disability."

There is not an explanation of why the neck was excluded, but perhaps it would be similar.

You say that it does not make sense, but this is written directly into the item description. The scale creators provided this information to increase rating consistency. Do you not have access to the item descriptions? If not, you really should ask your center's FIM trainer for a copy. Other FIM items have little twists such as this, which are not evident unless you study and rate from the item descriptions (such as what activities are and are not included in Grooming, what kind of clothing is appropriate to rate in Dressing, how to rate bowel/bladder accidents if staff are required to clean the individual, how to rate for household ambulation and stair climbing, dicriminating between complex and routine problems for Problem Solving.) I am sure I have missed others.

posted 05-15-2006 11:17 AM         

quote:

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Originally posted by fordoob:
Thanks for your help. No, my facility does not have FIM descriptions b/c they "loosely" base their scorigng/etc. on the FIM. It was just a discussion I was having with a colleague of mine & it's been a long time since I actually used the "official" FIM that I had forgotten the little nuances. Thanks for bringing it to light!

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It would be really worthwhile to get the booklet with the decision trees. You wont get consistancy with any of your scores without it.

posted 05-26-2007 12:12 AM            

Thanks so much!!!
Tammy

posted 06-12-2007 10:27 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by dolphinrescue:
Does anyone know how I can get a copy of the booklet with the decision tree? I've misplaced mine and can't find it. I would really appreciate any help...I am getting ready to supervise a student and would like to have a copy available for her to review.

Thanks so much!!!
Tammy

[This message has been edited by dolphinrescue (edited 05-26-2007).]

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posted 11-13-2007 12:09 AM         

quote:

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Originally posted by dolphinrescue:
Does anyone know how I can get a copy of the booklet with the decision tree? I've misplaced mine and can't find it. I would really appreciate any help...I am getting ready to supervise a student and would like to have a copy available for her to review.

Thanks so much!!!
Tammy

[This message has been edited by dolphinrescue (edited 05-26-2007).]

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