Does nurse self-testing affect catheter choice?

Background: Involving patients in decision making about their care requires expert knowledge and understanding of patients' perspectives. Knowledge comes from several sources and experience; however, the self-testing of products by health professionals who teach clean intermittent self-catheterisation (CISC) has not been investigated.

Aim: This study aimed to assess the impact of self-testing on catheter evaluation by continence nurses.

Methods: Sixteen continence nurses self-tested two catheters and completed a questionnaire on their opinions about the catheter, routine self-testing and whether the study would make them change their usual practice.

Results: Almost half of the participants found self-testing intermittent catheters a useful experience and some of those who did not routinely self-test said they would do so in future.

Conclusion: Self-testing intermittent catheters can provide useful knowledge to those who teach CISC.