Published
Even after 14 years of nursing, I still get confused by patient gowns. What idiot came up with such a confusing design? I have to figure it out each time how to get the correct snaps to line up. The hardest part of nursing is patient gowns. Figuring out all the doodads on wheelchairs also makes me look like an idiot.
Before I was a nurse, I was a transporter, so working the beds and carts is no problem. I once had to figure out a totally unfamiliar bari-chair in the middle of a code. Pretty hectic 15 secs, then no sweat. And when I wasn't transporting, I was cleaning pt rooms, so I got intimately familiar with the furniture, too. I can repair a broken overbed table with a Swiss Army Knife and a hemostat. I know right where in the recliner the pts hearing aid always goes.
But those gowns! Well...actually, I've figured them out, too, finally. Simply do all the snaps before you bring it into the room, then d/c any peripheral IVs, put the gown on, take the gown back off and turn it backwards, put it back on, have the pt relax in bed while you place a new PIV (they don't last forever, anyway), hook up the fluids, and you're all set.
mshultz
250 Posts
I am a Mensa member, but when I was in the ICU, I did not understand my gown (it had a complicated series of snaps in the front), I did not understand my pajama bottoms (they had a drawstring instead of elastic; once I figured that out on the third morning, I was actually able to keep them in place), I did not even understand the toilet (it was mounted on the cabinet door under the sink, and rotated out when the door was opened. Since swivel joints tend to leak, I asked the nurse if I could use it when I needed to defecate).