I have patient gown dyslexia

[GardenDove]

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.

[mshultz]

I agree that patient gowns should be part of a Mensa eligibility test. Along with newborn wrap-around T-shirts, the ones with ties instead of snaps.

I started in the NICU as a new grad and had no trouble with vents, art lines, IV pumps, or any other high-tech item. It was the d**m T-shirts that got me every time. My hubby used to ask me if it worried parents that their baby's nurse couldn't figure out how to dress their child. I have to guess the answer was "Yes!"

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).

[silverhalide]

I would love to see picture instructions of this trick. I have a tough time with gowns too!

:)

[nursemike, ASN, RN]

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.