Anyone else call 'em johnnies?

suzy253, RN · Jul 28, 2008

I'm in RI and we call them johnnies

ohmeowzer RN, RN · Jul 28, 2008

yes we always called them "johnny coats" and i grew up in upstate NY . we don't call them johnny coats out here in the west. i think it's an old term.

morte, LPN, LVN · Jul 28, 2008

They're johnnies here in Boston...but then again, we drink tonic, push carriages in the grocery store & put jimmies on our ice cream...most of my friends from out of state never know what I'm talking about anyway!
We just call the pink quilted pads pads, and the blue smaller pads that go with the air mattresses pads. We have the blue chux, but don't use them for incontinence, I've seen them thrown down for dressing changes so we don't mess the bed.

hey! i am "out of state" ( by about 2 miles,lol) and i knew every one of those terms....

RedSox33RN · Jul 28, 2008

I'm from New England, and always called 'em johnnies too. When I moved to the south last year and called 'em that, I got the WEIRDEST looks. They had no clue what I was referring to! I finally said "gown?" and they got it, but we ended up in a big discussion about what we all called different things.

We in New England are known for saying "wicked" a lot, like something is "wicked cool!". They'd never heard of that either, but I know 65yo grandparents that say it! lol

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jul 28, 2008

i went to nursing school and was a cna in maine, and we always called hospital gowns "johnnies". when i got my first job out of school at a hospital in nc, i sure got some curious looks when i asked people where the clean johnnies were kept, usually they thought i was talking about a commode...hehehe
anyway, my sister is in nursing school back home and we were chatting about this today, i was wondering exactly how regional of a term it is?

when i worked in boston, they were called "johnnies" -- that's the only place, though! i've worked in the midwest and on the west coast, and we called them gowns.

bekindtokittens · Jul 28, 2008

I'm in nursing school, and I'd call myself a midwest girl. In school and the facilities I've worked, we called them gowns. And the pads are called "chux", although it took me a few times of hearing that term in class to understand that a "chux" is a pad.

As for Johnny...that's the term I've always used for the portable toilets used on construction sites...Johnny-on-the-spots? As in "Phew, that Johnny was really stinky."

AandE angel · Jul 28, 2008

Hi im an British RN who is in process of emigrating to New England and im so glad ive read this site, in England a "Johnnie" is a condom!! id have looked really baffled the first time a patient needed a clean johnnie!! Ive also discovered that we call an eraser a "Rubber" which a think also has a whole different meaning in the US!! x

Kaylesh · Jul 28, 2008

Hi im an British RN who is in process of emigrating to New England and im so glad ive read this site, in England a "Johnnie" is a condom!! id have looked really baffled the first time a patient needed a clean johnnie!! Ive also discovered that we call an eraser a "Rubber" which a think also has a whole different meaning in the US!! x

Hiya

Where abouts in New England are you heading for?

As i said up above a bit there.. Im born and bred from Massachusetts and emigrated here to Scotland in 1999. Soooo if you need any New England terminology help.. just ask lol.. I have had the opposite happen.. asked for summat that was well known in Mass only to find out there was nooo equal here in scotland lol

Take Care and good luck.

Kay

lpnstudentin2010, LPN · Jul 28, 2008

They're johnnies here in Boston...but then again, we drink tonic, push carriages in the grocery store & put jimmies on our ice cream...most of my friends from out of state never know what I'm talking about anyway!
We just call the pink quilted pads pads, and the blue smaller pads that go with the air mattresses pads. We have the blue chux, but don't use them for incontinence, I've seen them thrown down for dressing changes so we don't mess the bed.

my area of boston we drink soda

lpnstudentin2010, LPN · Jul 28, 2008

at my hospital in boston they are johnnies.

allnurses Guide · Jul 28, 2008

see post by Morte - Johnny's also slang for a condom, coined by the Brits - which is another reason I don't feel comfortable telling someone to "slip into their johnny." Ha!!!!

Being from the UK I did a double take when I saw the title of this thread, took a deep breath and wondered exactly what I would find inside.

Hi im an British RN who is in process of emigrating to New England and im so glad ive read this site, in England a "Johnnie" is a condom!! id have looked really baffled the first time a patient needed a clean johnnie!! Ive also discovered that we call an eraser a "Rubber" which a think also has a whole different meaning in the US!! x

A and E angel, your going to have to be really careful in the US you may say something that would be very innocent in the UK which would have a completely different meaning in the US

lpnstudentin2010, LPN · Jul 28, 2008

US people have the same issue going over to the UK. I think I posted this somewhere else on this board however one of my friends from school did a semester in England, she was singing in the choir, and asked should they wear black pants, which hear means the same as trousers do there. The choir director looked at her with horror "I dont care what color pants you wear" all the students were cracking up. One pulled her aside and explained to her what the differences were. She was MORTIFIED!

Being from the UK I did a double take when I saw the title of this thread, took a deep breath and wondered exactly what I would find inside.
A and E angel, your going to have to be really careful in the US you may say something that would be very innocent in the UK which would have a completely different meaning in the US