Calling briefs "diapers"....*vent*

Nurses General Nursing

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This has to be one of my BIGGEST pet peeves, from way back when I was a CNA. Maybe *technically* they are diapers, but COME ON....how disprespectful can you get? I call them Depends or briefs, it at least maintains SOME dignity for the patient. Especially if they are post op, say, and are having trouble controlling their bowels as function returns to normal, and they've never had to wear them before. It's rude and demeaning.

I read an LPN's narrative charting a few weeks ago, where she actually WROTE the term "diaper." Now it's in that person's chart for all eternity. Great. Aside from the fact that it isn't something that even needs to be PUT in the narrative notes (this LPN is notorious for that, though, but that's a whole other story).

Just had to get that out.

Yes, I've had a few very pointed conversations about my dad's care. It's so upsetting and disappointing to see nurses do such a shoddy job caring for patients.

I'm a great cheerleader for the nursing profession and I know how good nursing care can positively affect patient outcome. So far, the big-city MAGNET status hospital my dad is in has placed a urinary catherter when none was ordered, dropped his meds on his table for him to take himself when he couldn't move his arms and had a swallowing deficit, made an error transcribing a medication error so that he recieved 3 days of 3 X the normal dose of one med, and he ended up with local inflammation at the site of an IV that had been left for 5 days and had no label stating time and date.

Suffice to say...there have been some high ranking executives talking to me this week.

And there are a couple of posts in this thread doing what I perceive to be Griping because things are changing, and why should they use the word "underwear" for diaper.

Let me be the first to say this -- The medical profession changes on a regular basis - if you thought you were working in a static field you are mistaken. Things are a lot different now than when I graduated from college and it will change another 360 degrees before I get out of this profession.

If you can't deal with change OR the improvements that are constantly being rolled out -- you need to get out of this profession.

We change because we are trying to do better by our patients -- not stay stuck in some rut because that's the way you "used" to do it. And our patients, their care, their dignity and their safety should be the first thing we things about...not fighting to keep the same old bad habits.

I for one am very sorry that your Dad had such poor care as you described. In depth chart reviews should reveal the source of all these mistakes.

But please don't look on all change as improvement, just because it is change.

There are alot of "improvements" that have happened in health care over the last 10 years that may have had a direct impact on your father's stay, and not for the better.

There are the "whiners and complainers "who resist change"; and then there are those who understand that change is often driven by corporate types who want to look good by attaining "Magnet Status", while letting alot of the rest of the operation go ignored. IE, bragging about fancy computer systems while the staff does not get the training or IT support to utilize them properly. If I ONLY had the time back to care for pt.s that I spent redoing charting I lost to a computer crash.

You might do alot better by looking at nurse to patient ratios than at Magnet status when picking a hospital; then maybe your Dad would stand a better chance of having his IV changed on time.

Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

Jerseyzz :spam: Advertising is not allowed on allnurses. Check the Terms of Service.

You can ta.ke down all your advertising now or someone else will do it in a few hours

Specializes in Care Coordination, MDS, med-surg, Peds.

I have a couple of things to say:

1. A few years back, due to stress incontinence related to severe asthma/bronchial pneumonia and was hospitalized. I asked my CNA for feminine pads as "leak catchers". She told the RN, and he told the entire report room I needed pads cause I was incontinent. COME on, I was 45, and worked with the staff members every night!!! EMBARASSING

2. I try to call them briefs, as well. I think diapers as a descriptive term for adults is belittleing.

3. Look on the pages here on allnurses.com r/t this thread...you will see adult underwear/depends/attends/diapers used interchangeably.

4. I try to use clothing protector/briefs/underwear unless diapers/depends is what the resident/family member uses.

It is hard to tailor my term useage to each person, so unless it is important to the resident, I use underwear or briefs.

On a similar topic... a urinal is a urinal, it may be a "duck" to some men, a "jane" to some women or "that can over there" or even, "hand me the "pee can". I use the word urinal..... lol.

Specializes in School, LTC, OB, LNC, Instructor, etc.

Great Post Cherrybreeze

This has been a big thorn in my side. You can call them depends, briefs, Teva's, Poise, Incontinence pants, whatever your cue words are but NOT DIAPERS.

Do you know when you are working and they say the 'State' is here which causes everyone to run around crazy? Don't let them hear you say diaper or read it. It has become a dignity issue and you can be given a deficiency. It is in the federal regulation by CMS with incontinence care.

I am constantly crossing out the word diaper on preprinted assessment forms from various places and companies such as insurance companies. It is up to us nurses to get the change going.

Specializes in Med/Surg.

I totally agree. When I did my training for Nursing Assistant, my instructor gave us a long lecture about dignity and unless you are dealing with babies they are to never be referred as "diapers".

Kudos!-Kudos!-Kudos!-Kudos!

I have to agree. I will correct a patient by saying "This is a brief, not a "diaper"and will further explain that diapers are - as many have mentioned before are for children/toddlers/babies. A brief is a more respectable term - and that is huge to some patients. Even where I work in palliative care, I always refer to an incontinence pad as a brief.

Further on that note, I always refer to "bibs" as "clothing protectors" as again, babies wear bibs :)

Just my 0.02 worth

Yours in nursing

Specializes in ER, progressive care.

I find calling them "diapers" is completely degrading. I remember my first day of nursing school our instructor told us, "they are NOT diapers, they are called briefs or Depends! :nono:" It irks me when nurses call them diapers.

Specializes in Med Surg.

For those who correct patients who prefer to call the things diapers, do you continue to correct (sorry, "provide education") even after the patient continues to call them diapers? Or do you respect their right to call them whatever they please?

Specializes in Med/Surg.
For those who correct patients who prefer to call the things diapers, do you continue to correct (sorry, "provide education") even after the patient continues to call them diapers? Or do you respect their right to call them whatever they please?

The person wearing them can call them whatever they please, IMO. I do not "correct" THEIR terminology, but I also will not change mine....I don't call it a "diaper" because they do. I literally CAN'T get that word out.

Specializes in Med Surg.

NEVER CALL THEM DIAPERS!!! I learned that in my NA class and it has always stuck with me. So often when some describes being a CNA they say "it's just like taking care of bigger babies"! No it is not, most of the residents know what is going on and would really not like to hear that they wear diapers. It's degrading to them as human beings.

Specializes in Med/Surg.
NEVER CALL THEM DIAPERS!!! I learned that in my NA class and it has always stuck with me. So often when some describes being a CNA they say "it's just like taking care of bigger babies"! No it is not, most of the residents know what is going on and would really not like to hear that they wear diapers. It's degrading to them as human beings.

I despise that phrase, the "taking care of bigger babies" thing. I know that in SOME cases, it's used to try to take the "eek" factor out of caring for incontinent adults (which can be intimidating to someone new to it), BUT when it's used because some elderly patients need assist with ADL's, feeding, and have severe dementia....just WRONG. These are adults who have lived many more years than the people caring for them, and have had a lifetime of experience and knowledge. Comparisons to being "big kids" is just demeaning, sad, and misguided.

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