your very own personal crusade

[goats'r'us, ASN, RN]

i think everyone has a personal little cause - that little thing that's really not a big deal, but is a huge deal to you - and i want to know what yours is.

mine's pads. pads, not nappies.

only babies wear nappies, and i think that saying an adult wears a nappy takes away so much dignity! it's not that hard to just call it a pad and let the person have that one little bit of dignity. i mean, heaven knows if you're in hospital in need of a great big pad, you probably don't feel that dignified, without being popped into a nappy like a little baby!

i used to work in disabilities, where i helped out in a group home with some profoundly disabled teenagers. they basically needed full assistance for all care, but it was so important that we were support workers, not carers, and they wore pads, NOT NAPPIES!! it just makes sense to me. i mean, you play down stuff all the time to save people's feelings - the lady hurling up her guts is 'feeling a bit off', the man covered in poo is 'in a mess' and just needs 'help to clean up', people who die slow painful deaths miraculously 'pass on gently' when their family ask if they suffered. i don't care if the person in front of me needs a big-mama super absorbant nappy-type creation, i'll still say 'i'll just grab you a pad' every time.

see - smallest thing to everyone else, huge deal for me! what's yours?

[RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN]

, I will think of one and be back later to share. I am sure there are plenty as well. Gotta run. Thanks for sharing

[Dratz]

Well I am in Canada and have never heard the term nappies before but yesterday in class the instructor was telling us a story about one of her LTC residents and her "Product". She is yakking away and everyone is like "Product"????? Turns out a "product" is a "pad" or adult diaper.

I knew I would be learning new terms for things and new terminology but the term "product" was a new one on me...and when she explained that this resident had her hand in her product......well you cannot imagine what I was thinking in my mind LOL. Glad she finally clued us all in..

Learn something new every day I reckon.

[LydiaNN]

Yes, I agree with your pad story, except here in the states, they're called diapers instead of nappies. Same undignifying affect. As for referring to it as product, I am sure feminine hygeine products aren't needed too often in LTC, but I would think they term "product" was referring to that, rather than to a pad. Of course, to most of the female population, a pad refers to that type of product, anyway. As for my personal crusade, not sure I really have one, but a colleague told me something upsetting the other day. Her adult daughter has CHARGE syndrome, and, although she is ambulatory, needs almost total care. She lives in a group home, and according to the owners, the emphasis is supposed to be on "home". Two things that bother me a good bit. No one gets their own room. I know that it would cost more, but I find the notion of an adult having to share a bedroom to be very upsetting. And even more so, the fact that there are "visiting" hours. This is her home! I don't have to consult with anyone else before I have a guest come to call. WTH is with telling family members they can only stop by from 7-9 on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday? I don't like it. I don't like it one bit.

[goats'r'us, ASN, RN]

Yes, I agree with your pad story, except here in the states, they're called diapers instead of nappies. Same undignifying affect. As for referring to it as product, I am sure feminine hygeine products aren't needed too often in LTC, but I would think they term "product" was referring to that, rather than to a pad. Of course, to most of the female population, a pad refers to that type of product, anyway. As for my personal crusade, not sure I really have one, but a colleague told me something upsetting the other day. Her adult daughter has CHARGE syndrome, and, although she is ambulatory, needs almost total care. She lives in a group home, and according to the owners, the emphasis is supposed to be on "home". Two things that bother me a good bit. No one gets their own room. I know that it would cost more, but I find the notion of an adult having to share a bedroom to be very upsetting. And even more so, the fact that there are "visiting" hours. This is her home! I don't have to consult with anyone else before I have a guest come to call. WTH is with telling family members they can only stop by from 7-9 on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday? I don't like it. I don't like it one bit.

that's crap! in the place i worked, the emphasis was on it being the kid's house, not a workplace. the sleepover staff member had a bed that was hidden in a little alcove behind a door, same for the office, all the kids had their own rooms, and the kid's parents did have to call and tell us they were coming, but that was only coz we ran a really set routine so that everything would be done, so we needed to allow for a visit in out planning. also, sunday was stay at home, play and have family over day for the kids while we did some cleaning, coz mon-fri was school and saturday was outing day.

[DusktilDawn]

I agree that using the term "pad" instead of "diaper" ( term diaper used here instead of nappie) sounds a little more dignified for an adult. "Brief" is another term used instead. I have a friend who was born with Spina Bifida and she prefers "brief." The "briefs" come in different sizes by colour, for instance a small is white, medium is blue, large is yellow. So it will usually be "Could I have a blue brief please?"

Now I've never heard the term "product" used before.

[goats'r'us, ASN, RN]

i'm glad you guys get it. we used to have a communication book to pass notes between school and home, and the teachers were always putting notes in the books saying 'we need more nappies please'. i used to cringe every time.

then, when i started nursing, the other grad on my ward had a preceptor who was not at all receptive to other people's ideas, and she just didn't get what i was saying when i called them pads. i'd ask her to bring a pad down to a room for me, and she's say 'oh a nappy?' and every time i'd say 'no, a pad. babies wear nappies'. she just never got why it mattered to me

[Fraggle]

I've never heard of a nappie. I say "brief." The only problem is sometimes people don't understand "brief" and they say "oh, you mean the diaper?" Adults do not wear diapers!

[DusktilDawn]

I've never heard of a nappie. I say "brief." The only problem is sometimes people don't understand "brief" and they say "oh, you mean the diaper?" Adults do not wear diapers!

Makes me cringe when someone does that. I've never liked the term "diaper" in regards to adults, it is BRIEFS or PADS.

[Cute_CNA, CNA]

I also only say "briefs" instead of "diapers." :) Though some people sometimes think I'm referring to underwear.

[stidget99]

Nothing bothers me more than seeing an elderly person w/ terribly dirty eyeglasses. Even when visiting at a nursing home, if I see dirty glasses, I wash them! Not only is it a safety issue, it shows the owner of the glasses that you care!

Another huge issue for me.........unshaven men. Now if a man has worn a beard/mustache his whole life...no worries. But it is the responsibility of his care givers to ensure that it stays neatly trimmed and please make sure that there is no "midnight snack" left after eating. Also, if an elderly man was clean shaven his whole life then he should be shaved daily. (The shaving issue might be contraindicated if they are on blood thinners.)

[boggle, ASN, RN]

I agree with your postings so far: adults wear briefs, please clean those glasses and please shave those whiskers (on the elderly women too!)

My personal "bug" is washing the patient's hands. They are stuck in bed using urinals, bedpans, and doing who knows what else with their hands, then we serve them a meal without offering a wipe for their hands. " How about a little e. coli with your turkey sandwich?".

Whenever I visit a friend in the hospital, I bring them a container of wet wipes or hand sanitizer to keep on their over bed table. Most prefer the wipes.