Hospital gown

For other uses, see Gown (disambiguation).
Surgeons in gowns ready to perform heart surgery

A hospital gown, also called a johnny gown[1] or johnny[2] is "a long loose piece of clothing worn in a hospital by someone doing or having an operation."[3] It can be used as clothing for bedridden patients.[4]

Utility

Hospital gown worn by a patient

Hospital gowns worn by patients are designed so that hospital staff can easily access the part of the patient's body being treated.[5]

The hospital gown is made of fabric that can withstand repeated laundering in hot water, usually cotton, and is fastened at the back with twill tape ties. Disposable hospital gowns may be made of paper or thin plastic, with paper or plastic ties.

Some gowns have snaps along the top of the shoulder and sleeves, so that the gown can be removed without disrupting intravenous lines in the patient's arms.

Used paper hospital gowns are associated with hospital infections, which could be avoided by proper disposal.[6]

Design

Patients awaiting surgery with technologist in the background, all wearing gowns

Many patients feel that hospital gowns are unfashionable, and in 2010 Diane von Furstenberg was commissioned to design stylish hospital gowns based on her fashionable wrap dress by a Cleveland clinic.[7]

Iranian surgical technologist in gown with hijab

Joel Sherman in his blog "Adolescent Boys and Genital Exams Reducing Embarrassment" says it is quite common for many teenage boys to be upset when changing into a hospital gown, especially if the wearer associates the look of the gown to women's clothing, women's nightgowns, or lingerie.[8]

According to the BBC, in England hospital gowns are made much more modestly, taking patient dignity into consideration.[9]

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Kobayashi, Erin (May 11, 2007). "If the hospital gown fits ...". Toronto Star. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  2. ↑ Frey, Rita (1995-12). Introduction to Nursing Assisting: Building Language Skills. Cengage Learning. p. 264. ISBN 9780827362338. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ↑ "gown: noun". Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Pearson ELT. Retrieved 2013-09-20. 3 a long loose piece of clothing worn in a hospital by someone doing or having an operation
  4. ↑ Carter, Pamela J. (2007-06-01). Lippincott's Textbook for Nursing Assistants: A Humanistic Approach to Caregiving. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 378. ISBN 9780781766852.
  5. ↑ Rosdahl, Caroline Bunker; Kowalski, Mary T. (2008). Textbook of Basic Nursing. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 499. ISBN 9780781765213.
  6. ↑ "Simple techniques slash hospital infections: meeting". Reuters. 2009-03-21.
  7. ↑ Jio, Sarah. "Crazy or Cool: Diane von Furstenberg's New High Fashion Hospital Gowns". http://www.glamour.com. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  8. ↑ Sherman, Joel. "Patient Modesty & Privacy Concerns". http://patientprivacyreview.blogspot.com. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  9. ↑ Roberts, Michelle (9 February 2010). "Hospital gown redesigned to save patients' modesty". BBC. Retrieved 15 September 2013.

See also