Naked

Okay, so I am supposed to be the bleeding heart of the department, the one who always feels sorry for folks. I really can't say that I am until it comes to this subject. Being naked.

So this somewhat larger woman is involved in a car accident, she is covered in lacerations and abrasions, she is put on a board with a collar and her clothes are cut off and she is now completely exposed to the ten to fifteen people in the room. Now I realize that the patient must be exposed to determine injury but then can't we throw a towel over her privates? Come on people! Can you have the slightest bit of empathy? Do they really need to continue to lie there at the mercy of others completely nude? So I walk in and stick a towel over her lower half and upper half which earns me points with the nurse and deducts points with the doctor. Sometimes I ask and sometimes I don't. To me it is pretty clear that when half the huge population of medical folks that were there at the start have left that the person is going to live and the rest is just x-rays and lab draws. So the person can now be covered.

How about the demented folks in rooms with their butts hanging out of their johnnies, completely oblivious to the fact? When we go by can we cover them up? How about the female patient having a pelvic exam and having every Tom Dick and Harry walk in like it's no big deal? Or the intoxicated frequent patron who has somehow forgotten his clothing and has a blanket that keeps falling off? I firmly believe that whatever the complaint, the frequency of care in the department that each person should be in some way covered. No exceptions. Besides, there are children in the department who don't need to be exposed to the exposed.

A pet peeve of mine but also a testament to maintaining patient privacy and dignity. If we can't do this one thing I hate to think what else we cannot do.