An Ode to Inappropriate Christmas Decor - Nursing Style
I LOVE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS!
Especially when they’re put up by nurses! The holidays, like Halloween, are one of my favorite times of year to peruse social media to see what kind of crazy decorations that hospital staff (i.e. usually the nurses) have cooked up.
This year has not disappointed.
Below is a sampling of some of my favorite hospital decorations that I have found on the interwebs this year. Enjoy, chuckle & maybe steal a few ideas (NOT ALL ARE APPROPRIATE - I cannot be held responsible for your choices.) for your own unit.
Caution: Most were gathered from big social media accounts sans credit to the originators, so sourcing is hard. If you know the source of any of these gems, PLEASE LET ME KNOW, and I will happily give credit to the creators of these wacky creations. Also forgive me for grainy picture quality. I do my best.
Category 1 - Urinal & Bedpan Decor
Objects that are meant to contain urine and bowel movements made into art have a deer (PUN) place in my heart. They seem to be typically turned into reindeer and wreaths, a practice that I applaud. I find this practice absolutely golden. #shamelesspun
A classic urinal wreath with colorful Coban for flair.
A darling bedpan reindeer with festive pompoms.
The cardboard bedpan reindeer cousin to our specimen above. #specimenjoke
The Combo - bedpan reindeer with urinal wreath + PUN MESSAGE! A personal favorite.
Category 2 - Christmas Trees Made of Medical Equipment
CHRISTMAS TREES! Who doesn’t love them? Well you may love them more once they are made from random medical equipment!
The IV pump Christmas tree - Where did all the pumps go? This one may look familiar as it was circulating a lot last year, but I still love it.
The Condom Christmas Tree - THIS IS MY FAVORITE!!! I don’t know who thought of this or who blew up the condoms (bless you), but this is pure genius. And the flier next to it!! AMAZING! I would love to see this up in my local health department. Safety first, especially with Christmas decor.
Category 3 - Tortured Elves & Gingerbread Men
I don’t know what the Elf on the Shelf guy did to some of y’all, but you are getting BRUTAL on this poor guy. I have never seen so many elves on life support until the last year or two.
Elf on the Life Support - I think his sedation needs to go up. And what are those other figurines doing to him??
Elf on the Life Support II - This guy has enough sedation, but WHAT DID Y’ALL DO TO HIM?? And the bigger question - what did he do to y’all?
Run, Run As Fast As You…. Wait… - I’m calling it an open fracture and insufficient pain management.
Category 4 - Speculum Reindeer
This may be my absolute favorite category. Someone, somewhere was prepping for a pelvic exam, looked at that speculum, and thought - REINDEER! What a visionary! And what a strange mind. Either way, there are some incredible variations on whatever was the original. BEHOLD!!!
The Glamour Shot - I love everything about this photo. The look of the reindeer, the style of the photo… perfection!
The Speculum Sleigh - What’s better than a speculum reindeer? Why 8 of them of course! And Santa looks so excited about it.
Don’t you love nurses even more after seeing some of these photos? Or fear them? Either way, you have to marvel at their creativity and craftsmanship. May it never stop.
Happy Holidays!
- Sarah @ New Thing Nurse
About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.
Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,
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