Mo has given us the word STRIPE for Manic Monday.
When I was a young girl I was a Candy striper which is a nickname for a female hospital volunteer derived from a formerly common outfit.
When I went to Google to find a picture of a Candy striper here's the first image I came across:
Yes, that's exactly how I looked when I was a Candy striper. Ya think they thought I meant Candy Stripper?
Here's the definition from WiseGeek.com:
A candy striper was traditionally a young, female hospital volunteer; a concept that originated in the 1940s. The unique job title represented the candy cane look of the red and white-striped pinafores worn by the volunteers. Traditionally, the girls sewed their own pinafores. East Orange General Hospital in New Jersey claims to have started the first candy striper program in 1944. This is what real Candy stripers looked like:
In general, the goal of a candy striper was to make a patient's stay in the hospital more pleasant. Initially, a candy striper simply delivered mail or patient meals, but as nurses became overburdened, the volunteers took on additional duties. Now, a candy striper might help feed, or read to, a patient; assist as a patient is discharged; or deliver messages. Other duties include transporting book or video carts to patient rooms.
I wore that red striped uniform for a couple of years when I was of high school age (much later than the 1940s! ): the years when I thought I could be a nurse. I was sent to all the floors: Cardio, Obstetrics, Pediatrics, etc. I once took care of a little chubby baby who had been burned in a fire. He had terrible scabs on his face and, where some scabbing had fallen off, his skin was pink, not the caramel color of his own skin. I remember wondering if the pink skin would return to its natural color. I remember my heart went out to him. But he was always smiling and after a while, he smiled a great big smile when I came into the ward to visit him.
It didn't take long, though, for me to know that nursing was not for me. However, I must say the training for candy striper work taught me some very useful things: how to make a bed with "hospital corners," how to put a pillow in a pillow case without struggling, and how to change the bedsheets with a person in the bed.
Here's a video that shows you how to make "hospital corners:"
When I was a young girl I was a Candy striper which is a nickname for a female hospital volunteer derived from a formerly common outfit.
When I went to Google to find a picture of a Candy striper here's the first image I came across:
Yes, that's exactly how I looked when I was a Candy striper. Ya think they thought I meant Candy Stripper?
Here's the definition from WiseGeek.com:
A candy striper was traditionally a young, female hospital volunteer; a concept that originated in the 1940s. The unique job title represented the candy cane look of the red and white-striped pinafores worn by the volunteers. Traditionally, the girls sewed their own pinafores. East Orange General Hospital in New Jersey claims to have started the first candy striper program in 1944. This is what real Candy stripers looked like:
In general, the goal of a candy striper was to make a patient's stay in the hospital more pleasant. Initially, a candy striper simply delivered mail or patient meals, but as nurses became overburdened, the volunteers took on additional duties. Now, a candy striper might help feed, or read to, a patient; assist as a patient is discharged; or deliver messages. Other duties include transporting book or video carts to patient rooms.
I wore that red striped uniform for a couple of years when I was of high school age (much later than the 1940s! ): the years when I thought I could be a nurse. I was sent to all the floors: Cardio, Obstetrics, Pediatrics, etc. I once took care of a little chubby baby who had been burned in a fire. He had terrible scabs on his face and, where some scabbing had fallen off, his skin was pink, not the caramel color of his own skin. I remember wondering if the pink skin would return to its natural color. I remember my heart went out to him. But he was always smiling and after a while, he smiled a great big smile when I came into the ward to visit him.
It didn't take long, though, for me to know that nursing was not for me. However, I must say the training for candy striper work taught me some very useful things: how to make a bed with "hospital corners," how to put a pillow in a pillow case without struggling, and how to change the bedsheets with a person in the bed.
Here's a video that shows you how to make "hospital corners:"
