Ideas That Work: Made With Love

I’m known for crafting surgical caps made of bright colorful fabric and giving them to my colleagues as small gestures of how much I appreciate working with them. We’re covered in PPE from head to toe during surgery, so it’s fun to add a little color and personality to the sea of OR green. Inspiration struck while I was caring for a pediatric patient who was about to undergo an emergency appendectomy. The patient was inconsolable until I began to point out the animals on the cap of the anesthesia provider. To get me started, my coworker gave me a cap-making pattern made of blue wrap. I brought it home, pulled some fun patterns out of my fabric stash and started sewing. What began as a personal hobby to make a few caps for myself has evolved into me receiving requests from interested colleagues. During the COVID-19 outbreak, staff members outside of our surgical department began wearing reusable caps as an added layer of protection, so I recently made and donated 50 caps to the hospital for distribution. There are several templates to choose from on Etsy if you want to add a little fun and flair to your ORs (osmag.net/dNwX3Z).

Kristen Dirksen, RN, AND
Valley View Hospital
Glenwood Springs, Colo.
[email protected]