Child Life, Education and Creative Arts Therapy

Making Surgical Hats

For a child, having surgery is a stressful and often frightening experience. In addition to the fear children may have regarding their surgical procedure, the experience of seeing doctors and nurses in masks and surgical clothing can be strange and unlike their previous experiences. Having a fun hat to wear can help ease the situation.

How surgical hats are used

To help alleviate some of the stress surrounding a surgical experience, and to promote a trusting and supportive relationship between patients and surgical staff, nurses give handmade surgical hats to patients before their trip into the operating room. Patients then keep the hats, allowing them the opportunity to role-play after the experience which can further help them to positively cope with their experience.

How you can make surgical hats

If you would like to make surgical hats for Children's Hospital's surgical patients, please download the instructions. If you have questions or need more information, e-mail scullys@email.chop.edu.

Please send all surgical hats to:

Susan Scully, RN
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Operating Room, 4th Floor
34th Street and Civic Center Blvd.
Philadelphia, PA 19104

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