My facility has a uniform policy which is all nurses wear either ALL white, or navy pants and white top. The nurses feel a lack of individuality, and the patients when asked voice that they would like to see colors. What do you feel about this limited uniform policy?? I'd like to use your opinions when I proceed to facilitate a change in this policy. Thanks for your input!!! :)
I hate WHITE SCRUBS! I don't like the nursing hats either. I'm a guy, so it's not a worry for me, but some women still wear them.
To me, if I'm a patient, and a nurse comes in in a while dress (old school type) and a white hat, I wouldn't feel comfortable. It's just COLD. You can be the nicest person in the world and take great care of someone but if you're wearing white scrubs, to me I think it is prohibiting comfort in your patients to some extent...ESPECIALLY pediatric patients. Children have a hard enough time already. They're already sick, or injured, or whatever, and they are scared.
That's just my opinion on that.
As to what type of scrubs I think NURSES SHOULD wear...well, I think they should match. BUT, this is only because I'm a man and the uniform is in my opinion unfairly biased!
Actually, I could not care any less about that but it is true. As women, you can wear a solid OR print pant, or solid pant with print top scrubs.
Honestly, when I see a guy wearing print top scrubs...sigh...well, I wouldn't do it. There just aren't really any manly print scrubs out there. When you see a man wearing a Valentine print top scrub on the 14th of February it's going to create an instant stereotype, and I think it probably should as it's likely accurate.
I don't know, I think there has to be SOME line. If it was up to me I'd say matching scrub top and bottom, shoes need to be MOSTLY white, but don't have to be ALL WHITE. Personally though, if I had my way I'd allow for professional dress with maybe a lab type jacket or something. I feel much more comfortable in khaki slacks and a nice polo or button up shirt than I do in a pair of scrubs. Well, that's not true, physically scrubs are more comfortable, but I'm talking about non physical comfort. However, nursing is a "dirty" JOB. You get blood on you, you get sputum on you, you get...gagging...feces or urine on you. Well, I guess it depends what type of nurse you are, what your specialty is, and what kind of unit you work on.
Working as a nurse is not about fashion, it's about taking care of patients, but there is no harm about being at least a little loose in the dress code policy. I always wear solid scrubs and usually dark in color. My scrubs are all blue, but I have one pair of grey scrubs and one pair of those O.R. green type color scrubs and that's it.
I have an orange pair but they were made by Ralph Lauren and I only wear them at home! I'd love to have some Oklahoma State Orange Scrubs and wear those but orange I think would be kinda scary, like you are the biohazard team or something :).
In nursing school we all had matching scrubs and the girls got to pick them out. I was the only guy in the class (when I switched to the night class). Our uniforms were white pants and a blue top. Man they were WEAK! My top was quite a bit different but the pants, man, I called them storm trooper pants. They had pockets on the sides and tapered down at the leg. That whole taper thing is fine on a woman cause hardly any of them wore cross trainers like I did. They wore those cute little nursing shoes or clogs or whatever else.
And ladies, some fashion lady explained this on Oprah one day...NEVER wear anything that is tapered. It makes you look fat in the hips. Just a tip I heard.
Anyway, I HATED IT!
White scrubs = BAD BAD BAD!
So anyway, that's my opinion but it probably isn't worth much!
my hospital went back to white pants and jackets for nurses (except in Ob where I'm at with hospital supplied scrubs and ERand peds/nsy can wear peds colored tops) nurses can wear a colored polo type top. Patients still think whoever comes in their room is the nurse be it nurse, aide, housekeeping or dietary even when told who the nurse is and names written on a wipe off board. The white cover jacket I have to wear when going off the unit gets real dingy looking really fast. I do think you should look neat but the all white doesn't look good real fast if you do anything more then pass pills.
Im always surprised when i hear hospitals decided to go back to wearing white uniforms. White uniforms are completely impracticle in a hospital setting where you are more likely to come in contact with colorful human substances!
And no matter how much you bleach these uniforms, the white is never the same and looks dingy! to me, that looks unkempt!
And for those co-workers who wear the funky style/color underwear...well its more apparent in white uniforms, and i just dont wanna see that at all! EWWW! I did work with one woman (in WI) who wore the whole '60's' style nursing uniform: the button down/fitted dress, the white hose, clunky thick soled shoes and topped it off with the nursing cap! I couldnt believe my eyes the first time i saw her! I thought it was a joke or something! And by the way, very few patients commented positively on this, and i worked on a neuro unit full of patients in their 60's-90's years of age!
Leave the white uniforms for the nursing,and medical students....thats how our group in nursing school stood out among the hospital staff on our clinicals. And it made sense!
I couldnt wait to throw out all my white uniforms from school! Some of my fellow nursing student friends had a 'burn party' with these white uniforms...it was pretty funny!
Its hard to come to a decision re: color of uniforms for everyone, but to choose two colors should give enough choice, i think!
Good luck!!!
Ok...I'm one of those strange ones that still wear white...all white. Imagine that...a male nurse that wears all white. I've been nursing for seven years, and have had LOTS of nurses, all over the country (I'm a travel nurse) trying to convert me to colors. I now live on Kwajalein, Marshall Islands (Military Installation) and they have convinced me to wear a few tropical tops--but not often. I do have my name and RN embroidered on my white tops so folks don't confuse me too often as a student.
Do I think all nurses should wear white, yea, I guess I do. How often has a patient said, "Well, I told the other nurse about that" and found out they told the janitor, nurse aide, lab tech, etc. So many colors and styles being worn by EVERYONE in the hospital can cause confusion for patients.
Practicality--sure, I get sh*t on me (figuratively and literally) once in a while, don't we all. For the most part, washing gets everythng out.
Old fashioned?--I guess it is, but let's think of some other professions and the colors they wear: Cop- Blue, State Trooper-Tan, Forest Ranger-Green, Painter- White, Maitr'd (sp?)- Black Tux, Airline Pilot-White shirt with matching tie/pants, Preist- black and white collar, Judge- black gown, etc, etc, etc...and finally Doctor- White lab coat. Sure there are some areas with variation, but overall that color code fits.
As far as asking patients what they thought, I've heard more positives towards wearing white in my informal studies.
As far as wearing lab coats and professional dress, I'd LOVE it!! I would switch to that in a heartbeat EXCEPT then there's the possible confusion between who is Doctor and who is nurse?
The best solution I've seen was at the Heart Hospital of Austin. All nurses wore navy blue (white not allowed which pissed me off); aides, anxillary staff, and custodial all wore tan. It was preferred to buy from the hospital supply with the hospital logo on the top. It was clear to the patient who was whom (is that grammar right?).
I've come to accept that most hospitals are not going to have a dress code with exact colors, and I can live with that. I'll continue to wear mostly my whites, and let everyone else wear what they would like within reason. The things I think are unprofessional are the women that wear 3/4 or tight tops--it looks great (on most of them) but we're not at Hooters. Or, the guys that wear pants without support (and obviously should) or snug enough to leave nothing to the imagination. It's all about the professional look.
I am so glad we did not end up with white uniforms!!
Sept 1 our hospital went to a new uniform color for nurses. The reason given was because patients and Doctors complained they could not tell who were nurses and who are nursing assistants etc. Forget that everyone had to wear a name tag that states your job, and on the weekends when MD's wore jeans how were we supposed to know who they are? Over the past few years uniforms became variable in all departments. So everyone was wearing different scrubs etc,. This took a while to implement - about 3 months.. We were able to place our recommendations then 3 combinations were chosen, most we did not like, and then we all voted. We ended up with black pants and wine/burgandy tops. There was a lot of complaining, but now 2 months later it is over and everyone seems to have adjusted. It caused a lot of dissension and unhappiness but now that is in the past and everyone is talking about poor staffing and we are close to becoming union. Each department is one by one choosing a color for their uniforms. I always worked in ICU so we wore a certain color scrub that was provided by the hospital , but then we had such a difficult time keeping them in stock that they stopped supplying scrubs and we went to any colors provided by nurse.
I hate white uniforms!!! I wk agency so have to keep a few on hand because some hospitals still require them. One administrator actually said 'he wants his nurses to look like nurses'. I think he needs to spend a day in the er with us. by the end of the day you can see all the crap that gets on us, esp from dirty patients and blood, at least colors hide some of the crap..
Our hospital just recently made all clinical personel go to navy scrubs with white jackets. This includes nurses, CNAs, respiratory, lab, PT, etc. We hate it. We were told by the powers to be that it "would make us look more professional." Ha. Since this new uniform policy went into effect 9 months ago (along with some other new rules), our Press Ganey scores have gone down considerably. Administration is shaking their heads trying to figure out why scores have gone down. We told that a strict uniform policy doesn't necessarily equate professionalism. They still don't get it.
I definitely don't want all white. Our DON talked about that when they were going to change the uniform policy, and the nurses pretty much told her that would we quit en masse if she insisted on that. She backed down pretty quick.
I think the idea of khaki pants and a polo shirt are more "professional" looking than "pajamas" but I can live with the scrubs as long as they are not white.
Ever since I got out of nursing school the one thing i looked forward to was getting rid of the white scrubs. I had no idea that this was an issue in hospitals. I do agree that nurses should be able to show their individuality through the type of scrubs that they wear. Maybe you should try gettin a petition started and see how other nurses feel around your hospital.
you get another job. i did. there was no way anyone was going to take my individuality from me or make me wear something they wanted me to wear. that stems from control issues and i don't need to be around people who have issues. my gosh just think keeping my individual look, with more pay and better benefits.
I have quite a few white scrubs.....if they get gunked up, they can be bleached. Yes, I have other colours, too; I love the landau pants with the 'scrunched' cuffs (I hate having to hem...too busy to do that, for one). As long as the dang things are clean, etc....no real set policy.
Wow! This post is over a year old and some people are still responding. So here I go...
The policy of my hospital is navy blue for RNs, burgondy (sp?) for PCTs, NTs, LPNs. Respiratory, PT/OT, ect, all have their own uniform colors.
I believe here in Michigan all the hospitals (at least in metro Detroit) are stipulating navy blue scrubs for the RNs. There are a few hospitals where it is hard to "convert" their RNs from wearing any color scrubs to the navy blue. Perhaps these RNs would be benefited if they received coupons or rebates from their employer to get them started.
Personally I think the stipulation on color is a good idea. That way the patients and other staff can identify a nurse immediately out of all the other disciplines working in the hospital.
But I'm sure some people have a differernt opinion than mine.
The unexplainable Moo Cow wrote:Wow! This post is over a year old and some people are still responding. So here I go...
The policy of my hospital is navy blue for RNs, burgondy (sp?) for PCTs, NTs, LPNs. Respiratory, PT/OT, ect, all have their own uniform colors.
I believe here in Michigan all the hospitals (at least in metro Detroit) are stipulating navy blue scrubs for the RNs. There are a few hospitals where it is hard to "convert" their RNs from wearing any color scrubs to the navy blue. Perhaps these RNs would be benefited if they received coupons or rebates from their employer to get them started.
Personally I think the stipulation on color is a good idea. That way the patients and other staff can identify a nurse immediately out of all the other disciplines working in the hospital.
But I'm sure some people have a differernt opinion than mine.
Hi again, Moo,
I agree with you that patients need to be able to differentiate who is who. I don't think color matters but I agree that institutions need to make uniform consistent throughout the facility. Finally, I don't think there is a substitute for a name badge with the photo and credentials of the owner. Patients and family deserve to be able to identify facility staff; not to mention how it simplifies staff identifying each other.
Our hospital has gone to a uniform policy also. Most of the RNs and the LVNs hate it. As RNs we "get" to wear army green and a couple of various shades and the LVNs wear khaki. We went to this policy because the MDs and administration decided we needed more uniformity throughout the hospital and because nobody could tell who was who, even though we have name badges with our name and titles in BOLD BLACK letters. But, at least it is not just the nursing staff, this was hospital wide, even the clinical managers have to wear the same colors.
The facility I'm currently contracted in allows staff to wear any color except all black. I keep some solid white on hand because I'm a traveler and some facilites require nurses to wear white, but I haven't run across that in a while.
With no rules on uniform colors in the nursing home I work at I find that no one can tell a nurse from a CNA from a housekeeper. While I don't feel nurses should have to wear ALL white, I do feel that no other department should be allowed to wear white. The other day I had a CNA wearing a white jacket over her scrub top and to me she looked like a nurse. Most days I wear white pants and a print top that either has a white background or white in the pattern. But that is just my personal preference. To me white = nurse and I'm a new nurse and take a little bit of pride in wanting to look like a nurse... just not completely in white! :D
I wear white pants sometimes, but I hate that they tend to get dirty. Also, I don't like having to remember to wear white underwear. I work in pediatrics, where we are encouraged to wear bright, child-friendly scrubs. The rest of my hospital is pretty conservative. I would love to see the hospital provide us with scrubs of their color choice and we could just change as necessary. As a matter of fact, as I type this, I am sitting at work at the end of my shift wearing hospital issued ceil blue scrubs because a 2 month old barfed all over me at the beginning of my shift. Now I have to go home and do that laundry, which is gross to me. I would love to be able to throw my scrubs into a linen bag at the end of the day and walk out wearing my jeans. Some of the nurses in my hospital, mostly ICU nurses, wear all white. I think if I were to work with adults I wouldn't wear the scrubs I wear now because I would never be able to tell someone their mother or father has passed on and do it wearing scrubs with Snoopy or Strawberry Shortcake on them. It would seem like I wasn't being serious during a very serious time. I think nurses need to distinguish themselves from the PCTs, RTs, and other staff though. It must be so confusing for patients to see so many people in scrubs and not know who is a nurse and who isn't. If the traditional white uniform isn't going to be used anymore, then nurses as a profession should come up with a new "universal look" to distinguish ourselves. Nowdays everyone wears scrubs, even the ladies who come to clean my house!
Hi, I work for Barnes Jewish Hospital in Saint Louis in the ER. Currently I am a secretary, but I graduate at the end of this year. We have a color code system for all staff. Everyone is require to wear a solid pant in the color assigned for their position and allowed to wear solid or printed tops of the same color. RNs wear dark blue, secretaries wear purple, inventory wears tan. The housekeeping wear black, but recently they updated their uniforms. The now wear pin striped pants and a more fitted top with lapels, but it is all made out of scrub material and very washer friendly. Pretty cool for them huh? I think it would be better for the patients if the RNs wore blue and everyone else wore a different color but all the same color. I also think that doctors should have a dress code. Where I work they are allowed to wear scrubs or business clothes with a lab jacket. Well other employees (RTs, CT techs, Xray techs, etc..) also wear lab jackets and this can be very confusing to the patients. I think doctors in the ER should be required to wear black cargo pants and a solid/printed scrib top or polo shirt. The top should be the same color for all physicians.
PS I think it is tacky tacky tacky for anyone to wear all white and especially to wear white pants. I think it is a great color for students to have to wear, but after that it should be banned. I think the medical community as a whole should get together and decide a color for RNs and Doctors to wear because as a patient I would be very disturbed by not being able to tell who the nurses were and who was not. And if doctors don't want to go to a dress code, then I think that no other disiplines in the hospital should be able to wear white coats except for doctors.
