[Student-2008]

Originally Posted by cotjockey

I personally think that we need to get everyone who is not a direct care giver out of scrubs. No scrubs for laundry, housekeeping, dietary, or the admissions clerk. All of the people who are not nurses but currently wear scrubs could change to something like comfortable pants and a polo shirt.

I agree with you! I live in Ky. and you can't tell the housekeeping from the nurses...The same goes for the local Pharmacy as well...All the workers wear scrubs...Wearing those white uniforms is what I am dreading the most about the nursing program.

[Nursebaby23]

I think I work at the only facility left on the face of the earth where nurses have to wear white and a nursing cap. The ironic thing is, it really makes me feel and look like a nurse.

[kitty=^..^=cat]

Originally Posted by Nursebaby23

I think I work at the only facility left on the face of the earth where nurses have to wear white and a nursing cap. The ironic thing is, it really makes me feel and look like a nurse.

During Nurses Week this year, I showed up at the office one morning in my "nurse whites" just for the h#ll of it. When I went to the units on my morning "rounds", I was very surprised by the response. The younger nurses thought it was cooler than anything, the veterans thought I was stupid, and the doctors treated me with more respect than they have since I came to work at my current facility. Since then, I've chosen to wear a more traditional nursing uniform a day or two every week, and it seems to have made a difference in the way I'm regarded by not only the docs but my CEO and the staff. It's like I've really become the Director of Nursing to a lot of folks instead of just having a sign that says so by my door.

Ability, competence, education, experience and motivation count for a lot, but apparently "looking like a nurse" is a variable too.

[begalli]

I enjoy a crisp white scrub top tucked into my ceil blue scrub pants. Especially in the summertime.

[lpn1313]

Where I work, we are converting to color coded uniform pants. Nurses- no matter their degree- will be wearing white pants. Do I think it will help identify me as the nurse? Heck no! People that I have introduced myself to numerous times still can't figure out that I'm the nurse. But there's nothing we can do about it. I guess I'll have to get used to people checking out my legs and backside all the time Of course, that would be nicer if the average visitor wasn't a 70+ female

[Ruby Vee]

Originally Posted by cotjockey

I personally think that we need to get everyone who is not a direct care giver out of scrubs. No scrubs for laundry, housekeeping, dietary, or the admissions clerk. All of the people who are not nurses but currently wear scrubs could change to something like comfortable pants and a polo shirt.

AMEN to that! In our hospital everyone wears scrubs: pharmacy, housekeeping, the secretaries. the supply assiciates, dietary, the lady that scans the IV pumps daily to keep track of where they are. Everyone! There's no reason for anyone who doesn't touch patients to wear scrubs! Why make nurses change so "the patients will know who their nurse is." If people who weren't doing patient care weren't wearing scrubs, it wouldn't be an issue!

[nursesherry]

Originally Posted by brian

The Cherry Ames nursing cap is still out. But at hospitals nationwide, nurses are bringing back all-white uniforms, hoping to help patients figure out who gives the shots and who hands out lunch.

It was just a few decades ago that nurses tossed the cap and stockings for more comfortable scrubs. Then the scrubs covered in teddy bears, candy canes and snazzy stripes started appearing.

"Nurses were wearing a variety of things, from T-shirts to golf shirts, things that didn't always match," says Joan Massella, chief nursing officer at St. Clair Hospital in Mount Lebanon, Pa.

"Patients had a hard time telling the difference between nurses and housekeepers and lab techs."

It's unclear exactly how many hospitals have returned to uniforms. Nursing officers say there's no doubt it's happening, even though it hasn't been easy.

To begin with, most nurses don't want to wear uniforms. In a 2003 online survey by the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, 21 percent of more than 1,000 nurses said they preferred wearing a uniform, compared with 64 percent of those who wanted to wear scrubs.

Nurses worry that white shows stains more easily, is harder to clean and costs more -- about $18 for regular scrubs vs. $20-$25 for white ones or a uniform.

Some hospitals have given nurses a stipend, from $50 to $100 for the new clothes, and by making arrangements with manufacturers for cheaper costs.

Full Story: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...87/1007/LIVING

Nurses have long been referred to as "Angels of Mercy". I think that white signifies that. White uniforms, although inpractical for some, are symbolic of the Nurse. A white crisp uniform provides a clean and neat appearance (at least for the first hour or so of the shift). A white crisp uniform provides assurance to the patient that their care is being provided by a licensed professional. I have seen housekeepers who keep their scrubs neat, clean and pressed while some nurses come in with wrinkled, unmatched scrubs. This is confusing to the patient. I think going back to white uniforms would force nurses to take more pride in their appearance and their profession. I know I wear scrubs for the convenience as do most other nurses. In a perfect world, I think, white is ideal.

[renerian]

Women, periods, betadine, blood and stool don't mix with white........

renerian

[Kenike]

I've had several residents (I'm an aide in long term care) comment that they wish that nurses wore white. Many complain that they don't knowif they are talking to the nurse, that aide, or the janitor.
Personally I don't mind (too much) being told to wear a certain color, just so long as it's not white.

[NursePamela]

I think the longer we do not wear white the more patients are learning to ask who we are. Also staff needs to be reminded to introduce themselves not just with name but with job title as well. I really like the dry erase boards in rooms so one can write down who is who.

How about keep the colored scrubs but bring back some new design on hats??? Ok so it might be a little weird the nurse walking in with a baseball cap on or something but it is better than all white.

I also want to add there might need to be some control on the scrubs that are worn. I worked with a male nurse who shaved his head and wore black scrubs with skull and crossbones on it. Although he was a good nurse, if I did not know him, I would not have wanted him to be mine because he did not come across as an angel of mercy.