[Kenike]

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

If I was a patient or a family member this would creep me out.

[NikkiK77]

I think that the idea of nurses wearing white is the most rediculous idea ever! I won't start nursing school until Fall so I may be wrong, but as a mother I know that sick people, children, and white clothing do not belong together. Sure you can bleach it when you get home, but what do you do in the meantime? I actually think the most practical choice would be a maroon colored scrub that would blend in with most hospital related stains-blood, betadine, most liquid medicine, etc. I also agree that not all hospital employees should wear the same uniform. If a nurse wore a doctor's white coat it could be taken as a misrepresentation. So, if a receptionist wore the same uniform as a nurse, a patient could easily mistake her for a nurse and I think that is irresponsible.

[Tony35NYC]

Hmmm, there are nurses that I work with who take this uniform thing very seriously because they don't like being confused with the janitor. I personally don't see it as such a big deal because I don't think I'd look any more professional in an all-white getup. To me it just seems impractical for a modern-day nurse to wear white because nursing can be a such dirty job. But, if I had to wear a white uniform I wouldn't have a problem with it---as long as its not a dress and a white cap.

[lady_jezebel]

Not me! I can't stand white uniforms. I'll never wear them.

[HyperRNRachel]

As messy as I am it would look like I was wearing poka-a-dots instead of all white!

[Marie_LPN, RN]

If someone else wants to bleach, wash, dry and iron the white, then i might consider wearing them.

[1Tulip]

One of the side benefits of the old cap days was that each school had an identifiable design. It was kind of a pride thing. (Except our cap looked like an upside down french-fry container.) But we also used to wear our school pins. (Mine is gold on onyx. Very classy.) Do schools even give out a pin any more? Does anyone wear them with their name tags?

[Marie_LPN, RN]

Pinning is still a part of a lot of graduation ceremonies.

[ceecel.dee]

I guess that I prefer white as being professional looking when compared to the "kiddie pajama" look of Scooby Doo or the Care Bears.

[RN4NICU]

I think white feeds into the "angel of mercy" image too much. I think nursing, as a profession, would be better served by moving beyond that. As I stated before, I think navy projects a very professional image without having to draw us into the whole self-sacrificing angel trap (and you look more like a health care professional and less like a painter).

My opinion (take it or leave it) is that the Care Bears and Scooby scrubs were created for nurses who work with children. If they were left in that setting, I really do not see the problem with them. Children respond better to printed scrubs than they do to white.

It is simply not practical for nurses in specialty areas (any ICU, peds, OR, ER, LDRP) to wear all white. I worked at one hospital where the ICUs wore navy, ER and OR wore teal, L&D wore a print top with matching pants, and the med/surg areas wore white. No one seemed to have a problem with the dress code there. Housekeeping/dietary wore gray polos and black pants. It looked much better than having non-clinical people in scrubs. The unit secretaries were cross-trained as CNAs, so they also wore scrubs.