[JessieRN]

Okay, I was just thinking. This is kinda a goofy thing, but oh well. Last week we got t-shirts to wear to work on a certain, and I did so. And I felt so unprofessional walking around in my t-shirt!

But I got to thinking. Why? I usually wear Pooh and Tinkerbell scrub tops...And Scooby Doo, as do many of our nursing staff. So, if I am used to wearing cartoons, why she a t-shirt feel "un-professional". And this leads me to another questions...

How did it get to be okay for nurses to wear scrubs with such loud, crazy, colorful scrubs? Some of our scrub prints look like they should be in a playroom at a daycare center.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love the loud, crazy prints. I think they are fun. But, I still don't understand why as a group of professionals, this dress code became standard and acceptable. This may seem silly to you guys, but I'm wondering.

[Jeffthenurse]

On a pediatric unit, loud funny scrubs would be acceptable because the kids respond to them positively. I actually find scrubs to be sloppy for home care nursing but comfortable and professional in an ICU.
The most absurd article of clothing I ever saw in a hospital was
a t-shirt worn by a cashier in the cafeteria.....it had a skull and crossbones on the front and said something about the food (can't remember exactly what) but I remember looking down at my food tray and wondered if I should eat it! I asked her how she could wear that and not expect people to see it and she eventually stopped wearing it.I've had students (nursing school) wear t-shirts to class saying, "What's a good girl like me doing in a place like this?" and I've had to tell them it was inappropriate for them to wear that shirt and they stopped.
I don't like wearing uniforms and I think nurses should have the right to wear street clothes like other professionals can wear but that right will be taken away from us if we don't act accordingly.

[Katnip]

I've seen loud prints all over the hospital, including Dora the Explorer in adult ICU. Peds, fine. But some people have no clue how ridiculous they look.

Why is it allowed? Because people complain about the right to self expression at work. Nevermind, they don't understand how it looks unprofessional.

[kiddienurse06]

I too work in a peds office so I of course wear sponge bob & others but some days I just wear plain scrubs with no design cause I get tired of the loudness. I definetly think you should wear scrubs for your "area" of work. Wearing cartoons in an adult ICU seems just out of place for me. Of course I have issues with people that are not nurses wearing scrubs anyway. (didn't mean in offend)

[BlueRidgeHomeRN]

When setting the dress code for our Home Health agency, we also thought long and hard about this. We finally decided on plain white or blue scrubs for all nurses, just to maintain the professional image (especially since we're out in the community daily, and driving a company car).

Have to agree that cartoons should be limited to Peds'. Just an observation of mine........ but the louder and more outrageous the scrubs I see walking around Walmart, the higher the chances that the wearer is a nursing assistant, vet tech, or personal care attendant. Maybe I'm just a cranky old fart, but our elderly patients seem to understand that white=nurse!

[RNsRWe]

I'll add my voice to the "cartoons belong in the kiddie unit" group. I've said this in a number of posts on a number of threads (on allnurses, we sure do like this topic!).

There will be plenty of people who will speak in favor of those kinds of outfits, and as long as they're produced, people will buy them. So, it really just comes down to what kind of image you'd like to project, and whether you are ok with the the kind of response you may get for looking like that.

When I wear all whites, the patients like them. When I'm in my solid colors, the patients like them. And when I'm wearing bright prints, they like them too. I like to think they're responding to the professional wearing them, rather than whether they prefer the floral prints or the splashes of color, or the monotone look.

Thing is, in order to be treated like a professional, the patient has to assume you ARE one as you approach. I've posted this elsewhere....how can you expect to be thought of as a medical professional automatically, when they see you coming at them wearing Winnie the Pooh?

By the way, I wear my white lab coat on occasion, too, and smile when I correct the occasional patient or family member who thinks I'm a doctor. But I'd much rather be thought of as a professionally dressed doctor, and correct that, than be thought of as someone who wore her 12-year-olds pajamas into work that day!

[KaroSnowQueen]

I think anyone who nursed back in the old days (early 1980's) and had to wear a white dress and cap to work will understand how appealing the colored scrubs are now!!!
I hated wearing white anything (I'm busty and a slob -- wearing my lunch on my WHITE shirted chest did NOT look professional!!). And that cap, oh good Lord, caught it on everything.
I personally like scrub tops with colorful prints, but I have noticed I don't do animal prints. Or cartoons -- but I do have one Rudolph and one Christmas Pooh, I mean come on, Christmas is for kids!!! But in my usual work I like botanical prints, maybe a geometric or two, no cartoons.
I don't like seeing Sponge Bob on a grown man. Or woman for that matter. Unless they are in Peds and only Peds.