color coding staff

Nurses General Nursing

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My facility wants to color code the RN/LPN's. Our choices are: black, green, navy blue, white (yuck), burgundy. Some nurses are angry. I really don't care...old private school uniform person here. Any opinions on favorite color choices from the mentioned list?

The hospital I work at has the following color system.

Nurses - blue and/or white

Peds nurses- teddy bear tops and blue or white pants

CNA's - wine

Respiratory - hunter green

Physical therapy - purple

Housekeeping- tan and green uniforms, not scrubs

OR - hospital provides light blue scrubs

Patients get a folder upon admission which includes a description of who wears what color.

I think the color coding is a bad deal. It will be confusing when, as we know, not everyone will comply. I think the best idea would be have RNs wear white lab coats over their whatever color/print scrubs. Personally, I work in home ehalth and like the freedom to wear whatever print I want to work. I sew and making scrubs/uniforms lets me be creative. :chuckle

Laura (heading to the fabric store to find some Spiderman fabric :rotfl: )

Our management just finished a color coding of staff and while it serves an internal purpose I agree that to the outside world we are just one big rainbow. Each unit has different color options, however only the staff knows what color is on what floor. I work on the ICU/PCU and we can either wear purple, hunter green or the dreaded white. I am a CNA and the RNs wear the same as I do. The only difference is the unit secretaries that wear white top, black pants and a green jacket with their title embroidered on it. Our management has changed colors on us twice in the past three years and I am getting tired of buying new colors ... if they want us to look a specific way, then I want a uniform allowance!

I don't like the idea........you get into a fine line of.........what color is more important. I read a reply regarding RN's wearing navy blue/white....LPN in burgandy, techs in teal.........."the navy/white looks so professional".....as in the LPN is not professional?? NO, I'm not getting into THAT discussion. At our hospital there are different colors for different depts....light blue/surgery, hunter green/housekeeping, tan & black/transporters, etc.

I like the option of wearing what I want. I once worked at a place where we had to wear all white AND those funky little hats that fall off no matter how many pins you put in.

Nursing school was ok. Specific colors to identify what school you were attending. I don't think it really matters with most of the patients......they think everybody is the 'nurse'.

If we start 'colorizing' the different levels we will start having discrimination problems......RN vs LPN.......but if we go that route, color code the different levels of RN....diploma, ADN, BSN, MSN......the list goes on and on......

Just my opinion.

Specializes in Emergency.

Lab coats are ok if you are just in and out of pts room all day and nignt. The just dont work in the ER where you can one second be starting an IV and the next you are doing CPR on a pt they are getting ready to crack the chest on with blood all over- oops guess they need to buy me another coat.

:rolleyes: Rj

Color coding wouldn't bother me, but wearing a lab coat would. Personally I wouldn't work anywhere where I had to wear one of those. As a floor nurse, they are way to uncomfortable. I'm on my feet for 12-13 hours and I certainly don't need to be hot and uncomfortable.

Color coding wouldn't bother me, but wearing a lab coat would. Personally I wouldn't work anywhere where I had to wear one of those. As a floor nurse, they are way to uncomfortable. I'm on my feet for 12-13 hours and I certainly don't need to be hot and uncomfortable.
I worked for the dept of corrections (prison) for 13 years. It was required you wear a lab coat at all times. The rational for this was your behind had to be covered! Sometimes it got really hot but you couldn't take it off for anything.
Specializes in NICU, PICU, educator.
I worked for the dept of corrections (prison) for 13 years. It was required you wear a lab coat at all times. The rational for this was your behind had to be covered! Sometimes it got really hot but you couldn't take it off for anything.

I couldn't do the lab coat either...our unit's temp varies from room to room and I'd be sweating in some! We don't have a problem with people complying with the dress code at all in our hospital. And our LPN's dress as the nurses on the floor do.

Just an update: This situation caused such a ruckus at the hospital the admins dropped the idea. After all the fuss, it turned out to be for nothing. Oh well.

I think housekeeping should not wear scrubs. Remember the janiters in school when you were a kid?

I remember them wearing gray pants and button down grey shirt. Short sleeves in summer, long in winter. This would be good. If a button down shift would require ironing, how about grey polos for housekeeping? There is no reason for housekeeping or dietary to wear scrubs.

I like a combo of navy and white for RNs, ceil blue for LPNs, green for CNAs.

I think our job titles should be in bold, one inch high letters on our badges.

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

I agree: housekeeping and dietary should NOT wear scrubs. Fortunately, where I work they no longer do.

My facility wants to color code the RN/LPN's. Our choices are: black, green, navy blue, white (yuck), burgundy. Some nurses are angry. I really don't care...old private school uniform person here. Any opinions on favorite color choices from the mentioned list?

What are they angry about? Nowadays no one knows the difference between an RN, an LPN or the housekeeper. If color coding helps people differentiate between the different people caring for them, I don't see the problem. Patients have a RIGHT to know. As for me, I prefer to wear white. I just think it looks nice and professional. If I am going to " mess around in body fluids" so to speak, I always wear a gown anyway.( Doesn't help me with ink and coffee stains though. :uhoh21: )

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