Dress code...Shorts in summer

indigo girl · Apr 25, 2006

Does anyone work at a facility that allows you to wear shorts in the summer? The nursing home I worked at would let you wear shorts May thru Sept. This seems to be commonplace in my area in the Detroit area, particularly at facilities without air conditioning.

Lots of LTC's in New England allow this especially the ones with no AC. The staff frequently end up with with towels around their necks to keep from passing out. That's when Dunkin Donuts makes lots of bucks on iced coffees, and Coolatas, anything COLD.

meownsmile, BSN, RN · Apr 25, 2006

How can these facilities get by without A/C for their residents? Dont they have people with breathing difficulties, allergies etc? I would think not having a/c would pose some serious problems for residents.

Being in the north shouldnt have anything to do with it really. It gets darn hot up there too midsummer.

MS._Jen_RN, ASN, RN · Apr 25, 2006

I work in a hosptial, just outside the metro-Detroit area acutally. We are not allowed to wear shorts. We have ac though. I'm sure a lot of patients wish that we didn't- the lol's freeze, ask us to turn on the heat, etc. I wouldn't want them though as it gets chilly inside the building when the air is on at times. If there was no AC though, I would hope that they would let us wear them.

burn out · Apr 25, 2006

Give me air and give me pants.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Apr 25, 2006

Nope. Can't wear shorts here in hot and muggy Florida.

ChevRN · Apr 25, 2006

It seems that at least here, nursing homes are leanient with the dress code in the summer, whether with or without air conditioning. Nurses and CNAs, along with laundry, housekeeping, and dietary are allowed to wear shorts, providing they are of appropriate length (about 2 inches above the knee when standing.

At hospitals, which are all air conditioned, shorts are not allowed. To be more exact, I occasionaly see women wear skorts, the shorts with the flap in the front that looks like a skirt, walking shorts, and capris, however they always wear hose.

When I was in nursing school, one of my instructors (an older and very nice lady who always had good stories) was shocked that the nursing home in which I was working as a CNA while attending school allowed employees to wear shorts - infection control probably.

I myself am layed back with the dress code, and don't have a problem with wearing shorts, however I will share a couple gross experiences which would discourage some people from working bare legged. First, I got a little "poopie on my leg" from a patient that was semi-continent while helping her to the bathroom. Second, while showering a patient with a PEG tube, his tube came open and curdled tube feeding and gastric juices leaked out on my white shorts and my leg. No big deal to me, just washed my leg, more concerned with the stain on my shorts.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Apr 25, 2006

It's not the residents who need A/C. They're always cold, unless it's 95 degrees and even then they still want a sweater. :lol2:

I've found that extra-loose long shorts, which we used to call 'culottes' (but now are called 'gauchos'), are WONDERFUL for beating the heat........they're modest, but nice and cool because the legs are so wide. I have two pairs, and I wish I had a dozen because they are so comfortable. You can dress them up OR down---I've been wearing knee-high stockings with mine, but my legs are tan enough that I could go barelegged on a hot day and still be within our facility's dress code (business casual). I don't have the figure for shorts, anyway, so when it's hot, long gauzy skirts and gauchos will be the order of the day.

indigo girl · Apr 25, 2006

How can these facilities get by without A/C for their residents? Dont they have people with breathing difficulties, allergies etc? I would think not having a/c would pose some serious problems for residents.
Being in the north shouldnt have anything to do with it really. It gets darn hot up there too midsummer.

Generally, folks with lung problems will usually have AC in their rooms. But, the rest of the place, you could die in. I guess the state does not require it, and many places are older buildings that would be difficult to update with AC.

Hard to understand sometimes when you find the administrators and other brass with AC in their offices. And, as someone else said, the lol's are cold even in summer!

kids · Apr 25, 2006

I live in Southwest Washington and air conditioning just isn't the norm in homes or nursing facilities (other than hospitals). Our average summer temperatures are below 80 for patient comfort AC really isn't appropriate except on the rare 90+ day. http://www.southwestwashington.com/weather.asp

As others pointed out, geriatric patients tend to "run cold". I can't count the number of times I've seen LOLs in sweaters on days when it was warmer than comfortable for staff on the move. When I think about it, I have only worked in or know of one facility with AC and it only had it on their vent unit where the equipment generated a lot of heat. That vent unit is also the only area (in any facility) that I've worked that did not allow knee length shorts.