uniform?

Flare, ASN, BSN · Mar 27, 2007

When I worked on the floor, we were required to wear white. And it does stain very easily - especially when the ground is covered with the afore mentioned slush and salt. On the other hand, i got used to it. I even learned how to eat spaghetti and red sauce in it without wearing any of it.

One Christmas, my brother purchased me a full length lab coat. I didn't want to hurt his feelings as he was so proud of having picked me such a practical gift so i wore it to work. I had lots of pockets, kept my eternally cold body warm and protected my clothing from impromptu splashes. Washed up great with a good dose of bleach too. I never looked back. No one ever questioned me about it.

Now I work as a school nurse, and i still wear lab coats almost everyday. It serves as a great marker for the days i wear "teacher clothes" that i am indeed the nurse. And on the days that i wear scrubs to work, it works well too.

not now, RN · Mar 27, 2007

What you want to wear to work is totally up to you as long as it's in your facility's dress code. Some (like me) don't like wearing white. I work in LTC and most residents know the nurse is the one with the short hair and glasses even if they don't remember my name.

I actually have a white lab coat that I bought for my LVN-RN program. I wore it for a while and got tired of it. Now I wear a gray hoodie from Gap that is much more comfortable. The only time I had to take it off is when the director of the program came for a site visit. :chair:

debthern · Mar 27, 2007

our hospital requires that all the nurses wear white pants but we can wear whatever top we want.

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · Mar 27, 2007

On our floor, NOBODY wears all white, mostly for one reason: It shows up a lot of unflattering stains. From you (try hiding a surprise period in white pants...), from lunch, from a code brown, whatever. I work mother/baby/nursery. White would show up a lot of things I'd just as soon not have to work to get out.

I personally don't care what color someone else wears as long they show up on time & do their job competently, & most nurses I work with feel the same.

ponytailman · Mar 27, 2007

Interesting, most of us in the field acknowledge the difficulty in keeping our "whites" clean and if able choose our attire accordingly and with as little "white" as possible. The color of our uniforms does not make the nurse, but the willingness to get them dirty after starting clean does.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Mar 27, 2007

When I am a nurse, in a few months, if all goes well, I really want to present a professional image to patients. What should I wear? Studies show that patients like to see nurses in white uniforms.
I was thinking of wearing white uniform pants and a short white lab jacket. I think these jackets look great. But I never see floor nurses wearing them. Why not? Are they "reserved" for only certain personnel?

Studies show alot of things that patients prefer, that don't necessarily translate into practicality. I have seen polls that show that they would like a nurse/caregiver (including bedside caregivers) to have at least a Master's degree.

Not to drag the BSN/ADN grief into this thread. But thinking in practical terms, what is the possibility of hospitals allow No ONE (no CNAs/no LPNS/no nonMaster's personnel) to work without a Master's? Which is what the patients are asking for, and would make them happier? And are facilities going to pay for MSNs to bath and feed every patient?

The answer is no one. Nor are most MSNs likely to be satisfied with bathing/cleaning and turning patients. And while it is lovely ideal, it is not practical.

You will find that most elderly patients would like us in caps and that it looks professional. But in today's terms, they are very impractical and problematic in many facilities. I had enough trouble wearing it and keeping it on as a student - I can't imagine trying to wear a PAPR with it.

I have worked in facilities that require us to wear telephones and to post the number on the patient's dry erase board - for "customer service" that the patient likes. While this may be okay on some units like ICU/LD/Peds with limited visitation and frequent critical issues, this can be a nightmare on M/S floors. I clock receiving 40-60 calls a shift - most from repeated family visitors that want to know "exactly" when each MD visited, or "exactly" when s/he will visit, why getting "X" done is taking soooo long, EXACTLY what time the patient will go to/return from procedures, WHY can't such and such be pushed to the front of the list for MRI, don't I have some "special" contact that will do that, etc., etc.

I have used my phone for "critical" phone calls in this 13 week assignment - NOT ONCE!!!! I waste tons of time, and cannot do ANYTHING with my patient without being interrupted every 5 minutes. But we can't stop writing our number on the BB "because patients/families don't like it. The fact that we also carry beepers, that can give us any critical info fast, doesn't count.

What patients prefer is not always practical or good.

White tends to make even slender nurses look heavy. And it picks up dirt and dust easily.

As far as the short white coat, I defend nursing's right to wear it. But if you are in a teaching hospital, some interns can get down right snitty about nursing wearing "their" clothing. Please see the SDN BB about some rather mean threads on how this "belongs" to interns. I also find them confining.