Should nurses return to wearing uniforms?

Used to wear caps and dress whites. Hate them.
Scrubs!

BS RN for 25+ years in the southwest in acute care facility. Many of my patients have commented positively on our fun scrubs, and it helps get their minds off their illness. I would find another job if I were forced to return to white and caps. As others pointed out, whites get stained and dingy, and this definitely does not convey professionalism. The origin of the nursing cap came from the subservient nuns and working women. "The designs alternately conveyed servitude, yet authority, domestic service, yet professionalization." http://www.civilization.ca/hist/infirm/inevo01e.html
Authority and professionalism I can go for, but servitude and domestic service? No wonder a lot of docs like caps...puts us in our place.

I certainly don't want to look like a marshmallow, so I'm gonna say no way on the all white uniforms...yuk. I've always thought that it would be a great idea if nurses at any given institution would stick with a color scheme or do one color with all of the shades and hues in that color...for example...if blue were chosen then everything from baby blue to royal blue to navy blue could be worn and mixed and matched (white and black could be included too for variety)... anyways I almost always wear ceil blue top with white or black pants... the endoscopy dept. at my local hospital is the only dept. to have a set standard of uniform scrubs. They wear black pants and black shoes with a really cool printed black, royal blue and white top. It looks great!
....it's just a thought.

1. I have been a nurse for two years.
2. Acute Care nursing
3. Bristol, Pennsylvania 19007
4. BSMT, RN
5. I would like to see nurses wear "clean and neat shoes and uniform", whether it is scrub or standard white uniform. I want to be distinguished as professional caregiver. Patients do notice your personal appearance. At work, we are required to wear scrubs that look professional. As for myself, scrubs with conservative designs, I will wear. I could wear single colored-pants, dress shirt plain or printed with a lab jacket. I have 6 pairs of white shoes that I rotate so that they are always clean when I wear them.
6. I do not think that we should return to wearing the standard uniform. As I have noted above, scrubs or whites are fine, one thing i want to stress is to be clean and neat from head to toe when reporting to work. Your personal appearance says much about you. Patients feel safer, too.

Ohh, that comment tickled my funny bone! Funny but true!

agree. it's not about ego, it's about being able to identify who is who. housekeeping has NO business in scrubs. There are plenty of housekeeping uniforms out there; let them wear those.

Been a RN for 9 years

Located in the "Mitten" and/or Lower Peninsula
(at the crotch of the mitten
Have worked in Tele, MICU, CCU, SICU, Neuro ICU, Neuro stepdown, and Home Care (skilled), now Occ Health, was Nurse Mgr, but like being an Indian better that the Chief

Just crested the 4th "hill"

Married, 3 kids, 2 girls 14 & 9, and son 5 mo


I have a great amount of automony in my current position, and responsible for over 2100 people right now.

1. How long have you been a nurse? 3.5 years
2. In what field of nursing are you working (i.e. long term care, acute care, rehab, etc.)? Adult ICU
3. Where geographically are you located? Kansas City, MO.
4. What is your level of training? (i.e., ADN, LPN, CNA, BSN, masters or higher education level, CNP, CRNA, etc.) ADN, BSN
5. Do you think nurses should return to wearing a uniform? If you mean the "old style" uniform, then NO. Why or why not? Like many others have said here, the white is NOT practical. Especially white shoes. I prefer to wear black shoes and solid colored scrubs. Definately NO HATS!!
***to clarify-- By "uniform", I mean a move away from scrubs, to a uniform style that would be recognized across regions as belonging to "nursing". This could include the "all-white" uniform, or nursing caps. Whatever it would be, the standard would be set by the nursing profession, for all professionals to follow***
6. If you think nurses should return to a uniform, what type of uniform do you think nurses should wear? N/A.

1. How long have you been a nurse? [/b]37 years
2. In what field of nursing are you working (i.e. long term care, acute care, rehab, etc.)? Critical care 37 years
3. Where geographically are you located? Northeast
4. What is your level of training? (i.e., ADN, LPN, CNA, BSN, masters or higher education level, CNP, CRNA, etc.) Diploma
5. Do you think nurses should return to wearing a uniform? Why or why not?
***to clarify-- By "uniform", I mean a move away from scrubs, to a uniform style that would be recognized across regions as belonging to "nursing". This could include the "all-white" uniform, or nursing caps. Whatever it would be, the standard would be set by the nursing profession, for all professionals to follow*** I wear scrubs in the ICU environment, absolutely NO CAPS, color coded would help if hospital willing to help with cost but everytime that was tried every other job copied the color including pharmacy techs. I do think that LARGE ID with LARGE RN enough
6. If you think nurses should return to a uniform, what type of uniform do you think nurses should wear? NOT WHITE for all of the above writer's reasons. I think that just like noone tells MDs, dieticians, pharmacists, what to wear other than a white lab coat, and their ID RNs should be treated the same. In my hospital the escort, housekeeping, techs all wear uniforms to help differeniate from the RNs. As bedside RNs we need to keep the flexability of the job in mind, therefore scrubs tops/pants are most comfortable for most with rubber soled shoes. WHITE is not a good color for bedside care. CAPS can carry germs unless they are disposable on a daily basis and for the most part are not as easily washable as scrubs. They get in the way of any true bedside nurse's ability to maneveur.

should nurses wear uniforms??? as apposed to what, bathing suits