White Pants: What's Not To Love?

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I met with my nursing advisor today--I'm starting in the fall--and she was giving me the rundown on what I need to have for clinicals. Yep, I gotta have white pants! My favorite! (not) Guess I'll be stocking up on neutral-colored undies too. The pants will be worn with a polo-style shirt with the school's patch on it. Should I buy more than one pair? Is it easy to get stains out of them? Do they make them in petite sizes? What do you all wear at your school?

I want to get the right pair of shoes, too. Any recommendations? Something relatively inexpensive and not unattractive.

My instructor recommended getting the Littman stethoscope, saying it was a good quality one and would last me many years. I wouldn't know one from another--is this a good one to get?

Registration starts tomorrow--I hope it goes smoothly--one less thing to worry about. Some other things I am worrying about are: financial aid, finding my immunization records, having a physical (something I've put off but needed anyway), getting that hep B shot, taking CPR...I can't wait until it's all taken care of and everything falls into place.

There are going to be only 20 people in the weekend/evening nursing program at my school this fall. Everyone will take the same classes at the same time over the 2-year period. I like that--it sounds like a good opportunity to really get to know my classmates. Hopefully they will all be nice people! (another thing I worry about; I tend to be shy and don't make friends easily). I asked my advisor how many people had applied and she said "a lot". Wish I knew how many, just out of curiosity. It's a BSN program, btw--you have to have all your prereqs done in advance, that's why it takes "only" 2 years to get the BSN.

Well, this got to be long. I really only meant to talk about the white pants, but thanks for letting me unload all this other stuff too.

colleen10

1,326 Posts

A trick for White Pants and undie lines......

I heard once that if you are wearing a white or light colored shirt you should wear a bra that is skin colored / beige or take your underclothing and soak / stain them in coffee or tea. You will not notice the bra under the white clothing as much as you would if you were to wear a white bra. I have a beige bra and it really does work. I don't normally where white pants though so I don't know if it would work with underwear too.

Worth a try though. Good luck with everything!!!

nursedawn67, LPN

1,046 Posts

Specializes in Geriatrics, LTC.
Originally posted by dianacs

My instructor recommended getting the Littman stethoscope, saying it was a good quality one and would last me many years. I wouldn't know one from another--is this a good one to get?

I originally used a cheaper dual belled stethoscope...and recently bought a littman single sided bell....I love it, it picks up sounds much better! Good luck in school! :rolleyes:

Agnus

2,719 Posts

Littman is very good

Buy enough pants for every day of the week you will have clinicals.

Alcohol gets out ball point ink. Apply the alcohol to the stain then wash right away. Don't try to rub out the stain with the alcohol.

Peroxide get out betadine, and blood.

Use a prewash stain remover on other stains.

Bleach them regularly. Don't wash your school whites with other whites which may move grayness or yellow to your nursing whites. You don't have to bleach every time you wash. Clorine will cause them to wear out, (it's caustic). So long as you do bleach sometimes will be enough. Make sure the tub of your washer is very clean before you wash.

Try not to wash after a dark load. Sometimes there is residue from the dark clothes that you can't see left in the tub. This can cause graying or at the very least dark lint on your whites.

If you have white shoe laces. Once in a while put them in a mesh bag with your uniforms and wash them. Even if they don't look dirty. You will be suprised at the difference. No mesh bag? Wash them by hand in a little bleach and soap. Rinse well as bleach will wear out your laces too.

Iron your pants, no matter what. This will make a difference in your appearance even if you can't see it yourself. Learn how to correctly place the crease.

Attention to detail in your appearance translates to others (instructors included) that you pay attention to important detail in every thing else. A valuable trait in this profession. You will be view as a better student and nurse.

Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho.

All the above posts say it all pretty much.

Be careful is you live in a rural area and have to use well water(iron in the water can be a real B****)

I have used a fairly cheap stethoscope through school simply because if it gets lifted at clinicals i dont have much invested if it is lost forever. I'm sure ill get a better one after graduation, but at this point i have to much invested other places(graduation pins, pictures, graduation fees, and exam fees).

Shoe wise, i go for the regular everyday athletic shoes. I never had liked the way some of the nursing shoes feel. And i find that the soles have a tendancy to squeak. Of course it is most noticable at night. LOL To much to pay for a pair of nursing shoes that kill my feet by the time a 12 hour shift is over.

CountrifiedRN

408 Posts

Ugh! White pants!

We have to wear them too. Our school contracts with a specific company, so we don't have any choice in what type we can get, they are all the same. The material ours are made with is very thin, so a lot a girls wear white hose under them. I don't, because I get too hot. The beige under garments are less noticable, I try to get them to match my skin tone. I also buy the pants a size bigger than I need, if they are loose fitting you can't see through as much. (Plus it gives lots of room to bend).

As for shoes, just make sure they are comfy and have lots of room and good support. You will spend a lot of time on your feet! I have also found that getting a half size bigger and wearing thick socks is more comfortable.

I have both a Littman stethoscope (one of the cheaper ones) and a dual sprague stethoscope. They both work well, although the Littman is easier to carry around because it is so much lighter.

About registration, and all the paperwork that goes with it, just take it one step at a time. It will all fall into place. Congrats on getting into the program!

RNforLongTime

1,577 Posts

Specializes in Med-Surg Nursing.

Hi there! Congratulations on starting your nursing program this fall. As a nurse with five years of experience, let me give you some words of wisdom.

K-mart makes those Cobbie Cuddlers shoes, they have three different styles that can pass for nursing shoes. They are comfortable and inexpensive. You can get a pair for 15 bucks on sale and they go on sale often.

As for white pants? Tafford Uniforms and Lydias Professional uniforms makes nice scrub pants that cost less than 20 bucks a pair. Buy beige underwear as white shows through. As for keeping them White, don't use bleach. I like oxyclean, I'm sure that you've seen the commercials. It has removed everything from vomit to blood to tube feeding from my uniform pants.

I agree with your instructor. You should purchase a Littmann stethoscope. I recommend the Littmann Classic II SE. It can be purchased on the internet for about 60 dollars. Try http://www.reddingmedical.com as they offer the best prices on Littmans!

Good Luck!

Kelly:)

pkmom

156 Posts

Specializes in critical care.

Isn't Kmart going out of business? better hurry.

PKMOM, for now only about 300 or so are closing. In my area there are about 7 kmarts and only 1 is closing. So they are not totally going under yet. They are going to close some stores first and see if that helps any for the remaining but I doubt it. In my area Walmart and target is taking over.

NurseLKY

48 Posts

Specializes in Med/Surg.

They do sell petite pants. I on the other hand can not find pants that fit me. I am tall and too skinny. The petites fit around the waist but are to short and the x-small regular are to big so I made my own for less than 10 dollars. Can't beat that

micro, RN

1,173 Posts

petite pants what is that?????????

oh, yes, when I was twelve........hehehehehehe

I dream of the day when a nurse can nurse in blue jeans............but that is just me...............

RNforLongTime

1,577 Posts

Specializes in Med-Surg Nursing.

They do have denim scrubs but at my facility we aren't allowed to wear them

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