I think cutsey scrub tops look ridiculous on adult units

[AZO49008]

The other day a co-worker strolled in wearing a scrub top festooned with furry, smiling teddy bears. On an adult cardiac floor...REALLY? On various adult units I've seen Looney Tunes, Precious Moments, rainbows and clouds, hearts, and yes...oodles and oodles of teddy bears.

I think these types of scrub tops look ridiculous unless you work in peds, in which case they would all be highly appropriate. On one hand nurses are striving to be taken seriously as professionals, yet with the other hand they are taking juvenile looking scrub tops off the hangar.

I'm a guy and pretty much have to wear solid scrubs if I don't want to look like a freak. But I am not motivated out of jealousy to kvetch about print tops on the ladies. If women want to pizazz up their uniforms, I have seen tons of very tasteful, very professional looking print scrub tops coordinated with solid pants.

If I were director of nursing of the world, I would ban dorky print scrub tops.

Okay...talk amongst yourselves.

[Baloney Amputation, BSN, LPN, RN]

Really?? You wouldn't have the slightest question of her judgement?

Good for you.

Yes I would. I wouldn't assume she is a bad or unprofessional nurse, though.

[NICUdude]

This thread is like that game "telephone." By the end of the circle, appropriate attire has become text-speak for the abbreviation-challenged. (I'm not only the President of Folks Without iPhones, I'm also a member! LOL.)

In my quest to get it right (it being everything I do) I just learned that I was spelling iPhone incorrectly. I had previously spelled it Iphone, but it did not look right, so I googled it and found my error. Makes sense, I guess, since once you own one, it is no longer about you (I) but rather about "the Phone." So much to know in this text-while-you-drink-Starbucks-doing-85 mph-behind-the-wheel-of-your-Hummer world we live in.

"Original Poster" makes as much, if not more sense, than "original point." I stand corrected. I think. LOL.:dancgrp:

[freefalr]

for all you nurses who insist that they should be judged from the inside out, i wonder how you'd react to a new employee nurse who wore white, shiny spandex leggins, 3 inch painted fingernails, 5 lbs of pancake makeup, with overflowing boobs?

you wouldn't immediately judge her?

right.

leslie

yep, to be honest, my first thought would be, "whoa, nurse! what is going on here?" i'd be more distracted by the tight-fitting leggings than anything. well, maybe the overflowing cleavage too.

in reading all these posts, i've realized what pushes my buttons (that's not the phrase i'm looking for, but i can't think of anything else right now!) most is the way someone's clothes fit. overly tight, provocative clothing in a professional setting will give me pause more than any particular pattern (the cleanliness/overall condition of the clothes notwithstanding). i'm typically pretty conservative in dress, especially at work (hair pulled back, mascara only, small earrings, short & unpolished nails). i appreciate those who feel comfortable showing a little more outside of work (that kind of confidence!), but at work is a different story.

i remembered that i have a patient who wouldn't go back to a particular doc because she wore fishnet stockings in the office. she's known for her crazy colored hair, too. she's a very sharp, respected physician but/and her physical appearance is pretty racy! he just felt that w/her style of dress, she gave off the vibe that she wasn't serious enough about caring for him.

i'm wearing a white scrub jacket & top today, by the way. :) i look very "nurse-y" (i am just kidding, being lighthearted, heehee, haha...).

am learning from this thread, as by many others. food for thought!

[DolceVita, ADN, BSN, RN]

Whether it is excessive cleavage, cartoon tops or whatever I look at it like this:

Just because I am not consciously sending a message DOES NOT mean that a message is not being received. That is just the case.

[leslie :-D]

i'm wearing a white scrub jacket & top today, by the way. :) i look very "nurse-y" (i am just kidding, being lighthearted, heehee, haha...).

yeah, but where are your pants!!

Whether it is excessive cleavage, cartoon tops or whatever I look at it like this:

Just because I am not consciously sending a message DOES NOT mean that a message is not being received. That is just the case.

that's just it:

whatever qualities and virtues we possess, the reality is folks are going to initially judge us as to how we dress/look.

heck, i can meet someone who is wearing all the right stuff, but has an unkempt, schleppy appearance and i'm going to raise an eyebrow.

for those who think it's just plain wrong...well, it is.

but i speak the truth, whether we like it or not.

leslie

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

While professional appearance is nice all I really care about is skill and empathy. So wear whatever makes you happiest as long as you are a good nurse.

[Fribblet]

There's a reason they say: "Dress for the job you want, not the job you have."

Appearance matters.

That being said, I'm going into my next shift dressed as a ninja.

[DolceVita, ADN, BSN, RN]

There's a reason they say: "Dress for the job you want, not the job you have."

Appearance matters.

That being said, I'm going into my next shift dressed as a ninja.

Now see that would be extremely funny -- can you imagine tip toeing into a patient's room dressed as a ninja? That image is making me laugh.

[cherrybreeze, ADN, RN]

i don't consider teddy bears, angels and rainbows, flowers ect children prints. teddy bears they are symbols that have meaning to adults and well and children. just as trains are collected by adults so too and bears, so cost hundreds. what i consider restrictive is being told what to wear period and yes that is one reason why i don't work in an office environment.

oh, my, i'm not even going to touch that one.

i'm sick of people saying you wear a suit to court and solid scrubs to adult units, comparing scrubs to office attire is apples and oranges for me.

how exactly is that apples to oranges? if you see two lawyers (for example), one dressed in a nice suit, starched white shirt, subtle tie, and shined shoes, and another in khaki pants, a bright hawaiian print shirt, and deck shoes, how would your impressions differ on first sight? do not even say that they would be based on their attitudes, competence, etc, because they haven't opened their mouths yet. both wear the same facial expression and both have their hair styled neatly (to avoid other assumptions and arguments based on factors besides clothing, which seem to be inevitable around here; twisting things to secure the opposing point). you judge based on appearance. same, imo, goes for the nurse in navy blue solid color scrubs vs. the one in bright yellow pants and a top with spongebobs all over it. a judgement is made whether you like it or not.

i like leslie's example of the nurse with the excessive cleavage, tight spandex, and artificial nails. anyone who says they don't question her competence and professionalism is lying.

[freefalr]

i don't know how to do the multiple quoty things, so:

@ dolcevita: so true! i'm helping my preteen stepdaughter-to-be learn this (uh uh, no "hiney shorts," missy...as comfy as they may be! the message you are sending to the world is one you don't fully understand yet!). i remember my mom getting after me about some of my clothing choices, too. now i understand what all her fuss was about. my dear mom.

@ leslie: dang, i knew it felt awfully breezy today!! seriously, it's not inconceivable! i'm 17.5 weeks pregnant and definitely have pregnancy brain. am calling everything "hooziewhatzer" because of my word-finding inability. yesterday i came to work with antiperspirant under just one armpit. i was singularly sweaty. but i remembered my pants!!

@ fribblet: i'm coming as carol burnett as scarlett o'hara, with the curtain rod across my shoulders. i could just turn around & clock an obnoxious someone "accidentally," and then be forgiven since i'm the quintessential southern belle -and- an awesome comedienne. oh! and i could make everyone else do my work, if i felt like it.

my brain is mush.

[nursel56]

ad hominem: is an attempt to persuade which links the validity of a premise to a characteristic or belief of the person advocating the premise (quoted from Wikipedia)

My argument was not an ad hominem, I didn't try and dispute the validity of your statements about childish scrub patterns by slandering your character. I said your reply about sneakers appeared as petulant misdirection of the topic (your reply....I don't know you from a hole in the wall). Commenting on a tangential reply, and stating that it was a tangential reply, in no way discredits your stance on childish scrubs.

My comment about your reply was not complimentary....but it was neither an ad hominem argument or an attack to your person.

Can we please get back to the actual topic? If you feel the need to discuss this further, please feel free to PM me.

Thanks for clarifying that for me. Out of everything in my last post, your choice to focus only on whether your completely unnecessary and one-sided hostility toward me was not "ad hominem", it was simply "not complimentary" Really? Maybe it's that New York style of communication you referenced earlier. I have some cousins who live there. I'll check with them.

Back to the topic. You think Lady Gaga looks like an adult in that outfit that makes her butt look like the Michelin Tire guy with everything but the butt part removed? She doesn't look like a child. True. But I don't think "adult" is exactly accurate either.

I confess I haven't seen many nurses wearing prints that stand out as "childish". I work in home health now anyway, which should probably exempt me from this discussion. Mostly free from the scorn of their colleagues, nurses wear the darndest things to work! I'm sure most people here would look askance at a nurse who came to work in cut-offs and flip-flops, carrying a large tote bag or a trash bag, fished around in it and pulled out a wad of something made out of cloth and headed to the BR to change. One of my nurse colleagues came to work in a hot pink Hannah Montana nightshirt, and she's 55 years old. Yes, it was night shift, but still. . . I've seen the bag lady routine happen more than once, too. So the idea of a nice neat top with a character print seems tame to me in comparison!! :)

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

not deluded to think that you shouldn't be judged on your appearance, but deluded to think that you're not.

i agree, folks should create their first impression of us based on qualities such as competence and our character....but they don't. they base their first impression on our appearance....then hopefully see the rest as time goes on.

patient's aren't going to say, "good morning, wow that scrub top looks ridiculous." fellow health care professionals also aren't going to critique your scrubs to your face, but when they're all dressed as adults, and rn's are wearing hello kitty...it's not likely they're going to think, "my she looks professional in that hello kitty scrub top." why start a therapeutic relationship with a patient by having to work uphill and overcome a dicey first impression? why give the impression that we're less professional than we are? are juvenile print scrubs that important?

well put. while it is ultimately up to us, as professionals to decide what to wear, such controversial wardrobe choices are unlikely to make new co-workers or patients perceive us as the knowledgeable, competent professionals we are. and changing someone's mind, once it's made up, is a truly difficult thing.