I think cutsey scrub tops look ridiculous on adult units

Nurses Uniform/Gear

Published

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.

We were talking about scrub tops. You inserted yourself into the thread simply to share your negative opinion of the topic, and a character assessment of the people who've contributed, as well as make the thread all about you. Next time you think a topic is stupid or catty, I suggest you skip it all together and let the people posting decide if they are being responded to in a catty or unfair manner.

You are using your own words, not mine. I never once said "stupid", nor have I chosen to make this about me. I simply left a comment that you felt wounded you in some way and chose to make an incorrect assessment of me just by reading one post. I suggest you keep your suggestions limited to things that concern nursing matters and not telling me what and when to post. I have no ill-feelings for anyone here. All I did was comment and I guess you thought I would:sofahider, but I didn't. I have a right to post my opinion and did so without trying to offend. You and others chose to respond with malice and full on attacks of my character. I have never once said all posts here are negative and I hope to someday be as great of a nurse as the many intelligent, wonderful, and positive women here. I have said all that I will on the matter I will not devote any more of my precious time to this post.

Specializes in Emergency.

So...awkward pause....back to scrubs...

Cutesy teddy bears, or no? Ya like em...ya don't...

Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

Heyyy. . .tommiepaige. . . weren't you the one picking on Eeyore?!? Them's fightin' words, girl. :mad:

Ha ha ha. I kid. Now I will join the effort to get this thing back on track. Personally, I'm not a huge teddy-bear fan, mostly because I don't go for "cute" in general. I have yet to wear dangling holiday-themed earrings, either, or sweatshirts with a gigantic applique of a Golden Retriever.

I think a good rule of thumb is to dress appropriately for the unit you are in. If someone tells me that the LTC residents love the prints, who am I to say they shouldn't wear them? Whatever the dress code is, everyone should follow it. Make sure it's neat, clean, not faded out and fits properly. Please-- lose the muffin top and the whale tail!!

Specializes in Emergency.

Hey Hey...I started with "to each thier own" :p

Im just saying Whinnie and the gang aren't my cup of tea.

And in all honesty, just to stir the pot even more, I dont even wear scrub tops!

I wear scrub bottoms and a t-shirt or regular clothes under my lab coat because I'm a manager! HA HA I have no rite to say anything anyway! :D I just dont like em!

Hasnt this been a fun thread?

I say we all promise to just be sure we have tops on and call it a day! :lol2:

Happy nursing everyone!

Specializes in I/DD.

Hahaha well reading this thread has certainly been entertaining to say the least. I think if there is one thing we all agree on it is to wear tops to work! I personally am not a fan of disney characters and fairies, especially on adult units. I am not sure if that is because I think they are unprofessional or if they bring back bad memories of childhood doctor visits!

Specializes in General adult inpatient psychiatry.

I do draw a line even with my own cutesy tops. I'll do Curious George and Hello Kitty if everything else is in the wash, but I told my mom to please NOT buy me Eeyore scrubs for my birthday because I figured they'd possibly be perceived as depressing to my patients.

LOL! Funny post AZO :D. I really understand where you are coming from. But, I do like my wacky, printed uniforms. I cannot tell a lie ;).

However, it is my idea that matching uniforms are best in health care institutions. That's just a preference of mine.

At the hospital I worked at before, all nurses wore dark green scrubs, the techs/assistants wore cream scrubs, and there were a few other colors for the other employees depending on their job status. :) Truthfully, I feel it gave our institution a more professional vibe and it was much more appropriate..I do admit ;).

Hahaha well reading this thread has certainly been entertaining to say the least. I think if there is one thing we all agree on it is to wear tops to work! I personally am not a fan of disney characters and fairies, especially on adult units. I am not sure if that is because I think they are unprofessional or if they bring back bad memories of childhood doctor visits!

When I was a child it was nurses in whites and caps! I remember getting my tonsils out and climbing out of the crib to find them to tell them I was all better and could go home. I saw a see of white legs and hems.

Specializes in PACU, OR.

Hmmm... I think this subject has reached its "sell-by" date. People should wear what they're comfortable in, as long as it's not offensive or contrary to hospital policy, and if nurses are happy wearing cutesy printed scrubs, why criticize them? Eeyore or Tinkerbelle, or whatever blows your hair back should be ok; just don't scare the living daylights out of your patients by wearing custom-made scrubs embellished with The Undertaker's face. But I really think this very amusing thread should be put to bed now, so PLEASE, in the words made immortal by the aforementioned, "REST IN PEEEACE!"

Specializes in LTC, med/surg, hospice.

It doesn't bother me what people wear..as long as it's clean and fits well. I wore some cute prints (not cartoons) when I worked in a nursing home but as my hospital we can only wear WHITE. Honestly I'm just jealous of people who can wear other colors like blue, red, black...

Specializes in Med/Surg, Geriatrics.
It does when you realize that nurses are still widely regarded as women who are there to kiss your boo boos away and not as an integral part of medical health care. Superficially, those scrub tops are (to many of us) not aesthetically pleasing, but on a much deeper level they add to the propagation of that stereotype. That is what is frustrating. You can wear all the ugly clothes in the world, but you have to realize how it affects the image of your profession.

Just this morning I was on the website of the hospital where my mother used to work and I came across some patient testimonials. One gentleman wrote the following:

"The girls that work at the oncology center are angels"

Before anyone starts screaming, let me be clear that I understand that he meant it to be a compliment. However, oncology nurses are well-trained professionals with an important and complex job. But in one sentence their contribution to this gentleman's recovery was summed up by their descriptions as "girls and angels". Really? Will we ever be recognized as well-educated and highly trained members of the health care team with more to contribute than a smile and a kind touch? Not if many nurses can help it.

Professional image matters.

Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
i am not regarded as such. i have tremendous autonomy and responsibility in my role and am respected by the physicians with whom i work. i also respect the lpns and cnas with whom i work.

i have already stated that i am a whites-wearer so not only do i believe that appearance is integral to being perceived as a professional but further that i am willing to, in the view of some, capitulate to the atavistic view of nurses as boo-boo kissers.

what i objected to was her contributions being dismissed not because her points were invalid but because it was assumed that she's just some little wannabe aide with nothing of worth to say. that, to me, is objectionable.

she was implying that because she knew nurses, she knew all about being a nurse. had she said she had something to contribute to the thread because she, as an aide, wore scrubs to work for nine years, that might have carried more validity than her diatribe about how she knew all about it because she was related to nurses.

people don't get, until they actually become nurses, how little they actually know about it.

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