possibly going to all one color scrub tops

Ruby Vee, BSN · Apr 7, 2012

hi all, my hospital may be planning to implement a universal teal scrub top policy for nurses(don't know tech color yet, but that's universal also). what i want to know is does it seem to help your patients know who the nurse is? did your employer pay for them? or did you really notice no difference?

no, it doesn't help the patients to know who the nurse is. everyone knows it doesn't help, yet that seems to be the mantra hospitals use when they want to exert more control over the nursing staff. for those who think it's going to "look nicer," let me assure you that color coded scrubs picked up off the floor and donned on the way to work don't look any nicer than non-color coded scrubs picked up off the floor. and for those who think it's going to help ensure that staff "looks appropriate for work," let me assure you that all teal scrub pants folded over until the bright yellow thong hangs out and all teal scrub tops worn three sizes too small aren't going to look any more appropriate than if the thong wearer got to choose the color. (and if she chooses, she might color coordinate the thong to the scrubs so it wouldn't be as noticeable.)

s.d.RN · Apr 10, 2012

Our hospital is currently in the transition to doing this. Our network encompasses dozens of hospitals and healthcare facilities. Their motive was "to make nursing standardized across the network." For those of us who just became new nurses, we have to buy the old color AND the new colors which don't take effect until July. Expensive and they are even EMBROIDERED with our hospital logo on the chest and on the pants! They are ugly and uncomfortable since they only come in one brand. I feel like all self expression is gone. While we have to wear solid scrubs now, I can at least get a different design or put an accent here or there.

Thanks to each hospital wanting to be "unique," I now have almost every color of scrubs under the sun and the hospital does NOT help you pay for them at all!

The thing that most distinguishes nurses from others is the big red RN tag that hangs under our name badge. Our color of scrubs has never been proven to be a title informant. As a nurse tech, I would still walk into the room of a patient and they would keep asking me if I was their nurse. Seems like the color coding scheme backfired...

tamadrummer · Apr 17, 2012

At Florida hospital nurses wear navy blue, techs wear brown, tele/secretary wears maroon, resp wears green and rad wears seal blue. I think it is great and the patients have no trouble telling who is who. When the guy/gal in brown comes in and tells you he/she has no Meds for you because they are a tech, the patient remembers.

ixchel · Apr 23, 2012

Before I knew anything or cared at all about nursing, I was on the mother baby wing recovering from giving birth to my son and noticed a sign in my room that described what the color coding of the scrubs meant. It was in a very noticable, visible spot. As a patient, I actually liked it. I knew exactly who was coming into my room before they even introduced themselves (if they introduced themselves at all) and I knew if someone was able to help me or not by the color of their scrubs (i.e. if they were wearing a specific color, I knew they were just coming to clean my room). I actually liked it.