Help! I need your feedback, thoughts, and advice. The community hospital I am working at is deciding in June that all nurses must wear all white uniforms. Right now, we all have to wear light blue pants, but we can wear whatever color top we prefer. I am angry by this. I personally feel this is an institutionalized, cold, sterile color. Plus, I feel this is "old school". I am 29 yo female and graduated with my bachelor's degree. I am a professional RN regardless of what I wear. My name tag I wear says I am an RN and I have a license to prove it. I know in college I read articles that it is good to wear solid colors because it is more professional than a scrub top with flowers on it. And most of the time, I wear solid blue, which I like. But for some reason, all white reminds me of the nurses in the early 40s-50s in white skirts, white tights, and a cap on their head. I can't explain it in words, but I feel this is a step back for nurses.
Many of the nurses I have talked to are angry with this, besides the cost of all new uniforms (oh yeah, they are just providing us with one uniform) and trying to keep white clean. In the email, the hospital states it wants a professional look. Yet, this email was only for the nurses. Of course, it is ok for the doctors to come in with jeans. All the doctors I see (and I work 7p-7a) wear many different types of clothing. Should this not pertain to them and the rest of the hospital staff?
What do you feel about this? Has your hospital done this? What should I do? I am thinking of writing a letter of complaint. Do you as nurses feel all white is a cold color? Do you think hospitals should go back to an all white uniform? I think I need evidence based research if I want to write a letter to the hospital administrator of why I feel this should not happen.
I like my job and i am not going to quit if we go to all white. Yet, I feel compelled to state my opinion because of how I feel about this matter, but I want to get other opinions on this matter before I precede. Maybe I am the one behind the times?
"Liberals don't care what you do, so long as it's mandatory."
I have no idea what you mean by this. Just exactly what is it that "liberals" are making "mandatory" that you object to? Please be specific. Thank You.
I have no idea what you mean by this. Just exactly what is it that "liberals" are making "mandatory" that you object to? Please be specific. Thank You.
Yes, please elaborate because I do not understand either.
A lot of hopsitals in my area are going back to this (all white for RN's and maroon for support personnel) saying nurses look more professional and are more easily identifiable by patients. My new job has me in navy head to toe and I love it--the white thing is silly IMHO.
My hospital has us in either all black or all white or a combination of both. The hospital didn't come up with it so therefore they won't pay for the uniforms or the cleaning of them. The nursing governance organization came up with it citing that patients did not know who their nurses were. One gentleman said he was in the hospital for three days and never saw a nurse. He did see one he just didn't know which one was which.
What happened to the days of going in and saying Hi, I am so and so, I will be your nurse this evening and if you need anything please do not hesitate to contact me. Also write your name on the board in your room if you have one.
The problem with wearing all black is that I work in an ICU. How do you feel if you woke up in an ICU and someone was standing over you in all black? You would think you died......
I can agree with a solid color but black or white? We were allowed to vote for colors such as hunter green or ceil blue but 57% of the nurses voted and they voted for black to prove a point..... well its been since October 1 2007 that we have been in all black and patients still don't know who their nurse is because there isn't a color chart in their room!!!
Environmental wears navy, transport wear burgandy, radiology wears gray, our PCA's wear brown and peach and our LPNs wear red.... nowhere in the hospital does it explain each color so how does changing to a solid color inform the patients in the hospital of who is taking care of them.
What I want to know is why this pt did not open his mouth to ask who his nurse was
omg, I feel you on this one. I'm paying my dues in the all white during nursing school right now, looking forward to being able wear colored scrubs as a nurse.
I wish my hospital would color-code nurses. Personally, I would not mind all white, I think it looks very professional.
I really despise systems which have every single department (nurses, support staff, lab staff, housekeepers ... ) in a different color. It defeats the purpose. IMO, nurses should be in a specific, easy to identify color (like white), housekeepers and dinning staff and what-have-you can wear polos and khakis in whatever color their department fancies.
Am I the only male posting on this topic? Are there any guys in this forum who think mandating white uniforms for nurses is a good idea? The notion that patients will know what we are based on the color of our uniform assumes that we're all female nurses. Do you really think that if I walk into a patient's room wearing white he or she will automatically know I'm a nurse?
Furthermore, wearing white will mean that I will need to bring my uniform to work and change into it, then change out of it before leaving for home. My commute involves taking the subway and walking on city streets. Not only would I not be caught dead wandering the streets wearing a white uniform, but I wouldn't be able to make it to work and still have it remain white.
I love the hospital where I work and would probably keep working there if they mandated I wear all white... though I would seriously consider leaving for one of the other excellent hospitals in Boston if they did so, not even so much because of the uniforms themselves, but because of what it says about their respect for nurses in general and male nurses in particular. I seriously hope they don't decide to solve this non-problem in this way and put their talents toward real problem solving.
At the largest hospital in Charlotte NC - Carolinas Medical Center - all nurses wear white
except in OR, ER and women and childrens. All levels of folks working in the hospital wear
a color coded uniform or lab coat. That way everyone knows immediately what your
qualifications are. Pa's and docs wear either green scrubs, or street clothes with a lab coat, housekeeping has their color, PT/OT, lab. etc.....
Now I agree that white is not the best color for everyday working nurses but I really liked the way everything was color coded. One other thing you can bleach white scrubs to get out the tough stains.
Oh by the way my husband worked there and he was fine with the white, the only issue intially
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janettalinda
35 Posts
I have no idea what you mean by this. Just exactly what is it that "liberals" are making "mandatory" that you object to? Please be specific. Thank You.