All White Uniform Dress Code?!!

[keludtke]

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?

[inshallamiami]

The trouble with all-white uniforms is that, if you're a male nurse, you look like a short-order cook. I'm a 6'1" tall and over 200 lbs, and if I wear white, the patients will think that they're seeing that bright light that people talk about before they die.

Sign me up for one of the little hats too.

This is just silly. Someone in administration really needs more work to do. :trout:

This is DEFINITELY the funniest post I have ever read! I feel like printing it on a little card for my wallet!

:roll:roll:roll:lol2::lol2:

[psalm, RN]

it personally wouldn't bother me, if there was a mandate.

for me, there are bigger fish to fry.

leslie

I wanna be at the fish fry, where is it being held and when?

[noc4senuf]

I happened to work for a facility that was all white uniforms for the nurses and color coded for all other departments too. The residents and families loved it because they knew just who the nurses were. Now, my staff wears every color of the rainbow and other than other staff, no one knows who is who.

I never had a problem keeping clean or fresh looking. I used blueing in my the with my uniforms. I still wear a white lab coat on a daily basis as others still know i am a nurse and not an office person. I believe white to be more professional lookng and not retro.

[Cat Lover RN]

I also believe the policy is in response to patient complaints. With so many hospital departments in colored scrubs, the only obvious method for patients and families to recognize a nurse is by the "whites". When I started nursing in the early 80's all nurses wore whites, esp. skirts. The older nurses taught me about the best support hose to save our legs from varicose veins and it worked. I did not have problems until I went to pants in the 90's. My veins were stripped 4 years ago. On the flip side, nurses had more problems with yeast infections from the nylon pantyhose- poor ventilation. Also, whites almost really have to be ironed to look good and who has time for that. They also become dingy colored and require special cleaning/whitening products. Now I am in red scrubs working in an ER. What an appropriate color!

[anonymurse]

i also believe the policy is in response to patient complaints.

we get the pt comments and the main complaints are: too noisy, room mate problems, no food choices, and food too bland. no mention of telling nurses from others.

actually if pts called everyone a nurse, they'd be right more often than not, since nurses are most of the hospital's workforce.

i mean, why dress up the majority to tell them from the minority???

[Suejlon]

I'm having heavy periods in my peri menopause, and would have big time anxiety about that.

Off topic: I'm menopausal and suffered very heavy periods for about six months until I had a D&C and insertion of a Mirena coil last August. Since then all I get is a couple of days spotting each month. Although the Mirena was originally designed as a contraceptive it's now licensed in the UK as a treatment for women such as us - I assume it's the same in the US. I highly recommend it!

Back to topic: I don't have a problem with all white but supplying only one uniform is a bit cheeky if the colour is mandatory.

Sue

[FLOBRN]

Hi

Sorry I am late to this discussion : ). I don't know what the staffing situation is at your hospital..however one hospital I know of here in Florida tried the "you will wear all white" thing. The staff's and union's response was "OH!! you WANT everyone to know how short staffed we are?" That was the end of the all white idea.

FLOBRN

[rnanm]

i am a professional and conduct myself in a manner that exudes confidence for my patients, regardless of my uniform color. i do however choose to wear white on occasion as our unit patients have said they prefer knowing who they can seek advice from. mandatory white? nobody likes being told what they have to wear and perhaps there was a better way to enforce a "professional standard" than via no choice emails.

good luck and happy nursing:w00t:

[Patti 2nd gen RN]

Please-don't they have more serious things to think about?

I agree--with the nursing shortage--why can't they pick their battles?? Where I work, if it's scrubs ( or any other uniform form the uniform store) and not jeans, and your name tag is visible--it's an acceptable uniform--sometimes these people need te realize that keeping nurses when you can't offer more money means keeping them happy with the 'small' things-- now--professional BEHAVIOR--and the ability to communicate effectively with your patients and co-workers--those are real issues---this uniform issue just reeks of nothing but control --an example of how they want to keep us less independent...

[pattycakeRN]

I agree--with the nursing shortage--why can't they pick their battles?? Where I work, if it's scrubs ( or any other uniform form the uniform store) and not jeans, and your name tag is visible--it's an acceptable uniform--

Sounds like my floor. Our hospital is different than some, i think. Each floor or unit has their own policy as far as color schemes on their own units.

I personally could care less what it looks like, as long as the person wearing it is pleasant and professional. I happen to have a large selection of seasonal Hello Kitty scrub tops. I am also a professional and conduct myself as such, whether I'm wearing a tropical hello kitty top or white scrubs head to toe. Patients will think whatever they will think, and all I can do is be myself, cheerful and professional and caring. And not perfect. :innerconf

ps- patti, I am also a patty that's a 2nd gen RN!

[catsibsix]

Do you know why white uniforms were used? White can be bleached, germs killed easier,spots can be cleaned at work while wearing, and also doesn't show dandruff. White is the one color that patient can identify with. Also some nurses wear same uniform without washing. How do you know if a "flower" scrub uniforn is clean? Also if wrinkles show then you are not ironing uniform and you don't look or smell clean. Also staph will colonize faster on uniforms if not bleached or cleaned properly.

thanks sib

[ep4384]

Please-don't they have more serious things to think about?

I agree with your statement, we really do have more important things to think about, I think facilities do this because their board and have nothing better to do, try keeping white clean without oxiclean or bleach, Good Luck to all you white uniform fans!!