Banner Hospitals to go to Uniforms

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I work at a Banner hospital in AZ and in the last few weeks we just found out that our hospital is going to uniforms in January. Uniforms will be color-coded for job title. RNs will be in Navy blue and we are only allowed to wear the assigned uniforms bought through the hospital (must be Cherokee uniforms, in the chosen color-can't find the color at a store in case it doesn't match, with the hospital logo on them). We are also being told that we have to match any undergarments (i.e. long sleeves) to the top and any coats/jackets have to be the same color with a Banner logo on them.

So far there are now three AZ Banner hospitals doing this but we have now heard that they are taking the system wide and every single Banner hospital will do this. It may take a while to get to everyone but that is the plan so we were told we can't argue it.

The kicker is that I work in Peds and the hospital I am at is building a 7 story Children's Hospital. The adult and peds ER will connect but the Children's Hospital will be independent. The rules only "bend" slightly to allow pediatric RNs only to choose from 3 assigned "kid friendly tops". Meanwhile all their advertisements regarding the pediatric department is "Creativity" and "Through the Eyes of a Child".

I just talked to another Banner employee (that works at a different Banner) tonight and that was the first she had heard about any of it. She knew the newest Banner was uniforms but thought they had voted that was and that it was just the one hospital. She is now going to inform her co-workers of the new decision.

People are mad and feel discouraged and disrespected. My patients know who I am (job title) and now my kids will associate my blue uniform with the last person who stuck them with a needle. Let the kicking and screaming begin (for the kids AND the employees).

Hopefully this can be stopped but right now we are told we can't do anything. The decision, I imagine, was made by some suit who never steps foot in the hospital and has never worn scrubs or worked a 13 hour day on his/her feet. I really like where I am but if this goes through I am considering going to the other Children's Hospital. As far as I am concerned they need me, along with the other several thousand employees that work at Banner, more than I need them.

Ok, so those are my two cents. Sorry to those that this is news to.

If you work at Banner you can go on the intranet and search for "fashion show" or "uniforms" and you can see pics of the new uniforms.

Specializes in Hospice, Med/Surg, ICU, ER.

So, attack away! :-)

Bryan

Naaaaa. Not going to attack you.

But..... Everywhere I have ever worked, outside of the healthcare industry, I wore what I wanted (within broad "acceptability guidelines") and I paid for them. Places that mandated "specific" uniform attire, provided them.

Why should the tremendously profitable healthcare sector turn me into a uniformed corporate "symbol" at MY own expense?

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Specializes in ICU, School Nurse, Med/Surg, Psych.

I sure like dark blue than the white that I am required to wear. Even Visa fabric does not get betadine out!!

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Naaaaa. Not going to attack you.

But..... Everywhere I have ever worked, outside of the healthcare industry, I wore what I wanted (within broad "acceptability guidelines") and I paid for them. Places that mandated "specific" uniform attire, provided them.

Why should the tremendously profitable healthcare sector turn me into a uniformed corporate "symbol" at MY own expense?

That's a good point. To me, as long as you have the freedom to choose (it may limited) it's not crazy to have to pay for your own stuff. So, If I can go to cheapscrubs.com and get a deal and the only requirement is a specific color or whatever, that's just the way life goes. Now, if you've got o buy a specific brand or from a specific vendor where I don't have the option of shopping around, that's different. Like I said, ideally, there SHOULD be some sort of stipend, but reality doesn't always work out that nicely...

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My friend's workplace just recently decided to take jeans off the approved dress code list. Some folks probably had to go out and buy some new pants. Should they be reimbursed? Some entry-level workers are required to wear dress clothes (eg some bank tellers, some rental car clerks, etc). They certainly don't make the big bucks and likely don't get a clothing allowance. When I worked at a food shop in my youth, they took out $10 to pay for my logo'd polo shirt. Fair? I may not like it, but it certainly isn't unheard of.

But I do agree that if a hospital is making a big change in dress code policy wherein many nurses would have to buy all new work clothes the facility should make some kind of reimbursement available for the initial changeover. It's just good from a human relations standpoint.

It sure does seem that from an infection control standpoint, it would make sense for hospitals to provide nurses with uniforms on-site that they change into at work and that the hospital launders. And that's also the simplest way to ensure that the nurses' dress is standardized (if that is a goal of the facility).

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My friend's workplace just recently decided to take jeans off the approved dress code list. Some folks probably had to go out and buy some new pants. Should they be reimbursed? Some entry-level workers are required to wear dress clothes (eg some bank tellers, some rental car clerks, etc). They certainly don't make the big bucks and likely don't get a clothing allowance. When I worked at a food shop in my youth, they took out $10 to pay for my logo'd polo shirt. Fair? I may not like it, but it certainly isn't unheard of.

But I do agree that if a hospital is making a big change in dress code policy wherein many nurses would have to buy all new work clothes the facility should make some kind of reimbursement available for the initial changeover. It's just good from a human relations standpoint.

It sure does seem that from an infection control standpoint, it would make sense for hospitals to provide nurses with uniforms on-site that they change into at work and that the hospital launders. And that's also the simplest way to ensure that the nurses' dress is standardized (if that is a goal of the facility).

Great examples! Unfortunately, laundering scrubs costs a lot of money. I know a hospital that used to do that and they ended up still providing scrubs to employees (so many sets/year) but the employees had to launder them at home. That alone saved a ton of $$.

I know it's cool to bash on hospitals as big money-grubbing corporations (and a lot are), but there are real financial costs for things and money that can be saved there can be spent somewhere else.

I worked on a committee for a unit once where the management showed us where we were wasting money - incomplete documentation resulted in patients not being charged for disposables and the unit eating that cost. No one could get people to care any more about doing it right until they showed them that if we were able to eliminate that loss, there would be money in the budget to hire 2 more CNAs. That money got saved and 2 new CNAs got hired and made everyone's life easier.

I'm not saying that every situation would be like that (and I'm not being naive, just optomistic), but I'd rather buy my own scrubs and save the hospital some money that could be used to hire more staff (or make nicer break facilities or whatever). A little savings per employee adds up to real money. Whether or not they spend that money wisely, I don't know, but if enough people speak about it, they will.

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i prefer to spend money on 'civilian' clothes and wear scrubs to work..i don't spend a lot of time thinking about my clothes when i am working

i have to agree with a previous post [woody?] that children don't associate white with pain of needle stick any more than they would someone with cartoons on their top while they are being stuck-an ouch is an ouch as far as kids are concerned

however there are jobs for people who insist on wearing nonunforms and there are jobs for those to whom it doesn't make a difference so it may take some shifting around but in the end everyone is happy

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Specializes in Ortho, Case Management, blabla.
As far as Press Gainey goes, what a load of crap. They don't ask if your care was good it asks about the room temp and crap like that. I can see asking if the room was clean but sometimes I need to turn the temp down to help decrease a fever.

I paraphrased this post to some of the other RNs the other day. We laughed our butts off.

:clown:-"The patient said he feels cold, so I gave him another blanket from the blanket warmer and turned the heat up in his room a little bit. I also took those ice packs out from under he arms and the cold compress off his head. He said that felt better"

:uhoh21:-"But his temp is 103.5!"

:clown:-"customer satisfaction is #1!!"

That about fits my nursing manager to a tee.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

A temp of 103.5 is not life threatening and evidence points to the fact that a temp helps fight off an infection. If the patient is comfortable, it's usually okay to allow a temp to go untreated, unless they are severely ill, such as in the ICU.

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Specializes in PICU.

HAHA! Um, I think the sense of humor was lost on that following response. The point wasn't the temp, it was a comment on how much focus hospitals/surveys put into other points. I think it is funny about how sometimes the questions and the goals and policies contradict each other. Oh well!

As far as the original post it WAS mainly focused on pediatrics and the big children's hospital in regards to a uniform standard. I understand the professionalism and identity related to a color coded system but in pediatrics the focus is the kids. I don't think the kids are thinking that I don't look professional in my colorful top. I am very professional with my patients and their families and I introduce and identify myself to every family member that is in that room. I love where I work but I do think that the new uniforms are going to take away from the kid-friendly environment that we have tried to build. :)

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Specializes in ICU, SDU, OR, RR, Ortho, Hospice RN.

The hospital I worked in back in Tasmania had a great uniform that they provided for us.

It was colored coded but we had a vast array of choices.

We could wear long shorts, cullotes, skirts, dresses, trousers etc with different tops, blazer, jumper (oops sweater LOL) Different types of materials.

Everyone loved it I have to say.

Even though nurses wore navy blue the summer stuff was lighter with mainly white as the background with the hospital logo on it.

Navy is such a good color for nursing... Don't know why they decided on white in the first place LOL ;)

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Navy is such a good color for nursing... Don't know why they decided on white in the first place LOL ;)

What do doctors and nurses wear?
  • Most doctors and nurses in hospitals wear white clothes. This is because it is very important to stay clean when you are treating patients. If you wear white, you can spot dirt and stains very easily.
  • Doctors and nurses often have lots of pockets in their uniforms. This is because they have a lot to carry and they need to keep things out of the way.
  • Some doctors carry a stethoscope. This allows them to listen to your heartbeat.
  • Some nurses wear their watches clipped to their shirt pocket. These watches are upside down. This is so when the nurse looks down at the watch, it will be the right way up.

:lol2: :lol2: :lol2:
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Interesting article... Five years old; I wonder what came of this?

http://www.nursingadvocacy.org/action/seabrook_white_dress.html

The hospital chose Yeohlee mainly on the strength of her presentation, in which she glued digital pictures of the staff onto blownup architectural drawings of the hospital's facilities, and talked about coördinating the uniforms with the interior design of each wing.

When the dress came out on the second nurse, Karen Adounian, management started to applaud, but the nurses were silent, and the clapping quickly died away.

Even the coat came under attack. For some of the nurses, it was still too long and bulky to work in. "It looks great, but you have to be comfortable," said one.

This statement seemed to rouse Yeohlee. "I strongly disagree that it's not comfortable," she said. "It's taste, not comfort, that we're talking about here."

"I think we all agree that we're talking about taste," Meyers said brightly, looking over at the nurses, who didn't look as if they agreed at all.

This kind of crap just chaps my butt.

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