Color Code for All

[edmia]

So, where I work, we supply our own uniforms. Some units, like L&D and OR, have hospital issued scrubs and each service has a color code.

When I first got hired, I was told that the entire nursing department was considering changing the uniform policy to make 1 color for each service, but nothing was in writing yet. Basically, the policy as it stands is anything goes.

So, since I was a new nurse, I spent quite a bit on scrubs. It was nice to wear some colors and prints after wearing nursing school 1940's styled uniform!

Now, it seems the color code policy is becoming a reality. Some polling as to what color we want started going around. The choices they offered are awful - dark brown anyone?

I'm not against wearing a color, that's fine with me. The only thing that isn't clear is whether they expect the staff to provide their own uniforms or if the hospital will be providing them like they do for the other services that have mandated colors.

I don't feel like spending another couple of 100 dollars on scrubs, so what can happen if I don't follow the policy once it comes out? Most of my colleagues feel the same way. Anyone gone through this transition at their place?

Thanks for the input!

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

it's not for the direct benefit of the patients - it's for the benefit of staff who have to move to different floors (i.e. ed and icu) to drop off patients and/or bail out your asses when your patient crumps. we need to be able to tell who does what when we don't know the floor's staff by sight.

i work in a thousand bed hospital. the staff who move to different floors to drop off patients know most of the nurses by sight. when i transfer my patient to another floor, i recognize most of those nurses as nurses, although i'm bad with names.

by the way -- the comment about "bail out your asses when your patient crumps" is pretty offensive. if you're on a rapid response team, one would think you'd be more intelligent than to make a statement like that.

[tonet0908]

At the hospital where I work, we only wear solid colors, RN's are only allowed to wear ceil blue and white in any combination. I don't like the scrub tops so I wear ceil blue or white t-shirts or polo shirts with the RN logo embroidered on them. I've been doing that for 6 yrs and so far none of the mgrs have complained. Also, we do not get a uniform allowance.

[Turd Ferguson]

I was hired recently for a new job, the unit is color coded- fine with me, I really like the idea as I am a very visual person. So I drop about 60 bucks on a pair of Aviators in the assigned color to make sure they fit before I order many more pairs. The other day I found out the entire hospital will be switching to a color coded system in a couple of months, and it will not be the color that I purchased. All uniforms are purchased with personal money, no allowance from work. So basically, I have buy scrubs to last a month or two, then re-purchase in a new color.

Dammit.

[aprilfresh]

We're color coded - Nursing is navy. Techs are OR green. Unit clerks are purple. Dietary = black. Xray = red. Formula room = pink.

[going2BaNurse2014]

At the hospital where I was a pt 2x they had a color coded system but the hospital provided and laundered the scrubs. Phlebotomy got red, L&D and OB got pinkish/mauve/burgundy color, yes it was quite awesome to see the men who had to wear them, they were all awesome though. MDs and nurses all wore the same colors in each unit too. Surgery got green scrubs. ER nurses wore black, MDs wore cammies or blue scrubs usually.

It worked out well I guess, they seem to still go with this formula. It was a military hospital. Most of the nurses and aides and techs that worked in the primary care offices got to wear whatever scrubs they wanted to.

[tech1000]

I thought a color code system was a good idea was I was in nursing school. Then reality hit when I started to practice, patients will not remember and do not need the extra stress of trying to remember who wears what color. I recently started working on an oncology/hematology unit and many patients tell me that they appreciate the bright colors we wear. To identify ourselves EVERYONE must introduce themselves to the patients and their families. The hospital I work for also has RNs, LPNs, and TECHs wear the glow-in-the-dark badge that hangs below our hospital badge. Even physicians can identify this system!!

I thought the point of wearing them was more for hospital staff. I work in an ER and like that we're color coded. It's a big hospital so knowing that I'm looking at a nurse, respiratory therapist, mental health tech, x-ray, or anything, is helpful. It made being new here much easier and when people float to the department, they know what color uniform to find in order to ask a question. I love being color coded.

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

At the other institution I used to work at, most floors could wear whatever they wanted. Some floors (mainly the ICU step-down and the neuro/trauma unit) made nurses wear ciel blue and techs/aides wear dark gray.

At my current institution, we can also wear whatever want; however, starting January 1st, we are switching over to color-coded uniforms. I guess the entire hospital was able to vote on their uniform color.

RNs: galaxy blue

LPNs: royal blue

RT: black

techs/aides: teal

unit secretaries: khaki (yuck!)

I personally like the galaxy blue. And imo, ANYTHING is better than white! The Cleveland Clinic still makes their nurses wear all white. PCT's and PCNA's have to wear hunter green.

The rationale is so that patients know who is who...but even with color coded uniforms patients still do not know. At my old institution, we would have our job title in BIG black letters underneath our ID badge - it was say RN, LPN, TECH, NSG ASST, EKG TECH, MD, etc...I was a tech, but patients would still refer to me as the nurse. Other hospitals I have worked with have job titles that are "less noticeable" on badges, but have color-coded uniforms. Patients still ask "are you my nurse?"