Do you wear different scrubs for psych?

[angelfire280]

.... As in, do you wear different colors or avoid certain scrubs when working in psych?

I just got my first nursing job as an LPN at a psych ward. One of the roughest in the area, actually. I am buying my first non-white scrubs (finally), but I wondered if the color you wear has an effect on your patients. For instance, I'm staying away from red, even though I love the color, because of all the negative feelings it's reported to provoke. I'm also avoiding pastels, even though I'm a girly girl, because I fear that the more uncontrolled patients might see me as soft or whatever.

I was aiming for green, navy, blue, and purple. Am I being silly here, or does this stuff actually matter?

[angelfire280]

Well, guys, thanks for all your input. At orientation we were told that all departments were recently designated a color. The mental health dept is to wear purple scrubs, or scrubs with purple in them. Although, business casual street clothes are allowed too. I guess I'll just wear scrubs on day one and check out what everyone else has on.

[MarkRN]

We wear white tops and blue pants on our inpatient psych unit. This is the uniform that is expected of all nurses in our hospital. The rationale for this is so that patients and visitors know what role staff plays just by looking at them. I initially wished that we wore business casual attire, but I have found that scrubs are much more practical when dealing with aggressive patients and when performing a lot of care on our medically-compromised and geriatric patients...

[MissNursieNurse]

I work at a maximum security hospital for the criminally insane. As RN's we wear street clothes; the RPN's and unregulated health care providers (somewhat of a PSW/HCA) wear issued grey pants and a blue button-up shirt. These uniforms have been in place since the facility first opened.

[GalRN]

I can wear either scrubs or not at my job. I prefer to describe the dress code as "business casual, but you have to be able to wrestle in it"

[sayitgirl]

.... As in, do you wear different colors or avoid certain scrubs when working in psych?

I just got my first nursing job as an LPN at a psych ward. One of the roughest in the area, actually. I am buying my first non-white scrubs (finally), but I wondered if the color you wear has an effect on your patients. For instance, I'm staying away from red, even though I love the color, because of all the negative feelings it's reported to provoke. I'm also avoiding pastels, even though I'm a girly girl, because I fear that the more uncontrolled patients might see me as soft or whatever.

I was aiming for green, navy, blue, and purple. Am I being silly here, or does this stuff actually matter?

I work at a state psychiatric hospital, the largest in the state. There are about five different buildings for different types of clients. But the one thing that is universal you can wear whatever you want as long as it is within the dress code; no low midriffs, short shorts, clogs....etc., appropriate clothing. Or you can wear scrubs, they also give you an uniform allowance yearly at the fiscal year. I love being able to wear what I want to work!

[luvmy2angels]

I must agree with most of the posters above, in any psych unit I have been (and it has been many), the staff always wore street clothes. I would wait and find out what they say before going out and buying anything. I got my first job right out of school at a hospital and was so excited!! I went out and bought tons of new scrub pants and tops. I only buy the pants that have the cuffed bottom. During orientation I was told those pants were not allowed!! I guess it was a good thing i only lasted 2 weeks!! Not because of the pants though.

[MsPiggy]

I work in a substance abuse facility/ dual diagnosis psych. Can wear whatever I want as long as I'm clean and show up!

For me it's usally scrub pants & Tshirt and sweater if cold, sometimes I match, most times I really don't and sometimes I wear really crazy bright scrubs my mother makes me but I always have interesting socks with non matching crocs on. Which thankfully my supervisors overlook...Hey, I'm not a morning person and don't pay attention til I'm already on the way in..I like to dazzle them with some psychedelic color combinations!!

Ms.P

[jmking]

Street clothes, no scrubs.

[RN4life74]

My unit is a hospital psych/detox unit. We deal with vomit, diarrhea, urine, blood, and having various liquids thrown at us. Some of us wear scrubs. I'd never wear street clothes with some of the messes we deal with, plus takedowns. Scrubs are comfortable, easy-care, and everyone knows I'm the nurse. I disagree that scrubs are unprofessional. What could be more professional than a nurse that looks like a nurse. They don't affect the patients negatively, in fact they seem to like the different colors and patterns. And they like being to identify "a nurse".

[goettin98]

On our unit, we are allowed to either wear scrubs (any color, any print), or business casual. I would say 95% of the nurses and aides wear scrubs. To me, scrubs are much more comfortable, and I like being identifiable as a nurse, rather than a counselor, social worker, etc. What I think is unprofessional is when we have casual day and people wear jeans and t-shirts.

[RN2begin]

You are being silly.

We wear casual dress/street clothes at the state psychiatric hospital where I work. Wear clothes you can move in without being revealing, shoes you can run in without falling, and nothing around your neck (stethoscope, necklaces, etc.).

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

When I worked at a smallish community psychiatric hospital last year, no scrubs were permitted in the dress code. We were to wear either labcoats over casual street clothes, or polo shirts with casual slacks, jeans, or khaki pants. The labcoats and polo shirts were issued to nurses and techs by the hospital, and were all emblazoned with the company's embroidered logo on the left chest.