The hospital where I work is instituting color coded uniforms for all staff (except MD's) in patient care areas (RN/LPN-royal, PCT-teal, Radiology-black, Transport-brown, etc) to help patient's be able to identify who is who. Tops and bottoms are the same color. They are providing all staff with a ONE TIME only stipend toward buying the new uniforms. Full-time staff will receive $100, part-time $60, and per diem $40. Staff will be required to buy the scrubs online through the hospital and there is one brand (Cherokee) with 6 styles to choose from. If your scrub order costs more than your stipend, you pay the difference. The scrub prices range from $12-$24 each piece with the unisex being on the low end and the more fashion forward and maternity scrubs being on the high end. You will not be allowed to go to your local scrub store and buy another brand of scrubs, even if they are the correct color. If you choose to wear a shirt under your scrub top, it must be the same exact color as your scrubs or black, no prints. Also, no jackets are to be worn over the top.
Currently the hospital provides scrubs to the OR staff at no charge and will continue to do so. They also provide uniforms to the environmental staff at no charge and will continue to do that. If they are limiting our attire to one specific brand and specific styles and we have to purchase them from the hospital that seems like a uniform and not a dress code and the hospital should be providing them like they do for the other departments wearing uniforms. As far as I know, other companies outside of healthcare that require uniforms actually provide the uniforms.
I, like many of my coworkers, am fine with the required colors but am upset that I have to use my own money to buy the scrubs and can not even buy what fits me best. I wear tall length Koi cargo scrub pants, they are available in royal blue (I own 2 pairs) but I can not wear them. Instead I must buy pants I don't like for $24/each, because that is how much the tall length pants are through the vendor. My other option would be to buy the cheaper regular length scrubs and have them be 2 inches too short or buy the unisex pants and worry about my butt showing every time I bend over or feel gross and unprofessional because the crotch is sagging halfway down my thigh. According to the head of the uniform committee, staff should feel lucky though that they did not dictate what type/color shoes we must wear.
For those of you that work in hospitals with color coded scrubs, can you buy whatever brand fits you best as long as it is the right color? If your hospital does require a specific brand/color, do they provide you with the scrubs or do you have to purchase them from the hospital?
Obviously I am going to suck it up because I love my job and certainly am not going to quit over something like this, I just needed to vent my frustration and also wondered if this was the norm.
Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
I don't have a problem with the color coding as such, I come from the generation that was required to wear all white.
I do have a problem with a couple of things;
1) the hospital requiring that you purchase a specific type and style of scrubs from a specific company (that benefits the hospital financially??? that sounds illegal as all get out to me) and,
2) the employee having to pay for scrubs that have the logo/name of the facility on them.
At one point I was required to wear a lab coat and the facility asked me to put their name on my coat with my own identifiers. I asked them to pay for a portion of the lab coat itself and for the embroidery. They declined to do so. I declined to have anything sewn onto my lab coat which would make it unusable for me in another setting.
"I, like many of my coworkers, am fine with the required colors but am upset that I have to use my own money to buy the scrubs and can not even buy what fits me best."
Attorneys must wear suits to work. Do they ask the senior partners to pay for them? Physicians must dress professionally when they are in the office or seeing patients. Do they ask others to pay for their clothes? This sort of mentality is one of the things that is holding this profession back.
Attorneys are not told which suits they are required to wear. Physicians are not told specifically down to the brand and style what professional dress means. I dress professionally every day. Nobody needs to dictate where I shop, what brand I buy, and what specific style dress I wear in order to ensure I am a professional. I do that all on my own every day in both my work and professional life.
I am sure if attorneys were told by their firm that they could only wear a specific brand suit in a specific color and fit they would think that is ridiculous too.
Buying uniforms is a tax write-off for YOU and benefits your tax base much more.
I write off my uniforms EvERY year, including shoes, and other items as well.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to write off my uniform expenses this year. I tried, but the income ratio to expenses didn't work. I'm going to take a closer look at the requirements and do what I can to meet them.
To the OP - I agree, it's stinky to be restricted to just one brand, especially when has sizing issues. I have not found any Cherokees that I like... I am tall...and harder to fit because of it. Maybe you can find a way to adapt the scrubs, and/or use something like a scrubpoc from SmartScrubs or NurseProPack.
You can only if you itemize. For many people, they do not have enough deductions to make itemizing financially worthwhile, so they take the standard deduction. You cannot claim work expenses if you take the standard deduction.
I itemize, but the income to expense ratio disqualified me from taking the deduction this year... Maybe TurboTax made a mistake...Curious if others have ever itemized and not qualified for the deduction.
Disregard, per other posts, I see others have had this issue as well.
My daughter also resented having the cost of her fast food uniforms deducted from her first paycheck, as small as it was. I sense some of the same behind the scenes mentality at play here. Demeaning.
Wow....for a fast-food worker to buy their uniform....with their wages being around minimum wage or so....that really stinks.
"I, like many of my coworkers, am fine with the required colors but am upset that I have to use my own money to buy the scrubs and can not even buy what fits me best."
Attorneys must wear suits to work. Do they ask the senior partners to pay for them? Physicians must dress professionally when they are in the office or seeing patients. Do they ask others to pay for their clothes? This sort of mentality is one of the things that is holding this profession back.
I'm not sure I agree with you on this one... How is it holding nursing back? When one works in an office. they can also wear those clothes for other purposes....Not so with nursing work.
I'd still care -- it's management's way of demonstrating our loss of status and respect.
I think Ruby hit the nail on the head here. I think if an employer is implementing a color-coding system, then what's the big deal if folks buy uniforms in that same color, but by different brands? It allows nurses flexibility and choice. Pockets can really be useful...and for folks that are hard to fit, sometimes the brand change makes all the difference. I think respect for nursing is demonstrated by allowing a degree of choice....
I also dislike the notion of management directing employees towards just one brand of scrubs....while it may not truly be corrupt in this particular case, it seems to be stepping into dangerous waters.
Royal Blue for RNs at my facility as well. We have to have the hospital logo embroidered on the scrub top, which that and the scrubs themselves come out of our own pocket, but we are allowed to buy anywhere and in any style.
I prefer Dickies Gen Flex Youtility scrubs - well made, seem to be pretty tough and durable, and mucho, mucho pockets! The top alone has four pockets including a little one on the sleeve where I keep red IV caps.
We wore and paid for whatever brand we wanted, but the colors were chosen for us. We didn't get anything towards paying for them. (I write them off on my taxes, though). Nurses have to wear white or wine and CNAs have to wear white or Caribbean blue, but aren't allowed to wear all white. (Since the nurses can wear all white if they like)
Are attorneys required to buy their suits from one store, one designer/brand?
No, go be an attorney if you like.
Strange leap. Not even close to what I was saying.
I hardly think that resisting being forced to purchase and wear clothes much the way fast-food establishments do is "holding the profession back".
If you think wearing standardized uniforms is like working fast food, you are outta your mind.
THAT's what you got out of what I wrote? Missed the mark, it seems.
Please name a profession that makes this same requirement?
Military officers. Airline pilots. Police officers. Firefighters. (I know, what a bunch of sad sacks.)
Antagonistic, and unnecessary negativity. For what it's worth, both police officers and firefighters are considered "blue collar", not "in the professions". Probably why the debate on nursing school education variables creating a professional/non-professional situation exist.
Suppose we could argue "professional or not professional" here, but it's irrelevant--not the topic on hand.
Military officers and airline pilots know what their uniform is expected to be the moment they START their education. No "springing it" on someone who has been working for years, even decades, without such restrictions as the OP described. As I said before, there was a time when every nurse wore whites; it was expected. Times have changed, progress was made (or was it?) and we were allowed a bit of individuality. No more whites. And no more automatic expectations.
They are scrubs. Calm down.
I wasn't upset about this in the least, just made my observations.....but it does seem to have hit a nerve with you. Relax
toomuchbaloney
15,811 Posts
I don't have a problem with the color coding as such, I come from the generation that was required to wear all white.
I do have a problem with a couple of things;
1) the hospital requiring that you purchase a specific type and style of scrubs from a specific company (that benefits the hospital financially??? that sounds illegal as all get out to me) and,
2) the employee having to pay for scrubs that have the logo/name of the facility on them.
At one point I was required to wear a lab coat and the facility asked me to put their name on my coat with my own identifiers. I asked them to pay for a portion of the lab coat itself and for the embroidery. They declined to do so. I declined to have anything sewn onto my lab coat which would make it unusable for me in another setting.