dress code before wearing scrubs

rn500 · Mar 29, 2004

the hospital that i work at has just started a policy that requires all employees to dress ''business casual'' when coming to work, at work, and leaving work...i am an ob nurse that wears scrubs..i come to work, change into hospital furnished scrubs, clock in and work....the policy now states, no jeans, gym shoes or sandals (unless wearing hose) will be worn to or from work...most nurses, wearing scrubs at work, don't own business casual....question: can a hospital require a dress policy when we haven't clocked in yet....?
thank you
dee

:uhoh3: You have got to be kidding me!! That does not seem legal somehow. Yet another way a hospital is doing everything it can to keep it's nurses happy and boost retention, eh?! I would be looking for another job.

CA CoCoRN, RN · Mar 29, 2004

That seems like a load of crap to me.

I wear what the hell I want to when I'm not on hospital time. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to go to work in skimpy, inappropriate wear, but I'm not choosing anything except what suits my mood. Usually, patients MAY only catch a glimpse of me/us before we hit the locker room and change into our hospital furnished scrubs.

I wear anything from nice jeans and a top to dressy wear (if I'm going out after work or just want to dress up). My attire going to work can be categorized as casual to dressy casual. But, again, it suits whatever needs I have. On the weekends, I'm usually in a warmup/sweat suit. I take pride in what I wear, but I'll be darned if I'm going to have to wear something specific, especially if I'm only going to be in the clothing for all of 2 hours, if that (to work and from work).

The only time that I make it a point to have on something especially business casual is when I'm there, not going to be working the floor and have to be amongst the general hospital population (e.g. seminars and the like).

_________

If I were in your shoes, I'd get together with a few nurses and get with management about this.

We're in a union where I work, so we'd not have to deal with this: the union would poll us and deal with it for us.

Renee' Y-Y · Mar 29, 2004

The hospital is obviously trying to get a handle on how their employees look coming and going into the hospital...which I'm not sure I blame them for. However, my question would be: Is the reason this came about due to an overall problem with poor dressing choices of the employees or because a handful of employees have poor choices & they are now going to write a policy for everyone. The other thing is...is it really going to be enforced? There are lots of "knee-jerk" policies that come about because of 1 or 2 "idiots" that make poor choices, but then no one enforces the policy when it comes out...it is then used whenever convenient for those who consistently make poor choices. "Obvious" policies or statements always make me wonder what on earth happened to instigate it...like "Not for IV injection" on Maalox or Tylenol elixir. I can only imagine what some employees have been dressing like to make the hospital feel they need to have a policy on it.

cannoli · Mar 29, 2004

We were told (a few years ago) that we couldn't wear jeans or shorts to staff meetings, which were on paydays, since we were being paid for the staff meetings and if they are paying you, they can tell you how to dress.

Okay, fine, but until you clock in, you are on your own time, and if I worked in scrubs, I certainly would not get all dressed up or go out and buy new clothes to go to work in.

If they want to buy you a new wardrobe to go back and forth to work in, fine, but otherwise, I'd wear what I wanted as long as it didn't look indecent.

AlaskaKat · Mar 30, 2004

Totally ridiculous! You are on your own time, they can't tell you what to wear on your way to work!