Each job title wears it's own color.

[borzoilady]

We are being told by our administrators that if all the RNs in the Hospital wear one color, the LPNs one color, NAs one color, etc. that it will improve "willingness to recommend" because pts will be able to tell who is caring for them, who they are talking to, etc. Our VP of Pt Care Services is saying that this is "studied and proven" and is becoming the standard throughout the country. Any comments?

[RNKel, ASN, RN]

The local hospital:

RN: ceil blue

LPN: purple

radiology: black

resp therapy: green

PCAs and unit clerks: khaki

food service: burgundy

[ZooMommyRN, ADN, RN]

ER - White &/or Maroon, Med/Surg - Ceil blue &/or white, ICU - teal/white, RT - turquoise, lab - whatever they want, L&D/Mother-Baby - purple/white, peds - white or ceil blue pants with any top that kids would like

[ZippyGBR, BSN, RN]

from a right pondian persepctive colour coded uniforms is the absolute norm - the exception sometimes being areas who were OR type scrubs because they generally come in one colour or one colour per area ( e.g. Maternity theatres in tan and main theatres in blue mainly to stop anaesthetists and ODPs from not changing scrubsbetween the clinical areas )

with resepct to the LPNs - if you work to the same job description as an RN then you should wearthe same uniform ( very few if any places now distinguish unconverted ENs - because they are working to the same job descriptions as RNs)

[Scrubby]

At my hospital on the wards the RN's wear blue, the EN's (LPN's) wear teal and the PNA's (third year RN students) wear a light blue. It's a great system not to the patient but to the staff because you know straight away what level someone is at.

In the OR we all wear dark blue scrubs, the nurses, doctors, even the orderlies. I never know who is an RN or an EN and have to ask all the time. It would be nice to distinguish straight away.

Yes. For real. All of the talk about nurses being unrecognizable has NEVER been an issue for me because I wear whites.

And more than the whites, I would be very offended at being required to wear a different color than the RN's. Esp in this instance Real Nurses get to wear white if they want, Little Pretend Nurses can't.

Not quite sure here what you mean by the comment little pretend nurses? Are you referring to students, PCA's, axillary staff?

And why are you so against wearing a different colour as an RN when your an LPN, not an RN? We're all nurses yes but different educational qualifications. In Australia we have different levels of responsibility and what type of care we can give i.e IV meds. It helps me to know who i'm working with instead of having to ask all the time.

[Eirene, ASN, RN]

We are permitted to wear whatever we chose. I love it. My patients always know who I am.

We always wear a huge yellow sign under our name tag that designates "RN, PCA, or UCA." I think that is sufficient.

I think we should change the tags to "Nurse, Aide, Unit Clerk." I think that would make the job stand out even more.

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

I don't know if scrubs=nurse all the time. Yesterday I was at Trader Joes in my scrubs and the guy said "I'll bet you work in a dentist's office"

I had to check and make sure my nursing cap was on straight! (joke really)

Off Topic but Trader Joe's is my most favorite store!!! :heartbeat

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

Not quite sure here what you mean by the comment little pretend nurses? Are you referring to students, PCA's, axillary staff?

And why are you so against wearing a different colour as an RN when your an LPN, not an RN? We're all nurses yes but different educational qualifications. In Australia we have different levels of responsibility and what type of care we can give i.e IV meds. It helps me to know who i'm working with instead of having to ask all the time.

RN = registered nurse = (slang) Real Nurse

LPN = Licensed pracital nurse = (slang) Little Pretend Nurse.

It's a "joking" way to disparage LPN's.

LPNs are already marginalized enough by the biggest nurses' organization in the nation not even recognizing them as nurses let alone boards of nursing increasingly lessening their scope of practice. It offends me that a right they earned, to wear the whites that in the US have always distinguished nurses, period, from other hospital employees, is being taken away from them by some employers.

If one doesn't want to wear it, fine. But a NURSE should have the right to.

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

I agree, LPNs and RNs should wear the same color. We are all nurses! So much of nursing is on the job training that many LPNs will know more than BSNs because they have so much experience! Also, judging from some of the assignments I read here that RN programs are requiring these days, a lot of it is psychobabble fluff, in my opinion.

In order for a higher degree to have true value, it must concentrate on hardcore, clinically relevant material, not 'How will the Presidential election affect nursing?' or 'How has the mass media affected the image of nursing in the 21st century?'

[Batman24]

I'm an RN and we wear any color scrub we want. It offers a lot of variety so I like it and the patients seem to as well. Everyone on my unit wears scrubs. I know the unit secretary and the clerks don't have to wear them but they do too. I think they just want to feel like part of the group. Also, it's cheaper and easier than buying a wardrobe. I don't have a problem with it and I haven't heard any of the staff complain about it either.

[WindyhillBSN]

RNs and LPNs have to where all white on the floor. In the ER and unit they where what they want. I'm just sick of seeing everybody's panties! It's required that we where white panties if you can believe it!

[Batman24]

RNs and LPNs have to where all white on the floor. In the ER and unit they where what they want. I'm just sick of seeing everybody's panties! It's required that we where white panties if you can believe it!

You have to wear white panties?! Someone should fill them in that flesh/nude colored ones would be the much better choice as white is so see through. I would wear the nude ones anyway. I don't need everyone seeing the outline of my ass. Yikes. If they don't like that I wouldn't wear any. :chuckle

[MadisonsMomRN, BSN, RN]

Our hospital is strange. I used to work there...

It doesn't matter if you are a RN or LPN... Each floor/wing has its own color. For example... 5 East wears royal blue, 5 west wears teal/Caribbean blue, 5 south wears seafoam, mobile nursing wears navy blue etc.

I can't wear whites at my prn jobs (correctional nursing) because the kitchen workers wear all white.

I wear regular clothes at my QA job. I WISH I could wear scrubs.