Long hair unrestrained at work

[Emergent, RN]

Sorry if I'm offending anyone here, but in nursing school wearing ones long hair down was a big no no, due to infection control issues we were told. Yet, I constantly see nurses with long hair at work, flowing freely. Has the no long hair past the shoulders, and loose, rule gone by the wayside? Has it been proven to not matter?

[Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN]

I see the same thing. One nurse on our unit always has her hair down. Very unsanitary I think.

[SmilingBluEyes]

Worse, was the obstetrician whose beautiful tie dipped into a pool of amniotic fluid when he was performing amniotomy. I told him he best take it off......YUCK

[dah doh, BSN, RN]

Our facility's policy is that long hair must be tied back or up & out of our faces. Some of the nurses leave their hair down & just clip it up for patient care only, but that involves touching their hair a lot. I personally just put it in a ponytail and then forget about it...quick & easy...no fuss.

I also don't use lanyards for my badge because I've gotten them stuck under dirty patients...eww! I use the retractable clips for my badge, but have to remember to take it off when doing CPR as my badge will smack me in the face otherwise!

[klone, MSN, RN]

Per Joint Commission, anything longer than shoulder length should be restrained. When I worked L&D, I would put my hair back/up when we got close to delivery.

Now I just wear it up in a bun every day at work (to the point where, when I wear it down for social events, my coworkers literally do not recognize me at first). So much easier to just put it up with an elastic.

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

Eeew... Up until a few months ago I had hair down to my mid-back, and I always had it in a bun, pony, or braid for work. It was not only for my safety, but for my pts' safety; for a while I had some serious post-partum hair shedding. I didn't want to leave any of my hair in their bed or on their person.

Now it's above my shoulders, but it still feels wrong to have it down. It's still long enough to fall in my face during incontinence/wound care, so I at least tie it up for that kind of thing (foaming pre- and post- tying.)

[Jules A, MSN]

In psychiatry the super long hanging pony tails can be a safety hazard in the case of assault also.

[Barnstormin' PMHNP]

I worked with a nurse in the ICU who wore her hair down all the time. It was down to her lower back. It gave me the shudders to look at because I always wondered how she avoided getting it into the nasty stuff, I never saw it up in a ponytail or bun either. On the other hand she was good at not getting into the nasty stuff.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

hmm - kind of weird that health care providers are not held to the same standard as food service workers who are required to wear hairnets.. LOL. Is a stray hair in your open wound 'better' than one in your burger?

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

It's the same old story: the question is not whether there is a rule (you can bet there is) but whether it is enforced. Some faclities care, others not so much.

Me, when I worked the floor wouldn't even wear a lanyard because of what I might "dip" it into

[nrsang97, BSN, RN]

Yuck. I always have my hair up and out of my face. I really need my bangs cut because they are so long right now. I pull them back with a barrette. I can't stand seeing people with super long hair having it all over the place.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

I always carry a fresh bag of elastics that are cloth covered and make them pull it back