Nurses please try to look a little more polished at work

Nurses General Nursing

Updated:   Published

To the smokers I work with, please do yourselves and patients a favor by brushing your teeth after smoking. the smell of smoke makes me gag, and I feel sorry for your already nauseated patients.

To the supervisor that baths in his cologne... don't. it smells horrible.

To the nurse with the huge blond hair. it looks like a bomb was set off in your hair. did you use a whole bottle of stiff on it? and you may want to wear better fitting scrubs, I'm curvy as well, but I don't like to show my curves at work.

Yes, I do like to wear make up and manicured nails( no chipping, or fakes nails) to work everyday. not only does it make me feel good but patients notice as well. looks are first impressions, and I like to make a good one.

I look worse at the end of a 12 hour shift when I try to wear make-up than I do with none.

Ugh, me too. If only I could finish the shift looking exact same.

And if you're different, you're not same. Or exact same.

Specializes in critical care.

If we start our own thread we could make it the exact same thing!

"It's the same as people who use "nu-cu-lar" instead of "nu-cle-ar" when saying "nuclear." The former is wrong, wrong, wrong but it has become accepted because so many people say it, and in part because "W" said it that way."

Back the truck up- I thought it was accepted because it's how Homer Simpson says it, and after all, he works at a "nucular" power plant!

I have 4 tattoos (I am a Marine, so per an earlier pp, I might be on the border of acceptable), yet none of them show in scrubs- not even close, and yes, things like this were considered when I chose their locales. I never, ever wear make-up to work; I do, however, shower before every shift, put on clean scrubs and am yet to show up late (I know that shi* happens, so I'd like to have a good track record for when that day comes). I never understood mass amounts of make-up, in cammies, when I was on active duty, either. You're wearing a "working" uniform. Save the make-up for the fancy uniforms and for the love of God- please shower before you come in! I have definitely had to send a Marine home to shower and find clean cammies; a little awkward- yes but totally necessary when one is about 4 days overdue for a good cleaning, and a step above just hosing him down in the driveway of our shop.

Specializes in L&D.
I also hate tattoos. I will probably get beat up for saying this, but they are just trashy and ugly and I don't know why anyone wants to get them. There. Let the beatings begin.

haha. You just sound ignorant, that's all.

Only on page 6 so far.

I find it interesting, to say the least, that atheists/non-Christians seem to think that they are the experts on the Bible and Christian behavior, as if Christians aren't human and the atheists/non-Christians have never done anything wrong.

I've worked with many nurses who either bathed in cologne or didn't bath at all, yuck.

I would also say that I have worked/work with nurses who do attempt to dress sexually provocative at work. The whole rolling down the top of the scrub pants until I can tell that you shaved today is not abnormal. As a man I do not complain about this new fashion trend but as a professional it really brings down the image of the whole profession. The presentation that our cohorts and our facilities make is extremely important in maintaining the patient to nurse relationship. Our profession enjoys a certain level of inherent trust that many professions, including physicians, do not. Let's not naively think that the trust fostered between the nurse and patient is solely due to the tasks we perform at bedside.

We are professionals, we should ALL act like it.

Thank you for this.

ok asystole rn of course, i agree that the tasks we perform at bedside are not the only thing that matters, however, the number of nurses who have issues with bo, crazy hair, nails etc are definitely a minority. i am very surprised by the comment 'the whole rolling down the top of the scrub pants until i can tell that you shaved today is not abnormal'. i have been an or nurse for almost 20 years and have never seen this. maybe i am lucky, but all my colleagues behave and present themselves very professionally, where i work anything else would not be tolerated by management.

I have seen this. Not to the point of being able to tell if the person shaved, but I could see a crack and what color their thongs were when they sat down!

Well, I am NOT going to bite my tongue on this one, OnlybyHisgraceRN, obviously this is more inspired by your own moral code than anything else, are you afraid to "witness" on your job? I agree with you in principle, but next time, either address those that you are offended by, or have the guts to bring it up at the next nurses meeting, or to administration.
There's a reason for this site. One is to discuss professional issues in nursing anonymously. As long as things don't get inflammatory, we should be able to speak our mind. OP stated her opinion. I don't believe she did it in an inflammatory way, so speak on sister!
PIN number?(we've found another of my grammar pet peeves)

Ok, I know I'm contributing to the derailment of this thread (and a zombie thread at that) but I have to add some grammar redundancies I hate:

"safe haven"

"UPC code"

"advance warning"

"armed gunman"

"past experience"

"overused cliche"

It still seems like a pointless word to me. I don't need a double negative on a word, just use the origin, with regard, like someone else said.

Ain't is also a real word in the dictionary and you'll never catch me using it either. My father in law was an English professor and you'd better believe I heard about it if it was wrong.

We use so many incorrect words that it's kind of amusing. My favorites are "lay down" instead of "lie down" and the word "anyways", which isn't a word.

But, with regard to the original topic, sorry I got off track. ;)

Much as I would love to start an entire thread on this kind of stuff, I usually don't say anything because I know it won't make any difference. But I thank you for bringing it up and I agree 100%!

At the local hospitals in my area they no longer allow smoking near their premises, and some companies not just in healthcare but in general will ask you if you smoke on the job application and you may not get a job If you do.

Then the kitten'd be broke.

I saw a sign on an isolette the other night that said "Isolette wont work!". Lazy, lazy isolette.

I know this is quite the zombie thread, but I got called off work after I was already up and dressed... So of course had nothing better to do...

Bortaz- this post captured my imagination and tickled my funny bone in a way that only something at 0600 can.

I've been laughing off and on, disturbing my husband and dog, picturing a run-down isolette sitting in the parking lot behind a hospital, with a cardboard sign propped up against it (written in black marker) "Isolette won't work" and nurses in scrubs walking by, shaking their heads, whispering to themselves- "lazy, lazy isolette."

I'm guessing others won't find this nearly as hilarious as I do, but it's early and my mind works in strange ways.

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