Should I wear my white nurse's uniform??

Nurses General Nursing

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sbyramRN

304 Posts

Uhhhhhh....a big NO on the dress. Also, I would never show up to an interview in "business casual". Wear a suit.

BabyLady, BSN, RN

2,300 Posts

Specializes in NICU, Post-partum.

I'm not picking on the younger folks....but it does seem like the younger posters are usually the ones that don't think it's necessary to dress to impress.

Granted, young folks don't think it's necessary, but it's usually folks in our generation that are doing the interviewing.

We had one girl that came to class dressed for an interview that she had right after class.

She wore a skirt that was mid-thigh (big no-no), an overly fluffy blouse (like something you would wear to a night club), and stacked heeled shoes and really chunky plastic jewelry.

Granted....if she was going out on a Saturday night with her girlfriends...she looked great.

But for a job interview...let's just say it would send the wrong message.

As a nurse manager I would prefer business attire if you were coming for a job interview. You are coming to me to apply for a job; you do not already have a job so don't dress like you do. Please don't wear flip flops or your flannel pajama bottoms, and yes I have had several RN's dress that way for an interview. If you are serious about coming to work for me dress like it, I see scrubs everyday so that doesn't impress me. I understand wearing your scrubs if you just got off work and I knew that in advance. If you did wear a white nursing dress to my interview, you better have white hose, clean white shoes, and a neatly pressed dress.

nminodob

243 Posts

Only wear that dress if you are also planning on wearing that little white cap that completes the look...

Epona

784 Posts

Thanks everyone! For what it's worth.. I am saddened that we as nurses do not wear the white uniform that is old traditional standard. To me, it sets you apart and says I'M THE NURSE! So often these days, we are confused with other healthcare workers. People have a hard time distinguishing the nurse from housekeeping. Well thank you very much for the replies back, and I will not wear the white dress. Thanks again! Epona :)

Specializes in EMS, ER.

I personaly wouldn't wear a dress anywhere, not even in the privacy of my own home :D :yeah: :bugeyes:

I agree with the girls though, go with business attire....... My :twocents:

Specializes in CVICU.
I personaly wouldn't wear a dress anywhere, not even in the privacy of my own home :D :yeah: :bugeyes:

Me either, and I'm a girl.

BmichelleRN

26 Posts

Specializes in Med/surg, home health, ICU, PCU, Cardio.

I agree with all the posters...no white dress. Business casual, skirt or pants!! best of luck!!!!!! and CONGRATS

lsyorke, RN

710 Posts

Specializes in Med-Surg, Wound Care.
Thanks everyone! For what it's worth.. I am saddened that we as nurses do not wear the white uniform that is old traditional standard. To me, it sets you apart and says I'M THE NURSE! So often these days, we are confused with other healthcare workers. People have a hard time distinguishing the nurse from housekeeping. Well thank you very much for the replies back, and I will not wear the white dress. Thanks again! Epona :)

It's not the uniform that makes one a nurse....it's what you do on the job. If a nurse is getting confused with housekeeping, then she needs to look at how she's practicing. Sorry, this argument over uniforms is a big pet peeve with me!

Business attire for any interview!

kwkrnc

11 Posts

Hello,

I love that you asked this question and so I'm going to ask one in return. How do you feel about nurses wearing all white? The debate has raged for as long as I have been nursing and I have always maintained the same stance: Where is the nurses symbol? Any person with good hygiene could walk off the street, grab a doc's coat and walk into a room and 'examine' a patient. In essence, I have seen this happen. A doctor in a group practice walked into the room and without saying a word to the patient or her family, pulled back the covers, mumbled everything looks fine and turned and walked out of the room. I knew who this guy was but imagine my surprise when several minutes passed and the pt's husband asked "Who was that?" I contend that patients and their families should be able to recognize a nurse on sight. As if it is not hard enough for the average patient, imagine what it is like for the elderly or visually impaired. Furthermore, I believe the decision to move away from all white while cloaked in 'make nurses happy' was really nothing more than a way of making it appear that there were more nurses on the floor than there actually were. If everyone looks alike then pt's and staff see alot of people they assume they are all nurses. That said, had you asked about the nursing cap I figured that one out a long time ago---when the bouffants gave way to the straight long hair of the 60's there was nothing to hold the cap on so it had to go. But to answer your question, if you are applying for a job in a hospital you should dress in a professional manner--preferably a business suit. Have you ever heard the saying that "one should dress for the job they aspire to". If you want to move up in the organization eventually to a managerial position then you must be perceived from the onset as a professional. If, however, you were applying for a position as a school nurse or with any other kind of company then I would encourage you to dress in the all white because it still commands respect and sets you apart from the other type of employees they have. Finally, be sure to wear comfortable shoes that you can walk in because you will likely be taken on a walking tour of the facility. All the Best, kwkrnc

feralnostalgia

178 Posts

I would wear business casual. I would equate the nurse's dress with scrubs, which you should NEVER wear to an interview. When I interviewed for my CNA job, everyone was dressed in business casual, including me.
aw man! here I was really hoping I could get away with scrubs as professional-wear and just buy clothing I actually wear the rest of the time. I loathe "business" attire, and it pretty much always looks awful and awkward on me.

I'm going into nursing because I want to help people (not just people with money), hate desk jobs, corporate america, and really want as much time off as possible to learn new skills and grow as a person, not climb some career ladder. scrubs as comfortable, cheap, practical, and egalitarian clothing make perfect sense. I want to get hired, so I'll do the business casual thing to get a job, but I really don't see why anyone would hold it against someone if they interviewed in the clothing they were going to wear to work every day for the rest of their career.

I guess I don't get to give away all my ties -_-

correct me if I'm wrong...but a suit says "I can afford a suit", not "I am an honest person", "I am hardworking", "I know the first thing about nursing", or "I give a damn about patients." working with the public in another career, I can't tell you how many disgusting, manipulative, and very "well dressed" people I have met, while some of the most honest and hardworking people I know wear home-made or second-hand clothes.

*sigh*

I just think it's a really sad reflection on society as a whole that people care this much about what other people wear. clean and neat is important, particularly for nursing, but that's about as far as you can go with appearance telling you about someone's real character.

MoLee228

118 Posts

Specializes in CVICU, anesthesia.
Thanks everyone! For what it's worth.. I am saddened that we as nurses do not wear the white uniform that is old traditional standard. To me, it sets you apart and says I'M THE NURSE! So often these days, we are confused with other healthcare workers. People have a hard time distinguishing the nurse from housekeeping. Well thank you very much for the replies back, and I will not wear the white dress. Thanks again! Epona :)

I'm with most everyone else and agree you should wear business attire to an interview.

But on the topic of the white nurse's uniform, I'm doing my clinicals at the Cleveland Clinic and they have gone back to nurses wearing all white. They don't have to wear dresses, but they do have to wear all white scrubs. They have color coded the whole staff, so the patients know who is who. For example, PCNAs wear green, RT wears blue, and PT wears black. The patients know who is coming into their room. And I am with you, there is something nice about the traditional white for nurses!

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