Harassment?

[UM Review RN]

Once a week, we've been asked to wear white. It's supposed to be voluntary. It's supposed to be a choice.

However.

I know that one overzealous person has called people at home to "remind" them to wear white. I also know of one person who was taken aside and the same person offered to buy them a white uniform because the nurse said she didn't have any whites.

Every week people are being harassed and intimidated if they choose not to wear white.

Is this harassment? How would you go about handling this?

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

Before I get busy doing other stuff, I just want to take a minute and thank all of you who gave such thoughtful answers to my dilemma in this thread.

All of you were so much more helpful than my wonderful DH, whose advice was to just call off on white day.

Right. Like they wouldn't notice.

[bigsyis]

so i have to go out and spend close to $100 for a uniform (don't forget shoes) that's basically a peep show (don't forget the white/beige grannypants underneath), just to go along to get along?

that is a big deal to me.

did you protest as loudly and vociferously when this was announced as being a team-building project, esp. about the $expense$?

i don't know if you live near a wal-mart or not, but you can get pants, jacket and top for about $36, and white underwear isn't too expensive there. if you are fortunate enough (and policy allows) and there is a dollar general store near you, you can get white "croc-like" shoes there for $6/pr, and they are quite comfortable!

and yes, i know whereof i speak, that is why i asked what the totally big deal was. three weeks after buying seven new sets of spring/summer scrubs (jackets included) earlier this year, our practice announced that we were mandated to wear only navy or red of a certain style. they would give us 3 sets of tops and bottoms and one jacket. unless i wanted to look like a beggar in very short order, guess what? i had to buy seven more sets and jackets so i'd at least have 2 weeks' worth. of course, white shoes (or pastel colors) looked ridiculous w/navy and red. that is when i found the croc-like shoes at dollar general, and they are really comfortable and wear well.

one nurse here risked being fired for insubordination because she only wanted to wear white. the solution was for her to wear a full-lenth white lab coat over her navy scrubs. maybe you all could compromise that way?

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

OK, first, I wasn't a part of this decision. No one was. This was all one coworker who got support from management.

Second, because of my painful foot problems, I cannot wear Crocs knockoffs. I have a pair that I work in and they are not white.

In fact, I was so happy to not have to wear white when I joined this organization, I had a gleeful "burn the see-through whites" day. I even tossed out my white/beige bras and underwear and bought cute patterned socks. My colored scrubs were cheap and are holding up very well. I also do not look like (and I'm borrowing this from someone else's comment on another thread, but it stuck with me) The Michelin Man, because I'm a way big Plus-Sized woman.

Third, it's supposed to be a choice. Therefore, I should not have to be stressing over this. I should not be bullied into doing something I choose not to do.

I have a white lab coat but it's really not practical for running around on the floor. In fact, since this initiative started, a few people have had to change out of their white uniforms due to spills, leaks, and patients' bodily fluid sprays. A couple of the girls are keeping spares in their lockers for those "special" days.

*sigh* I thought the profession had gotten past all that.

I guess I'll just have to ride it out. But white days are just awful now because the tension is so thick on the unit over this, and as I said, there is no end date to this particular initiative, so I can only hope that it fades with time.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

All of you were so much more helpful than my wonderful DH, whose advice was to just call off on white day.

Right. Like they wouldn't notice.

*snort*

Men. Gotta love 'em. Or we'd beat 'em to death.

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

Nope, this was an employee "team building" initiative, generated by a coworker. Nothing hardwired into hospital policy except choice.

Oh .......... who thinks up these "team building" things??

steph

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

Not THIS nurse-manager, that's for darn sure! "Team-building" is nothing more than administration code-speak for "let's treat adults like a batch of four-year-olds and watch 'em squirm".

Angie, I say stick to your guns---it is NOT worth the extra expense, and it is NOT worth the stress. Don't let 'em get you down!

[leslie :-D]

dang, i am so glad to be a raving, psychotic lunatic witch.

my colors really show when someone's trying to bully me.

stay strong, angie.

say no and mean it.

then let it go.

sometimes all it takes is some 'meaningful' eye contact for one to get your message.

leslie

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

OK, quick update.

I had a chat with the coworker in question and found out two very interesting things: first, that the whole initiative was not started by her, it was started by higher-ups; second, that she apologised for coming on so strongly about the whole deal and promised her support to those of us who chose not to join in.

So now I can finally shut up about it.

Thanks for your responses, they really gave me the push I needed to get this resolved. :)

[Nightcrawler, BSN, RN]

When these "teambuilding" initiatives come up it just drives me nuts. You are not a team because you all wear the same color, you are not a team because you say the same scripted statements to patients, and you are not a team because you join committees or think up more things to do to show that you are a team.

The way to build your team is to ACT like a team. Make a point to answer lights whether they are "your" patients or not. Offer to pitch in and help the co-worker that is drowning in work. BE there for the nurse that has a patient circling the drain.

Thank those that help you. Be open to sharing your skills with others. If you are good at starting IV's, let those around you know that you are willing to help them out whenever you can. Offer to watch another nurses patients so that she can take a break.

For nurse managers that are interested in finding out how to promote a team atmosphere, throw these stupid let's all wear white initiatives out the window, look at your unit, find the nurses that do some of the things that I talked about above, and publicly reward them in some real way. Team member of the month is great, but nurses are greedy, greedy people. Find out if you can have the hospital designate a "unit" parking place, let the "winner" that month set their own schedule the next, reward them with a new scrub top, a week's worth of meal tickets, etc...

The point is that the reward for acting like a member of a team needs to be substantial enough not to be dismissed as a stupid gimmick. The all wear white initiative that angie talks about in this thread didn't do anything to build a team, but created more division and infighting. If the idea was to build teamwork, it was not effective. I am a contrary person, I would have made a point to wear all black scrubs on that day of the week, and then go on to do all of the things that I always do for my co workers. Enough ranting now

[CHATSDALE]

bring this up at the next staff meeting

once when i went to work i was told that all nurses were to wear white and the cna's were to wear blue, dietary another color and so on..

everyone but the nurses got two uniforms a year

i took the job because it was closer and with better hours than anything else that was available but at least i knew going in what was going on, i always kept a spare uniform 'just in case'

[NURSJADED]

Doesn't sound much like "team playing" if the team didn't get to come up with the exercise. Maybe they (facility) could fork over the bucks to buy everyone the same colored (not white) tops with the logo on them? And everyone could wear them on Fridays or something. At our facility the ER manager ordered t-shirts with this awesome ER logo on them (black t-shirts with sorta flames behind them). They would wear them on Fridays and the rest of us were so jealous because they were so cool! Or how about even picking a color besides white? How about a royal blue scrub day? Sounds to me like there's someone "higher up" that prefers nurses in white and once you all start wearing it on a regular basis will say, "see, doesn't that look better? Now you should wear it everyday!".... slippery slope there. :uhoh21:

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

Sounds to me like there's someone "higher up" that prefers nurses in white and once you all start wearing it on a regular basis will say, "see, doesn't that look better? Now you should wear it everyday!".... slippery slope there. :uhoh21:

Exactly! I was told that we were supposed to be going system-wide with this thing.

Hopefully, it's only a rumor.