Help design new nursing uniform

sbic56, BSN, RN · Jul 10, 2003

No, don't like the star thing at all. That implies to the patient that they can expect "more" from the "5 star" nurse than the lowly "1 star" nurse. The increased friction it would cause among nurse peers would be disasterous. I agree with Tom; a nurse is a nurse.

Zee_RN, BSN, RN · Jul 10, 2003

I had no problem taking the survey.

My opinion: we need a more PROFESSIONAL look. I abhor cutsey uniforms/scrubs. They make us look like the subservient automatons that many of the public (and the physicians) already think we are. And like WhyO, while I like the comfort of scrubs, I don't care for the way they hang...so many people just look sloppy/slovenly in scrubs. I prefer a more tailored look myself.

BrandieRNq · Jul 10, 2003

I want badges as someone mentioned before! Just think of the possibilities!! Except then we would have pt.'s refusing care from the "less badged". Okay, never mind.

But wait, what if we all had the same badges...new grads, nurses 20 yrs+, etc. ??

SandySummers · Jul 10, 2003

Originally posted by teeituptom
SandySummers you must be trying to start a fight with all that star stuff. An RN is an RN.
As long as Im alive there will be school discrimination in nursing.

Ok, but my star system said:

1 star = LPN

2 stars = RN, AD or Diploma

3 stars = RN, BSN

4 stars = MSN

5 stars = RN, PhD

So "an RN is an RN" does not quite fit this scale, since it includes LPNs.

Do you think that RNs should be distinguished from LPNs? RNs have 2 to 10 times as much education as an LPN. Under your theory, it seems like the term "RN" would be disrespectful to LPNs. It implies that RNs are of a higher caliber based on their education. Yet when it comes to differentiating between an AD and a BSN, we are suddenly not allowed to recognize the BSN. Should we keep patients in the dark as to our education and rather just label ourself "Nurse"--so LPNs don't feel disrespected? Because that is what RN, ADs do to RN, BSNs. BSNs have twice the education as ADs--the same ratio of educational difference as LPN to RN, yet the extra education required for a BSN doesn't get recognized. Forbidding people to recognize the BSN makes it seem like RN, ADs and RN, Diplomas are insecure.

Should Nurse Practitioners and Clinical Nurse Specialists get zero recognition for their MSNs? Should they present themselves to patients as "Nurse"? If so, how will patients know what kind of care they are receiving and from whom?

And what about RN, PhDs? They don't deserve to have patients (and their students) recognize them as such?

If nurses don't start respecting each other for the education that we receive, we can't very well expect society to respect us for our education--or respect us at all. Society will continue to assume that nurses cannot get an education above a community college level and the nursing profession will continue to flounder in recruitment.

I want parents who are grooming their kids for graduate school to consider nursing as an optimal option and see it as a health care field where the best and brightest students can come to school, proceed to the PhD level and function on the cutting edge of health care research and scholarship. Until we begin holding our profession out to society like this, we will continue to be ill-respected.

Try asking your non-nurse friends if they think it is possible to earn a PhD in nursing. So far, I have failed to meet a non-nurse who knew that this was possible.

An LPN is not the same as an RN, PhD--or else LPN would be faculty in graduate nursing schools and performing clinical research and testifying before congress on behalf of the profession.

We really have to stop arguing that more education is bad and does not improve the quality of care delivered by a nurse. It is embarassing to the profession and makes us look so uneducated--that we don't even know enough to know that education instills knowledge and creates more competent professionals. Nowhere in the history of the world has more education led to less knowledge and less competence. Aruging that--... Gosh. Please have some self-respect and respect for the profession. It's just not a valid argument. People who argue that obviously need to more education.

In order to grow as a profession, we must discard that notion and begin to embrace our education and respect other nurses for seeking it out and excelling in it. Or else our image will continue to degrade until our profession has completely collapsed.

Sandy

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Sandy Summers, MSN, MPH, RN

Executive Director

The Center for Nursing Advocacy

txsugarlvn · Jul 10, 2003

I took the survey without any problems. I agree with Zee_Rn. We need to look more professional. I hate being mistaken for a dental assistant or some other healthcare worker simply because I am in scrubs. I WANT people to recognize that I am a nurse. I have nothing against other healthcare professionals but I am a nurse and want my uniform to reflect that.

The hat thing...hey, as "cute" as it is, I think it's totally no do-able. We have enough hands on work to do without working about knocking our hats off or getting them dirty etc. God bless the Florence Nightingale and the original nurses because how they managed to care for the sick and wounded while staying crisp and white and keeping their hats on is beyond me. I'm lucky if I get through a shift without getting something on my uniform. :)

nursedawn67, LPN · Jul 10, 2003

It took my survey and I prefer colored or print scrubs.

tlc054 · Jul 10, 2003

Scrubs are my choice... comfortable and easy to clean. There are some nice ones available. I don't think patients care what you wear if they are getting the high standard of care.

straba · Jul 11, 2003

I agree with your post 100%. Well said. Why doesn't nursing have a standard point of entry like other professions? (MD's, PT's, etc.)

debralynn · Jul 11, 2003

It took all my choices. No problem! It did leave off my option. Wearing a uniform that would make me look like a size 7!!!!!!, with a J-LO butt!!!!

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · Jul 11, 2003

I took the survey, and it was accepted.

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · Jul 11, 2003

I think that WE should wear scrubs, not housekeeping, not dietary. I got my carpets cleaned the other day. The carpet cleaners showed up wearing...SCRUBS.

Pet groomers wear scrubs, even some jails are now issuing scrubs to their prisoners!

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Jul 11, 2003

Not insinuating that I am a better person, but quite frankly I do not want the same uniform as a county jail inmate.

As for uniform style, our student uniforms have about as much style as a burlap sack and are about as comfortable. That has to be the stiffest cotton I have ever worn. I washed the shirt once, and after drying it literally could stand on it own. After about 15 washings, the shirt has a bit of flexibility to it .

And I personally think nursing shoes should always be white. Speaking of white, if the pants are white, wear beige or white undies. You wouldn't believe some of the people (namely at a facility I used to work at where this issue was addressed REPEATEDLY) who think wearing polka-dots, stripes, or blazing red underwear under white pants is "ok."