I think cutsey scrub tops look ridiculous on adult units

Nurses Uniform/Gear

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The other day a co-worker strolled in wearing a scrub top festooned with furry, smiling teddy bears. On an adult cardiac floor...REALLY? On various adult units I've seen Looney Tunes, Precious Moments, rainbows and clouds, hearts, and yes...oodles and oodles of teddy bears.

I think these types of scrub tops look ridiculous unless you work in peds, in which case they would all be highly appropriate. On one hand nurses are striving to be taken seriously as professionals, yet with the other hand they are taking juvenile looking scrub tops off the hangar.

I'm a guy and pretty much have to wear solid scrubs if I don't want to look like a freak. But I am not motivated out of jealousy to kvetch about print tops on the ladies. If women want to pizazz up their uniforms, I have seen tons of very tasteful, very professional looking print scrub tops coordinated with solid pants.

If I were director of nursing of the world, I would ban dorky print scrub tops.

Okay...talk amongst yourselves.

: This past spring, I spent a week in hospital with necrotizing fasciitis and another 10 days in hospital a few weeks later to repair the residual damage. I personally liked the bright colours and prints some of the nurses were wearing; it brought a bit of cheer to my day and a boost to my mood
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i had surgery last year & distinctly remember one of the nursing assistant's royal blue scrubs. i swear it made me feel better when she came in the room w/them on. i don't consider royal blue a favorite color, i just know that for whatever reason, i had a positive emotional response when i saw that color.

yep, sounds kooky, i know!

(btw, no cutesy scrubs anywhere 'round there.) ;)

I guess the argument is whether appearance matters, if how you present yourself impacts on practice and how you are treated.

I don't see the police giving up their uniforms or the judges abandoning robes. Clothes can be used as a strategic tool.

To the OP, and others who think like him

I'm new then my patients have not complained about my professional manner or my ability to care for them, to critized your co-workers by be-coming the fashion police is going to do nothing for the nursing profession.

???????? :uhoh3:

Specializes in ICU.

agreed. i read over and over that nurses don't get the respect we deserve for our clinical expertise, yet i see nurses running around in cutsie scrubs. i'm a big fan of solid navy blue, gray, black, and green.

i wish we had a standard neutral color in our unit for both male and females.

Specializes in ICU / PCU / Telemetry / Oncology.
i had surgery last year & distinctly remember one of the nursing assistant's royal blue scrubs. i swear it made me feel better when she came in the room w/them on. i don't consider royal blue a favorite color, i just know that for whatever reason, i had a positive emotional response when i saw that color.

yep, sounds kooky, i know!

(btw, no cutesy scrubs anywhere 'round there.) ;)

royal blue is probably the first color of scrubs i will buy for myself when i become an rn, i do really like that color :) ... however, as much as i like the color red as well, i don't think that color would elicit a very positive emotional response on the part of a patient ... even though it would hide blood stains quite well :D

Specializes in CVICU, telemetry.

I'm all over the board on my answer to this one; I can see the validity of many different opinions proffering different views on this subject.

Personally, I wear plain, sold colored scrubs in muted, conservative colors. My scrubs mirror my generally conservative style of dress outside the work environment. At some hospitals, I was obligated to follow a color code (luckily, the color was something I could deal with, and helped me identify quickly who was a nurse. I don't think it necessarily helped the patients identify nurses from other staff, however). In others, I was mandated to wear hospital-issued scrubs, which I liked because I didn't have to launder my work clothes. On the other hand, OR scrubs, even in "small" sizes, were rather too large, ill fitting and frankly unflattering (still, I am not there to win a beauty contest, I'm there to work, and the benefit of not having to deal with extra, germy hospital laundry outweighed the two-sizes-too-large scrubs I was mandated to wear).

I can also attest to the fact that, if I am sick enough, I probably don't care what your scrubs do or don't look like, only that you are skilled and, hopefully, kind to me. If I am less emergently ill, and well enough to absorb and process the details of your appearance, then neatness and cleanliness count in my initial assessment of your professionalism. I am, however, still far more likely to judge you on your actual competency/nursing/communication skills than the print of your scrub top--same goes for my coworkers.

I also think there is something to be said for perceptions of professionalism based on appearance and dress, although who mandates and enforces what constitutes acceptable "professional attire"--and how-- is, I think, the crux of many of the opinions voiced here.

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
I'm all over the board on my answer to this one; I can see the validity of many different opinions proffering different views on this subject.

That's the way I feel, too. I think a lot depends on the particular work environment and patient population. The really most cutesy ones do seem out of place in some circumstances -- and may not be good for the profession if worn in those circumstances. However, I can see that some of them can brighten the day of patients who may need something happy and interesting to look at.

In an ideal world, everyone would have the good sense to make good decisions about what to wear in every case. There would be no need for fashion police. How close are we to living in an ideal world? As usual, that's the question.

Specializes in OB/GYN.

I think we nurses would get more respect from patients and families if we wore white, and looked like the professionals that we are. At my hospital, the unit secretaries wear scrubs, the support techs wear scrubs - no one knows who the nurses are. I miss the dignity that accompanied looking and being treated like a NURSE in all white clothing!

I think the cutesy, cartoon prints are ridiculous looking on adults. However, there are many fashion decision that folks make that I find ridiculous....so me finding it ridiculous isn't really a problem.

I don't know how patient's perceive cutesy, cartoon prints (I'm speaking of folks wearing these on adult, acute care units). Personally, if I was a patient, an RN in ridiculous scrubs would need to work hard to overcome my low opinion of their judgement. That doesn't mean they aren't the best nurse in the world....just that my first impression of them (d/t ridiculous scrubs) would not lead me to that conclusion.

However, I can definitely see how we as a profession lose credibility with other health care professionals...ones that actually dress like professionals going to work.

Personally, I wouldn't wear scrubs made of any print that I wouldn't wear when dressing in standard professional dress (again, assuming that I'm working on an adult, acute care unit). I love the fact that I can wear clothes that are as comfortable as PJ's when going to work, but don't see the need to look like I'm in a child's Winnie the Pooh PJ's.

Imagine me wearing a business suit while wiping a butt, dropping an NG tube, or squatting next to the bed to empty a foley. The dry cleaning bills would be CRAZY.

Proper attire for the environment.

That's why you don't wear a suit. The point of her statement was that each profession has a certain look that they must maintain in order to have some professionalism. I don't see how you could misinterpret what she said to make it sound like you need to wear suits while wiping butt.

I don't know though, maybe some nurses don't view themselves as professionals. I don't think any lawyer would not think she was a professional, but some nurses seem to not believe they are professionals.

Friends we are!

The Skechers made me walk like I had a stick you know where at first, but after a full shift, I was fine. I fancy myself fit enough to have disregarded the recommended "no more than two hours at first," and did a whole 12 with no probs. I love them, and am looking toward my second pair, though these show almost no wear after most of a year, since I only wear them for work. Plus, they are less than half the price of the MBT's. I tried on a pair of those, and they felt different, not better or worse. They have a solid shank in the sole which I assume counts for the difference. I want a pair of those too, to switch up now and then, but cannot afford a second mortgage just yet. LOL. Which is also why I am the only nurse I know without an Iphone. Me, my laptop, and my progressive bifocals do just fine.

Did those sneakers help you out any? I see you've been wearing them about a year, so has it made a difference in anything? I want to try them too, but I'm concerned they're just another marketing gimmick toying with my emotions lol.

To the OP, and others who think like him

I'm new then my patients have not complained about my professional manner or my ability to care for them, to critized your co-workers by be-coming the fashion police is going to do nothing for the nursing profession.

???????? :uhoh3:

Did you not understand what I trying to say or are you just not in agreement with me?

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