not looking "put together"

LACA, BSN, LPN, RN · Sep 29, 2010

Well, I guess I'm one of the girly girls.....

I'm a 24 year old elementary school nurse...I come to work every morning in my "cutesy" scrub tops with my solid colored pants, neatly ironed...hair is usually straightened and loose....maybe in a ponytail...full face makeup, in place, without fail....deodorant, teeth brushed, showered every day....

My "outside of work" dress "code" is just the same....I go NO where looking "not put together"....you may occasionally see me in the grocery store grabbing a couple quick things for dinner with no makeup on, but that's a rarity...I look horribly sickly without my makeup...and I just can't go without it!

RNperdiem, RN · Sep 29, 2010

I always try my best to go to work looking good. Neat tied back hair, makeup, nicely fitted scrubs etc.

It is a morale boost to look my best. Some days I need all the morale boosts I can get.

There does not have to be anything extreme.

I wear makeup, but do not look like I am ready for the drag queen prom.

pedicurn, LPN, RN · Sep 29, 2010

Seems not everyone likes the polished 'put together' look ....

However, I would like many of my coworkers to try and at least attain a professional look.

Losing the 'good to go' attitude would help our image. I definitely believe it's time for many of my coworkers to try and at least aim for middle ground

Rant to coworkers

Please no more :

- mismatched scrubs

- wrinkled scrubs

- dirty worn shoes

- multiple rings (especially the ex-relationship engagement ring/s and inherited engagement and wedding rings all on piled onto the Rt hand) .... wear a wedding band and that's it

- fake nails ....enough said

-unkempt hair ...no roots please and please do not have greasy hair at work

- wear long hair up please ...and there are so many attractive ways to wear longer hair that don't involve a scrunchie

-repair your scrubs when seams unravelling

-please don't roll up your pant legs when too long

-choose scrubs in the right size

- whilst some of you are averse to makeup .... please try to consider a tinted moisturiser, blush and gloss ...that will take 30 seconds to apply

- remove facial hair pls ...long chin hairs, dark hair growing our of moles and the moustache are not cool.

Obviously males are to shave before work every day

PS This is a rant

BluegrassRN · Sep 29, 2010

*raises hand*
i have bought cotton scrubs many times, which always s/b ironed.
while a cotton/poly blend is more practical, i am much more comfortable in my all-cottons.
leslie:)

Comfort over practicality? Now that's just crazy talk.

My scrubs are mostly cotton with a little spandex or poly thrown in. I just hand them in the shower when I'm getting ready...it's the lazy woman's way to iron out the wrinkles!

allnurses Guide · Sep 30, 2010

...long chin hairs, dark hair growing our of moles and the moustache are not cool.

. . . .and may cause co-workers to hurl :barf01: !! To me, there is a difference between looking natural and being unkempt and slovenly. Those of us "of a certain age" probably remember those "good grooming" classes from 7th grade that addressed such issues as BO, wrinkled clothes, split seams, scuffed shoes, proper care of corsets, dandruff, and chipped nail polish, yuck!!

Not the same as little make-up or even no make-up! Make-up and fussy hair on someone with poor grooming is more nauseating to me than plain Jane, maybe because you know they took the time to do "something" and didn't just oversleep and book it to work before the caffeine kicked in.

sharpeimom · Sep 30, 2010

. . . .and may cause co-workers to hurl :barf01: !! to me, there is a difference between looking natural and being unkempt and slovenly. those of us "of a certain age" probably remember those "good grooming" classes from 7th grade that addressed such issues as bo, wrinkled clothes, split seams, scuffed shoes, proper care of corsets, dandruff, and chipped nail polish, yuck!!
not the same as little make-up or even no make-up! make-up and fussy hair on someone with poor grooming is more nauseating to me than plain jane, maybe because you know they took the time to do "something" and didn't just oversleep and book it to work before the caffeine kicked in.

can't stick around right now... gotta go put those stays back into my corset. i worshed it yesterday, ya know. also, i gotta go pull alla them thar straggly chin hairs before they go gray and git just like steel wool! :eek:

corsets??? i know it was tongue-in-cheek, but i just escaped the dreaded panty girdle era.

don't think i have bo, but i might smell like essence of dawg. :rolleyes:

:lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2:

Otessa, BSN, RN · Sep 30, 2010

Seems not everyone likes the polished 'put together' look ....
However, I would like many of my coworkers to try and at least attain a professional look.
Losing the 'good to go' attitude would help our image. I definitely believe it's time for many of my coworkers to try and at least aim for middle ground
Rant to coworkers
Please no more :
- mismatched scrubs
- wrinkled scrubs
- dirty worn shoes
- multiple rings (especially the ex-relationship engagement ring/s and inherited engagement and wedding rings all on piled onto the Rt hand) .... wear a wedding band and that's it
- fake nails ....enough said
-unkempt hair ...no roots please and please do not have greasy hair at work
- wear long hair up please ...and there are so many attractive ways to wear longer hair that don't involve a scrunchie
-repair your scrubs when seams unravelling
-please don't roll up your pant legs when too long
-choose scrubs in the right size
- whilst some of you are averse to makeup .... please try to consider a tinted moisturiser, blush and gloss ...that will take 30 seconds to apply
- remove facial hair pls ...long chin hairs, dark hair growing our of moles and the moustache are not cool.
Obviously males are to shave before work every day
PS This is a rant

Preach it!!! :yeah:

kayern · Sep 30, 2010

What makes going to work any different than going out shopping, dinner, etc. As a professional woman I always want to look my best. That doesn't mean I spend hours at a beauty salon, or spend my entire salary on jewelry and clothes. I go to work neat, clean, make-up, and yes scrubs ironed. I manage by example, therefore, I expect my staff to be neat and clean. I probably would send an employee to linen if their uniform was in illrepair or wrinkled. What does a sloppy appearance say to patients..........I don't care about myself or I don't care enough about my position to make an effort to look presentable. Personally, I wouldn't want a nurse taking care of me who looked liked a messy or slept in her clothes. Sorry!

Otessa, BSN, RN · Sep 30, 2010

Please. Our managers do not have to sweat, do any manual labor, certainly aren't intimately involved in bodily fluids of any sort, nor work a 12 hour shift at a high pace. They walk around with a coffee in their nice, manicured hands and have an uberabundance of self importance. They wear heels or Italian leather loafers, suits that cost more than my entire wardrobe, and don't have a single callus on any finger. They couldn't hang with me for 2 hours on my unit.
I hope to God I don't look as superfluous and useless as they do.

Sorry you have management that doesn't make themselves useful.

Our management answers lights, helps transport patients, the list goes on. They were all floor nurses prior to being in management. Their assistance goes a long way on credibility with their staff.

otessa

sharpeimom · Sep 30, 2010

i am as style and beauty conscious as anyone on this board, and am also a former homecoming queen and beauty contest winner. but i am also a realist. i had to be, because most of my nursing career was spent working at a state mental hospital, many of them on a locked ward. i would sometimes be pooped on, have newly admitted or returning patients throw up cheap wine and beer in varying stages of digestion

all over me, my hair, my shoes etc. and looking glamorous simply was not a priority of mine. i began each day freshly showered and shampooed, have always had my hair cut and neatly styled, had spare slacks and a jersey, socks, shoes, shower soap, (which doubled as shampoo in a pinch) and deodorant in my locker

just in case.

many of the men looked at all the females as though we were slabs of meat on hooks. i (we) were clean and neat and unwrinkled as we could be but also as unsexy as we could be. it was safer.

allnurses Guide · Sep 30, 2010

can't stick around right now... gotta go put those stays back into my corset. i worshed it yesterday, ya know. also, i gotta go pull alla them thar straggly chin hairs before they go gray and git just like steel wool!
corsets??? i know it was tongue-in-cheek, but i just escaped the dreaded panty girdle era.
don't think i have bo, but i might smell like essence of dawg.
:lol2:

:lol2: :lol2: :lol2: didn't take long at all for someone to pick up on that little gem! ! yay kathy! :up: but on a somewhat more somber note, my mom used to make me promise (as did her mother before her) that if she were unable to care for herself that i would see to it that - if nothing else- her chin hairs were plucked. it was a running joke since i was a kid - when i asked her a couple of days before she passed "do you want me to pluck your chin hairs, mom?" she didn't smile, nor did her eyes light up, and shook her head "no". that's how i knew she was at peace about going.

hope that wasn't too much of a downer but it does tell us that if someone stops caring about stuff like that in a way that's unusual for them, it could signify a deeper underlying issue whether patient or co-worker.

BluegrassRN · Sep 30, 2010

Sorry you have management that doesn't make themselves useful.
Our management answers lights, helps transport patients, the list goes on. They were all floor nurses prior to being in management. Their assistance goes a long way on credibility with their staff.
otessa

Really? The CEO of your hospital was once a nurse? All your managers, VPs, and various other administrators were once nurses who are now managers who still spend a significant amount of their time on the floor? That's truly progressive.

Our administration has it's own wing. They don't actually come to the floor unless they are passing out pats on the back or slumming. Our middle managers (ie, unit managers) do spend time on the floor, and attempt to be helpful when they can, but their mostly concerned with administrative tasks.