Muslim nursing students

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Have any Muslim nursing students had problems wearing a hijab to class or clinical. I am worried about being asked to take mine off for class.

Specializes in Pedi.
I understand but if it is going to be to much of a problem or I can't cover up it's not worth it for me. Nursing wasn't my top choice in career it's not even in my top 5. My family wants me to pursue nursing because it pays better than my top 5. They want me out of poverty.

If you don't want to be a nurse, don't be a nurse. There is no nursing shortage and nursing is not a guaranteed ticket to getting "out of poverty". Read the first year nursing job hunt forums and see all the posts from unemployed new grads.

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Pens, stethoscopes, and other tools can be cleaned. Usually I try not to rub my pants and scrub top all over a patient but sometimes it gets crazy up in here haha kidding kidding. The point is your arms and hands come into contact with a patient the most and sleeves cannot be cleaned during shift.

I don't know any hospital that is THAT cold even in the dead of winter. I've seen nurses come in bundled up when it's maybe 55 degrees outside and inside is 65....what. If outside is below freezing by all means come to work in a jacket but temp control is usually pretty stable in a hospital.

OP if nursing isn't even your real choice what other options are you looking at? Your family isn't going to be putting in the shifts day in and day out...

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Specializes in ER / Critical Care.
As far as the long sleeves and infection control-----when doing clinicals for labor and delivery we were required to wear scrubs provided by the hospital in case we had to go into the OR for a csection. You aren't allowed to wear anything under these scrubs but your underwear.

All hospitals are different. My OR shifts (in hospital scrubs) I still wore my long sleeved shirt underneath. In the OR we were all fully gowned/mask/gloves too... I don't see why long sleeves under would be a problem. I did get really warm though :)

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Specializes in ER / Critical Care.
I will. By the sounds of what I am reading I will have a hard time covering up and should look into other careers as well.

I personally wear long sleeves to every clinical shift (no religious reason, just because I like to) When I'm doing something when I think my forearms may get soiled (next to never) I pull my sleeves up, exposing the lower 1/2 of my forearm. Follow your dreams!!

And for the PP that said they wash their arms between every patient- really?? So you don't use sanitizer then? I have never seen anyone wash their arms unless they were "scrubbing in"

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I personally wear long sleeves to every clinical shift (no religious reason, just because I like to) When I'm doing something when I think my forearms may get soiled (next to never) I pull my sleeves up, exposing the lower 1/2 of my forearm. Follow your dreams!!

And for the PP that said they wash their arms between every patient- really?? So you don't use sanitizer then? I have never seen anyone wash their arms unless they were "scrubbing in"

Dat literal context. Of course I use hand sanitizer but if I'm doing some grunt work which you will see happens a lot when you are out of school fantasy land I fully wash my arms. Gelling in and geling out doesn't suffice. You don't realize how muh your sleeves come into contact with patients, equipment etc.

Skin is easier to sanitize than a cotton long sleeve but it's whatever to each their own

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Specializes in Cardiac Care.
How is it not an infection control issue? Umm let's see you go from patient to patient with your sleeves brushing against everything and then move to the next patient. Sure you wash your hands but I personally wash the length of my arm for better sanitation. Plus going home in those sleeves is just gross

You can't wash your sleeve mid shift...

This is the norm for the ICUs and ERs I've been in...

For the OP just check with your school and the hospital policies

It's the same at my hospital. We can still wear jackets and longs sleeves but jackets must come off before going into patients rooms to provide care and long sleeves must be able to be rolled up to your elbows for pt care and hand washing. It's actually one of the few rules applied equally to Docs and nurses. Docs can wear suit jackets or lab coats while at the nurses station and on rounds but not for exams or procedures. Most residents and fellows who have the majority of pt contact now just wear scrubs with a lab coat. Some consultants still wear street clothes but when they actually touch a pt sleeves are rolled to the elbow and ties come off or are tucked into shirts.

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Specializes in Outpatient/Clinic, ClinDoc.

I wear long sleeves AND a hoodie every day at work. :) :) Yes, it's a doctor's office - but several people who work there like to keep the a/c on, even in the dead of winter (even when it's below freezing outside). So those of us that are perpetually cold wear as much as we can. It's pretty amusing on the hot summer days when the patients come in seeing us all bundled up because the thermo is set to 60. :)

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
I personally wear long sleeves to every clinical shift (no religious reason just because I like to) When I'm doing something when I think my forearms may get soiled (next to never) I pull my sleeves up, exposing the lower 1/2 of my forearm.[/quote']

^THIS.

Sleeves can be pulled up before engaging in some serious contact that may require "grunt work", aka code browns, wound care, bathing, etc. then clean the exposed areas throughly.

I'm usually perpetually cold; so again, sleeves do not get in the way of preventing the spread of infection; simple solution is to roll them up or push them up.

The true deterrent of infection control is good hand washing. :yes:

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Specializes in Med/surg, Onc.

If nursing isn't in your top 5 even DO NOT DO IT! There is no nursing shortage. It is not a career you want to pick if it is not something that you WANT to be doing. It's tough.

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The OP sounds very smart from her posts. I daresay she would figure out whatever she wants to do and see it through. Get the facts, ask questions and figure out what it is you want to do. And if it continues to be nursing, then go at it totally.

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Specializes in Hospice, Palliative Care.

Good day:

When I was doing research for a sociology class I'm taking, I found this video relating to this subject matter which may be of interest: A Perception Of The Veiling/ Hijab - YouTube when looking at this issue from a cultural relative point of view. As I'm not in a nursing program yet, I'm not sure of the actual impact as one does have to patient care above and beyond a lot of other things.

Thank you.

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wearing your hijab to lecture shouldn't be an issue, and i can't imagine that the instructors would have the gall to try to to turn it into a thing. With that said, lets talk about real life here--

realistically, you're gonna have an uncomfortable time. Some of the nurses/preceptors youll encounter that aren't directly affiliated with your school may give you a hard time, and you're gonna encounter a whole new level of stupidity when it comes to some of the patients you'll be treating as well.

Stay strong, and focused, and you should do as well as any other.

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