Nurses wearing white

BJ, LPN · Jan 21, 2005

:balloons: :balloons:

The hospital has decreed that all nurses will wear white in the near future. Despite a petition to administration voicing the opinions of the nurses that overwhelmingly the majority of nurses working at the bedside do not want to wear white, the policy has stood firm and the deadline to change to white is rapidly approaching.
My quesion is......do you think that nurses should be forced to wear white? Do you think nurses should all wear the same uniform?
I finished nursing school in 1977 so I actually wore white uniforms (no scrubs) and a cap. It didn't take long to lose the cap and slowly, the trend to wear colored scrubs evolved.
The thought of wearing white all the time just really turns me off. I find it totally impractical and over time, it will gray and stain and tend to need more frequent replacing.
What do you think?

BJ, LPN · Jan 21, 2005

Frankly I don't see the big deal. I graduated in 1969. White was the THING.

I AM A NURSE. You can tell I am a nurse because I wear white. I am not

an Aide, Enviromental Aide, Xray Tech, or Food Service Person, I am a

Nurse. If the doctor wants to find me he looks for white, if the patient wants

to find me he looks for white. When everyone started to wear scrubs (which

are really cute) all disciplines looked ALIKE. How do you tell the nurse apart

from everyone else? Because she wears WHITE. A sign of purity, helping,

caring and compassion. Can you be all these in scrubs, yes, you can.

Can the patient tell you apart, NO HE CAN't. See what I mean jelly bean.

Stop whinning and wear white and be proud of our profession. :uhoh3:

norinradd · Jan 21, 2005

I have no real problem so far as they are uniform white and not thin scrubs. I know to much about my co-workers anyway without knowing who prefers thongs to bikini. I have more of a problem trying to degrade a group of professionals by making us color coded like some items on a store shelf. My hospital chose to go with royal blue. It's hard to be taken seriously looking like Papa Smurf. In hosptials who had no formal dress code I never had a problem with being identified for two reasons. I wear my name badge, second I greet my patients and introduce myself when I first meet them and as needed.

Professor_Mike · Jan 21, 2005

My current hospital has a plastic color coded tag behind everyone's ID badge. They say RN, respiratory therapist, surgical tech, etc. very clear. RN's are bright red.

gypsyangelrn · Jan 21, 2005

As a dedicated lurker, I have enjoyed this thread. I wish to add my humble opinion, not to flame anyone, for all thoughts so far are valid.

I graduated from a traditional Diploma program in 1976. After wearing a mint green dress, white hose and Clinic shoes with my cap earned after my first year, I was thrilled and proud to graduate to white! For you younger ones, each school had its own distinctive cap....ours was called "the heart shaped crown" and I was proud to wear it, and miss it to this day....but I understand the infection control concerns. I rushed out and bought several white pantsuits and Rockers nursing shoes....boy, was I stylin'!! :chuckle Back then, to wear white was an honor. I kept an extra uniform in my locker in case of soiling. Worn once, and laundered with bleach, they stayed white.

BUT, here is the difference to today.....they were made of a much thicker and more stylish fabric....the white scrubs of today are crappy...I know, I got a top that was nothing like the whites of years ago.

Now I have no problem with wearing colors. I have done it for years. But I do agree with some that some of the colors and prints have gone overboard. I look at my patients, most of them elderly with altered mental status, poor eyesight, etc. I don't think they need scrubs that could make them more afraid or confused.

I also have mixed feelings about scrubs in general. I find them practical and comfortable. Unless you are slender, I think they look sloppy. And I think that faded, stained scrubs look as unprofessional as stained whites.

Since I was recently promoted to night charge, I have changed my style of uniform and have been getting compliments from my co-workers. From regular scrubs, I have changed to navy or carribean blue pants with a matching dressy tee and a subdued, floral in blues overjacket.

Back in the '80s I worked with the Red Cross as a blood mobile nurse and we wore all white. I remember being called into the office and called on my appearance. I was told my uniforms were dingy...and was told to either get new ones or clean them better. The Director of Nursing told me that appearance really matters, in spite of our professional talents. And in the present, I notice that image is a big isssue. So, I think we as nurses need to address image in spite of the overall USA becoming a casual nation since the 1950's. For me, wearing these pajama-like scrubs has never felt right, and I think it has damaged our "image" as professionals.

I think it is time for us to seriously consider this as professionals, and to perhaps petition the uniform manufacturers to redesign uniforms that are much more professional, (thicker cloth, more tailored styles, etc), and to consider image along with degrees in our profession.

Just my 2 cents..don't attack me too hard!! :uhoh21:

allamericangirl · Jan 21, 2005

:) AN ABSOLUTE AMEN TO THIS! APPLAUSE!!! APPLAUSE!!! :)

As a dedicated lurker, I have enjoyed this thread. I wish to add my humble opinion, not to flame anyone, for all thoughts so far are valid.
I graduated from a traditional Diploma program in 1976. After wearing a mint green dress, white hose and Clinic shoes with my cap earned after my first year, I was thrilled and proud to graduate to white! For you younger ones, each school had its own distinctive cap....ours was called "the heart shaped crown" and I was proud to wear it, and miss it to this day....but I understand the infection control concerns. I rushed out and bought several white pantsuits and Rockers nursing shoes....boy, was I stylin'!! :chuckle Back then, to wear white was an honor. I kept an extra uniform in my locker in case of soiling. Worn once, and laundered with bleach, they stayed white.
BUT, here is the difference to today.....they were made of a much thicker and more stylish fabric....the white scrubs of today are crappy...I know, I got a top that was nothing like the whites of years ago.
Now I have no problem with wearing colors. I have done it for years. But I do agree with some that some of the colors and prints have gone overboard. I look at my patients, most of them elderly with altered mental status, poor eyesight, etc. I don't think they need scrubs that could make them more afraid or confused.
I also have mixed feelings about scrubs in general. I find them practical and comfortable. Unless you are slender, I think they look sloppy. And I think that faded, stained scrubs look as unprofessional as stained whites.
Since I was recently promoted to night charge, I have changed my style of uniform and have been getting compliments from my co-workers. From regular scrubs, I have changed to navy or carribean blue pants with a matching dressy tee and a subdued, floral in blues overjacket.
Back in the '80s I worked with the Red Cross as a blood mobile nurse and we wore all white. I remember being called into the office and called on my appearance. I was told my uniforms were dingy...and was told to either get new ones or clean them better. The Director of Nursing told me that appearance really matters, in spite of our professional talents. And in the present, I notice that image is a big isssue. So, I think we as nurses need to address image in spite of the overall USA becoming a casual nation since the 1950's. For me, wearing these pajama-like scrubs has never felt right, and I think it has damaged our "image" as professionals.
I think it is time for us to seriously consider this as professionals, and to perhaps petition the uniform manufacturers to redesign uniforms that are much more professional, (thicker cloth, more tailored styles, etc), and to consider image along with degrees in our profession.
Just my 2 cents..don't attack me too hard!! :uhoh21:

allamericangirl · Jan 21, 2005

:) BRAVO!!! APPLAUSE!! APPLAUSE!! :) GOOD FOR YOU!!! And this is the BEST reason... "Can the patient tell you apart, NO HE CAN't."

So many posters here just don't get it ... and try to justify a name badge that no one can see unless you are facing the person straight on! :chuckle

Frankly I don't see the big deal. I graduated in 1969. White was the THING.
I AM A NURSE. You can tell I am a nurse because I wear white. I am not
an Aide, Enviromental Aide, Xray Tech, or Food Service Person, I am a
Nurse. If the doctor wants to find me he looks for white, if the patient wants
to find me he looks for white. When everyone started to wear scrubs (which
are really cute) all disciplines looked ALIKE. How do you tell the nurse apart
from everyone else? Because she wears WHITE. A sign of purity, helping,
caring and compassion. Can you be all these in scrubs, yes, you can.
Can the patient tell you apart, NO HE CAN't. See what I mean jelly bean.
Stop whinning and wear white and be proud of our profession.

kerdeux · Jan 22, 2005

:) AN ABSOLUTE AMEN TO THIS! APPLAUSE!!! APPLAUSE!!! :)

The hospital that I work at will be switching to all white or all ceil blue on 4/1. the nurses I work with have spent more time complaining about this than thinking about patient care. What is the big deal. I worked hard to be a nurse, I want my patients to be able to tell the difference between me and my wonderfully skilled techs. The older population that we work with can't always read our namer tags with the RN declaration on it. Everyone recognizes the white uniform. Now the caps are another story

)

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Jan 22, 2005

Stop whinning and wear white and be proud of our profession.

Just because you disagree, do not call others' opinions "whining", please.:angryfire :angryfire :angryfire

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Jan 22, 2005

So many posters here just don't get it ... and try to justify a name badge that no one can see unless you are facing the person straight on!

I, personally, get what you're saying, i just 100% disagree with it.

kerdeux · Jan 22, 2005

Just because you disagree, do not call others' opinions "whining", please.:angryfire :angryfire :angryfire

Hey,

I am new at this postiong stuff and I didn't write the whinning quote, I must not have this reply thing down right, all I said was that they all spent alot of time complaining about it.Sorry

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Jan 22, 2005

Hey,
I am new at this postiong stuff and I didn't write the whinning quote, I must not have this reply thing down right, all I said was that they all spent alot of time complaining about it.Sorry

What i quoted wasn't from your post, it was from someone else's. Sorry for the confusion.