Nurses wearing white

Nurses General Nursing

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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?

Our facility in AZ allows us to wear any color we want, except the denim... they don't make to much of a fuss butit is frowned upon. On the subject of not knowing who is radiology, housekeeping or nurses they also offer us (at our own expense of course), to order T-shirts or polo shirts with the facility name on the front along with the area you work in on the front and on the sleeves of the shirt. Telemetry, CCU, Radiology, etc.... They are really nice looking and available in different colors. Maybe this could be brought up to other facilities as a way of at least letting staff choose colors and promoting where they work along with the patients knowing who is who. :)

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I Have Worn White For The Last 10 Years And The First Few Years It Was Fine. I Was Proud To Wear My Whites. But Lost It's Appeal To Me And My Facility Has Just Changed 2 Months Ago, We Can Wear Blue Or White Or A Combo Of Blue And White And I Love It. It's Just Nice To Have A Choice. :)

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I don't think you will fix that with uniforms. People are strange.

Two examples - when I worked in public service we used to laugh at folks who would come up to ask where the bathroom was . . the sign was large and right over our heads in bright lettering. How could they miss it??? But they did. I remembered later laughing when the same thing happened to me when I asked for something and there was a clearly marked sign there. People are people and will sometimes not see their nose to spite their face.

#2 My husband and I were sitting in a doctor's office listening to instructions about a possible cancer diagnosis and what kinds of tests we needed to do and the timing of them. Later in the car I asked my husband about the tests and he was completely blank. He remembered absolutely nothing after the word "cancer". Fortunately it wasn't cancer. But he was told in great detail about the follow up stuff and didn't remember.

The answer isn't going to be a one size fits all. I'd be willing to bet if you walked into a room with all white on plus the cap there would be a patient who might not realize you are a nurse.

steph

Oh I don't think uniforms are the answer either - I am just advocating options to forcing nurses to wear white. Administrators, patients, and visitors whine that you can't tell who the nurse is "because everyone is in scrubs". Well - does everyone NEED to be in scrubs...NO. If they really and truly think that changing uniforms would help (we all know it won't), it is worth pointing out that people not performing patient care do not need to be in scrubs. There really is no solution. You do your best and identify yourself, but people will either get it or they will ask the housekeeper for their pain meds.

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Oh I don't think uniforms are the answer either - I am just advocating options to forcing nurses to wear white. Administrators, patients, and visitors whine that you can't tell who the nurse is "because everyone is in scrubs". Well - does everyone NEED to be in scrubs...NO. If they really and truly think that changing uniforms would help (we all know it won't), it is worth pointing out that people not performing patient care do not need to be in scrubs. There really is no solution. You do your best and identify yourself, but people will either get it or they will ask the housekeeper for their pain meds.

In the years when Scrubs were left in the ER and OR, I always knew who was a professional Nurse because she looked 1000 times more professional than everyone else (including the doctors), in her uniform and cap (no matter what color her uniform was). She was 100% identifiable. There was NO doubt about who (excuse the pun) "was calling the shots" and in charge.

Nurses may feel that they have liberated themselves by being able to wear scrubs in all areas of Medical care, but reading the posts by Nurses all over the Web, it sounds like they are still fighting the same issues they they had before the liberty of scrubs. Scrubs look sloppy, period. I think that Nurses have been "duped" by the hospitals and the uniform companies. Certainly it is more comfortable and convenient to throw on a pair of Scrubs, but by doing so they have lost much of their percieved stature in the eyes of the general public. In every profession the "dress for success" moto is very realistic. Why do you think that Nursing is immune from a factor that effects every other profession/industry? Inside the health care industry it may not matter, but it does matter in your projected image to the general public, which in the end, is where the stature of your field is determined. If you are held high in the eyes of the public, you will be held high in the eyes of the industry. There are many reasons that there is a shortage of Nurses, and not just because fo your employers. Have you ever considered that the image of professionalism that has been projected to the public by your professional choice of dress has made your profession less desireable. I don't know many young girls that aspire to grow up and wear scrubs every day of their adult lives. The Nursing uniforms prior to the scrubs years projected more of a professional image to aspire to.

Look at all the nursing graduates who want their graduation photos in a uniform dress or pants suit and a cap. If scrubs are so great and such a great professional look, why aren't they worn in these photos? Do you think that perhaps peer pressure to blend in, keeps many nurses from wearing a more formal uniform and a cap?

When the image of a nurse is percieved by most in the general public, even after 25 to 30 years of scrubs, they still, most often, visualize someone in a very professional uniform and cap... even after all these years. Then when they come to the hospital, Doctor's office, etc. they encounter a maze of people running around in scrubs, and believe me they don't know if you are a Nurse, a tech, or whatever ... but they always know who the Doctor is if he is wearing his Lab coat. I honestly think the nursing professon is in denial about this, because scrubs are more comfortable and convenient to them. It's the easier way, but perhaps not the best choice to project the image concept that you would like others to have.

By the way, before you flame me, in the part of the country where I live, I NEVER see a Nurse in a Uniform of any color or any kind, other than SCRUBS.

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Specializes in OB, House Sup, ER, Med Surg.

For me, my appearance definitely has an effect on my attitude. Even when I was taking pre-reqs, I rarely wore jeans to school. On days when I must give a presentation of some sort or address the class (I am class treasurer), I always wear my hair up and a dress or suit. I just find that it gives me confidence. When I go to clinicals, I am picky about having my clothes pressed and my nametag on straight. These little things make a difference in my attitude and presentation of myself.

The students in my clinical group who don't care about how they look are the same ones whining at the end of the day if nothing "exciting" happened. They are not interested in patients and patient care, only in procedures.

Last night, I tried on the uniform dress I got yesterday with my cap I have for pinning/pictures. My daughter told my that I looked like a real nurse. I can't wait to be a real nurse!

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I've had to wear all white for about the past 15 years and have no problem with it. I always go to work (hospital med-surg) clean and pressed. I have no problem keeping the uniform clean at work and have no problem keeping the uniforms white. My underwear does not show through either.

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For me, my appearance definitely has an effect on my attitude. Even when I was taking pre-reqs, I rarely wore jeans to school. On days when I must give a presentation of some sort or address the class (I am class treasurer), I always wear my hair up and a dress or suit. I just find that it gives me confidence. When I go to clinicals, I am picky about having my clothes pressed and my nametag on straight. These little things make a difference in my attitude and presentation of myself.

The students in my clinical group who don't care about how they look are the same ones whining at the end of the day if nothing "exciting" happened. They are not interested in patients and patient care, only in procedures.

Last night, I tried on the uniform dress I got yesterday with my cap I have for pinning/pictures. My daughter told my that I looked like a real nurse. I can't wait to be a real nurse!

Don't you really wish that it was an acceptable practice for you to be able to dress like that every day? :)

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Specializes in OB, House Sup, ER, Med Surg.

Actually, I really do. I think I was born in the wrong era. I would love to work somewhere where I white dress and cap was acceptable attire.

Althought I love to ride motorcycles and dress in jeans and leathers when I do so, I truly enjoy wearing dresses and skirts.

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Well, I work in a facility where I actually can wear blue jeans to work. And I'm an LPN.

I work in DDS. So most of us wear jeans, and a scrub top, In cold weather, I wear a sweatshirt because we have to go from building to building.

We are always clean, and neat, and I love being able to dress this way. But of course this is not the normal attire for nurses. Medical personnel is also required to wear name badges.

I would hate going back to total white.

If I worked in a hospital I would prefer scrubs. They are more practical.

Oh, yes, at one time, our DON thought about going back to white uniforms, but we all raised such a fuss about it, she backed off. I think she would like for us to have something in common, but hasn't been able to come up with a uniform for us in our particular setting. During cold weather scrubs are not practical for us. I have had to wade thru ankle deep snow before to get where I needed to go.

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Actually, I really do. I think I was born in the wrong era. I would love to work somewhere where I white dress and cap was acceptable attire.

Althought I love to ride motorcycles and dress in jeans and leathers when I do so, I truly enjoy wearing dresses and skirts.

Well, I am actually making a search to find hospitals where they want to project a very professional image. If they are persnickety about public perception, they are also going to offer great patient care. One goes with the other.

I have found that to be true as a patient. I can't imagine it not being true as an employee in the same place.

I notice that the only place that I have been able to find good looking uniforms on the web is at the sites from the UK. The American manufacturers are making the most disgusting stuff I have ever seen... looks cheap and all the same styles, over and over. Looks like some one wanting to design and manufacture some good looking uniforms in the US would have a heyday.

If anyone knows of a good place to buy good looking professional looking nursing attire, please share.

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Well, I work in a facility where I actually can wear blue jeans to work. And I'm an LPN.

I work in DDS. So most of us wear jeans, and a scrub top, In cold weather, I wear a sweatshirt because we have to go from building to building.

We are always clean, and neat, and I love being able to dress this way. But of course this is not the normal attire for nurses. Medical personnel is also required to wear name badges.

I would hate going back to total white.

If I worked in a hospital I would prefer scrubs. They are more practical.

Sounds like you are in a western area of the US. Very casual.

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