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?

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

No I'm in the south, Arkansas.

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Specializes in Utilization Management.
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?

Oh, I dunno. Maybe it's because I'm not really thinking about how I look when I'm bent double over an arresting patient found on the floor in a puddle of bodily secretions.

The patient probably doesn't care either.

If I wear white, I'm quite aware that my undies are visible through my slacks, wet or dry, but worse when wet--right up until the moment that I see a person dead on the floor.

IMHO, I never look more professional than when I'm saving someone's life. That is what a nurse is to me. "Dressing for success" means I wear clothing that is suited to allow me to perform the actions that are necessary to save someone's life.

I'm sure not one person in the room of that Coding patient gives a flying fig that they can see what kind of underwear I'm wearing as I give chest compressions, help to lift the (still secreting bodily fluids) patient onto the bed, and continue to try to save a life.

But MY job gets pretty messy. After we rescue that person, I'll still have to attend to other patients and I really don't need to LOOK like I've been battling Death for the past two hours; it upsets them. I don't have time to take a break and freshen up, I'm already behind and have an extra hour's charting to do.

So please, by all means, wear what you like to your job. But don't try to impose your idealistic notions of what constitutes professional dress for nurses on me. Please. Thank you.

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Specializes in Infectious Disease.
Oh, I dunno. Maybe it's because I'm not really thinking about how I look when I'm bent double over an arresting patient found on the floor in a puddle of bodily secretions.

The patient probably doesn't care either.

If I wear white, I'm quite aware that my undies are visible through my slacks, wet or dry, but worse when wet--right up until the moment that I see a person dead on the floor.

IMHO, I never look more professional than when I'm saving someone's life. That is what a nurse is to me. "Dressing for success" means I wear clothing that is suited to allow me to perform the actions that are necessary to save someone's life.

I'm sure not one person in the room of that Coding patient gives a flying fig that they can see what kind of underwear I'm wearing as I give chest compressions, help to lift the (still secreting bodily fluids) patient onto the bed, and continue to try to save a life.

But MY job gets pretty messy. After we rescue that person, I'll still have to attend to other patients and I really don't need to LOOK like I've been battling Death for the past two hours; it upsets them. I don't have time to take a break and freshen up, I'm already behind and have an extra hour's charting to do.

So please, by all means, wear what you like to your job. But don't try to impose your idealistic notions of what constitutes professional dress for nurses on me. Please. Thank you.

As someone who is not a nurse yet but have been assisted by the most wonderful nurse I have ever met, the lack of uniform didn't make me or my family feel uneasy.

Nor did we find our nurse to be unprofessional because she wore brightly colored scrubs. That was all so inconsequential. What I noticed was how much she cared for my nephew even though she knew he was not going to live. I also noticed how compassionately and honestly she dealt with my sister when it came time for her to make the hard decisions. I also noticed how she discreetly left the room so we, as a family, could say goodbye to our baby. The thing that really left the biggest impact on me and my family was the poem that she wrote for my sister, that offered her some kind of peace after her son was pronounced dead. That poem was included on the program for his funeral and read at the ceremony. We speak fondly of her whenever we recall that baby's last days after the horrific accident that took his life. We never, ever discuss what she was wearing.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
So please, by all means, wear what you like to your job. But don't try to impose your idealistic notions of what constitutes professional dress for nurses on me. Please

BRAVO!!!!

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

I have been collecting information from numerous nursing sites for my presentation entitled "nursing uniforms and the image of nursing." It is interesting to read everyones' points of view. I for one believe there would be a lot of menstruating females out there that would not enjoy the idea of all white uniforms. After doing some looking around, I have found my opinion lies more in the styles of nursing uniforms today. I found several stores that sell capris as scrub pants...capris??? and also flare leg scrub pants. I think we all have to realize that our uniforms are changing with todays society and fashion trends. However, I also think that we have to realize how much freedom we have right now to choose what we wear. Imagine if we were in the 18 and 1900s where there were no options...what we were required to wear is what was worn...no questions asked. I think we have to have an appreciation of where nursing uniforms began, and be grateful for what we have today.

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Specializes in private duty/home health, med/surg.
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 find this to be an amusing theory. Please let us know if it actually works that way.

I like scrubs. They may not look "professional" enough for some people, but if I was that concerned about appearance, I'd go into a different field. They are comfortable & allow freedom of movement for the physical aspects of the job.

Let's face it--nursing isn't glamorous, so I don't see why some feel the need to put so much effort into the attire.

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As more hospitals move to a "professional" feel and trying to acheive magnet, this is going to happen. We had a huge war over it and we lost. The only ones that wear scrubs are OR and SICU now. If you work L/D you wear whites unless you are assigned to OR. Let me tell you, baby puke of special formulas will not come out of whites.. :p This is the ongoing trend now. Also, if the hospital laundered before , it is a cost containment move. We have no allowance and they will not launder our clothes. Nice, eh?

I "wish they would" try to make us wear white in Labor and Delivery.:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :uhoh3:

As much Blood and mucous and bodily fluids that I come into contact with every day....

the splatter of IV starts to umbilical cord ruptures to meconium.....

and we DO NOT TAKE OUR SCRUBS HOME TO SELF LAUNDER. They tried to go to that recently, and we beat it down with a resounding NO. I'm not saying none of us take our scrub jackets home...but the majority of us do not...and the majority also does not take the hospital furnished scrubs home to launder.

I do not want my patient's microbes in my car, in my hamper , my washer/dryer, nor on my kids (when I stop to hug them when I come in the door). It's bad enough that splatter and microbes get on my exposed skin....but I can shower everyday/afterwork. I'm not going to do laundry everyday...nor detail my car everyday.

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I have been collecting information from numerous nursing sites for my presentation entitled "nursing uniforms and the image of nursing." It is interesting to read everyones' points of view. I for one believe there would be a lot of menstruating females out there that would not enjoy the idea of all white uniforms. After doing some looking around, I have found my opinion lies more in the styles of nursing uniforms today. I found several stores that sell capris as scrub pants...capris??? and also flare leg scrub pants. I think we all have to realize that our uniforms are changing with todays society and fashion trends. However, I also think that we have to realize how much freedom we have right now to choose what we wear. Imagine if we were in the 18 and 1900s where there were no options...what we were required to wear is what was worn...no questions asked. I think we have to have an appreciation of where nursing uniforms began, and be grateful for what we have today.
True...but back then, we were "hardly" required to think. Let alone collaborate in the care of the pt the way we do now. I'll not go back to the mindless "flunky" of the doctor as our image and role was in the past, and by that same token, I'll not wear what we wore in the past simply because it's tradition and "I should be grateful".
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Specializes in Utilization Management.
Imagine if we were in the 18 and 1900s where there were no options...what we were required to wear is what was worn...no questions asked. I think we have to have an appreciation of where nursing uniforms began,

Very well, here's a link to click on the picture and see one of many stories about nurse's uniforms. Apparently, the nurse's uniform issue has always been something of a problem and the answer has not always been "white!" I've posted the entry below for your enjoyment.

http://www.edinborough.com/Life/Nurses/Agnews.html

What Civil War Nurses Wore

Katharine Wormeley

As the war progressed, the nurses adapted their clothing to the conditions. During the Peninsula campaign, the United States Sanitary Commission stationed hospital transports on nearby waterways to care for the wounded. The harsh conditions and the crowded passages left their clothing in shambles. Katharine Wormeley wrote,

This matter of dirt and stains is becoming very serious. My dresses are in such a state that I loathe them, and myself in them. From chin to belt they are yellow with lemon-juice, sticky with sugar, greasy with beef-tea, and pasted with milkporridge. Farther down, I dare not inquire into them. Somebody said ... that he wished to kiss the hem of my garment. I thought of the condition of that article and shuddered.

As her wardrobe deteriorated, Wormeley complained to Georgeanna Woolsey, who served with her.

"I know what I shall do," says Georgy, who ... suggests the wildest things in the calmest way. "Dr. Agnew has some flannel shirts; he is going back to New York, and can't want them. I shall get him to give me one." Accordingly, Santa Georgeanna has appeared in an easy and graceful costume, looking especially feminine. I took the hint, and have followed suit in a flannel shirt."

Woolsey described the "Agnew" as "a delightful black and white flannel shirt." The women walked a fine line between respectability and freedom, and reveled in it. Wormeley's loss of restraint in clothing spilled over to her diet, as she admitted that she now drank "coffee in excess and whiskey."

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Wow, this thread has a lot of posts....so I'll post my own 2 cents, too....

I think for the most part, white looks professional...when it comes to the "top" of the outfit. I personally would choose to wear white (note the word "choose", as in, it should be a choice) because I feel that people give me more respect when I have on a white lab coat. Yeah, it may look like physician's garb, but I'm not very offended if someone mistakes me for a physician.

I look very young, so I would look like a teenager in pajamas in printed scrubs...I think solid matching navy scrubs look professional. That is my own choice....if other RNs like wearing scrubs (of whatever pattern) that is certainly their choice, but I also don't think they should get too offended if patients don't recognize them as RNs if they are dressed like other staff in scrubs (patients can't see your RN tag until you're in their face).

I like to wear a white coat and/or uniform top because that does help distinguish the RN from the CNA or other staff. I like when people know the difference.

When it comes to pants....WHITE SUCKS in my opinion, but nurses should wear whatever pants they want. I like navy or black pants so I can wear dark shoes...don't get me started on white shoes...ack...or those caps...

The whole topic is a bit funny, because does anyone tell physicians what type of pants they can wear???:p

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You make 2 very good points

1 - Shoes that fit my feet properly and provide comfort and support adequate to work in for 12+ consecutive hours may or may not be white, or even mostly white. They sure as he!! are not "nursing shoes". I have yet to find a pair of those that I could walk around the store in, much less wear for even one shift. Sometimes we need dark shoes.

2 - Could you picture the look on a physician's face if someone said "You must wear navy pants and a white shirt on rounds, so the patients will know you are the doctor - Oh, and no lab coats and bowties only...infection control, you know." :rolleyes: :p

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Specializes in Education, Acute, Med/Surg, Tele, etc.

Well, I don't know if it will mean anything, but I was suprised again. I go to another non-medical forum and asked them if they prefer a nurse in dress whites, or scrubs and why...here are the responses I got... These are NON medics so a more public opinion...

1. "Personally I think scrubs look more professional. I think the old-fashioned uniforms look... er... how do I put this nicely? Lame. Scrubs look more comfy too. Looks like something you can kick back in when you get home from work. The uniforms look like something that you'd be making a beeline to your room to change out of when you get home. What's with the white anyway? It's a total b***h to get stains out, those whites won't stay clean too long working around people who will potentially puke or bleed. Puke stains are almost harder to get out than blood stains."

2. "I always thought scrubs looked more comfortable for the ladies wearing them. Plus, they don't look as 'sterile' as the all white uniforms, so the nurse is free to express herself more by wearing scrubs with different designs. I don't ever recall seeing a nurse wearing the white uniform with the hat and everything, not outside of certain genres of movies at least, LOL."

3. "White uniforms with hats ? Has someone been watching One flew over the cocosnest to many times ? When I was in the hospital earlier this year the nurses wore a scrub type top, some blue,red,multi color,etc. I think it was nice to see them in a scrub type top because I knew right away they where nurses, & you could tell a little about them by what they where wearing. The nurse I had wore multi colored tops that spoke of her playful side. She always was smiling and in it helped the "them/us thing" easier for me. Anything to help take your mind off the pain, etc is great. Nurses have little to show their personality at work if anything at all, so I say let them decide what kind of uniform they want to wear."

I like that last one :), it is what I feel. I may be a nurse, but I am also an individual capable of making my own choice over my own appearance. I have respect for myself and what I do and show that through my appearance in a professional mannor, but I still have a casual fun side that shows through once in a while too! I am a professional yet I am still me! Why not combine the two.

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