I've had several jobs over the years, in various fields of nursing and eventually in medicine, as an NP. I've worn a variety of getups in my career and I'd like to pose a question.
Does it really matter what we wear? Other than the concept of what nurses 'should wear' or what 'looks professional', does the attire we choose or find ourselves in when we render advice or services matter? Does it affect how we think or the knowledge we have?
For example(s): As a nurse, I wore scrubs almost exclusively, except when I worked psych (they preferred us in street clothes, khakis and such).
As an NP, I've worn the gamut, business dressy to scrubs, and where I work now is a jean-and-flip-flop kind of place. Thus far, my knowledge and skills haven't been adversely affected, nor do the patients seem to mind.
I've rendered aid in everything from a Halloween costume to a bikini. A couple of incidents that stand out...both in hospital: while visiting a family member, the Nurse Manager of my floor (back in my RN days) heard I was in house and asked if I could cover a portion of a shift. I did, in my jeans and espadrilles with 3 1/2" heels. No one seemed to give a rat's rip. And, somewhat more famously, when I stayed overnight in hospital with my sick grandmother, I clocked in for a brief time, in my pajamas (gym shorts and a t-shirt and lovely bird's nest hair) to help out. Again, no one seemed to care. I did hit myself with a comb before I left the room, however. And somewhat more recently, I've dug a carpet tack out of a foot in office (in jeans) and listened to a patient detail her entire urinary system in the Walmart checkout line (in gym shorts and a tee, and in front of my father and my son).
So, the brass tacks of what I wonder...is the 'accepted' dress code there more for the patients perception of how we should look, or for us? Scrubs are by no means exclusive to nurses. I've seen threads on here by the dozen, lamenting that no one can tell an RN from a housekeeper (nothing against housekeeping at all, you guys rock). Anyone can buy scrubs, so there's no real designation in them.
