Nursing Uniform Policy

[theatredork]

The hospital I work at has decided to implement a new uniform policy system-wide. The policy only applies to nurses. The new policy requires all nursing staff to wear wear navy scrub pants with a white scrub top, with the option of color trim on the white top.

To the guys here, what is your take on wearing a white scrub top?

I personally cannot stand wearing white, and feel uncomfortable in white. I had to wear white pants in nursing school, which was bad enough.

[Bill E. Rubin]

Ugh. Death to the nurses-must-wear-white policymakers. We don't have any policy that I'm aware of regarding uniforms other than that we look professional. Many get their scrubs from the main dispensary in the hospital. The idea that pts will be able to identify nurses better in white is sexist (If I wear a white uniform, I will be mistaken for the Good Humor man, a short order cook, or even a doctor rather than thought to be a nurse). Maye we should wear the little hats too just to make the stereotypical image complete. So we wear uniforms that play into an outdated stereotype just to make ourselves more easily identifyable? No other profession has to put up with that. Oh wait, waitresses do sometimes.

OTOH, I guess you could be thankful that they aren't making you wear white pants too.

I guess you get my opinion about wearing white.

[RNandRRT]

White doesn't bother me.

Having a uniform and no variety would be a little bothersome.

[Fiona59]

One male nurse in my hospital always wears whites. Not scrubs but a white buttoned shirt, white heavy weight trousers and a white belt. Never seen in scrubs.

He's never mistaken for a doctor, Good Humour Man, or anything else.

He's also a great nurse.

[Bill E. Rubin]

One male nurse in my hospital always wears whites. Not scrubs but a white buttoned shirt, white heavy weight trousers and a white belt. Never seen in scrubs.

He's never mistaken for a doctor, Good Humour Man, or anything else.

He's also a great nurse.

That's great. It also sounds like he wears white by choice rather than having it forced on him. Huge difference.

[nurseogden]

if what you are required to wear is the worst of your problems, then thank god for your blessings. it is evidence based practice. when hospitals have specific uniforms that identify the nurses the press gainey ratings rise. this is based on surveys sent out past treatment. this is really important for hospital funding and accreditation. in the past few years the largest complaint from the general public is that they never saw their nurse, when in fact they just weren't able to identify, at a glance, who the nurses, specifically, rns were.

[Larry77, RN]

I think if they want to require you to wear a certain color or style of scrubs they should supply them for you. I work the desk (charge) so I wear scrub bottoms with a company logo polo shirt.

When I was in nursing school we had to wear navy pants with a white top...it looked fine but if I went back to that uniform I think I'd have flashbacks and end up on psych :-)

[nurseogden]

with all the issues facing us in nursing, what uniform you wear should be the least of our worries!!! if it makes these older patients more comfortable and they recognize us better, then why not conform and do this little bit to please them.

i have worked many hospitals that require certain colors either by position or department. this has been around for as long as i have been in nursing. the "no uniform policy" is the most recent, and obviously didn't work very well since most institutions are requiring nurses to be differentiated by their dress again anyway.

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

Even Walmart has a uniform policy.

[nurseogden]

i have to be the devil's advocate regarding even walmart has dress code because i support coded uniforms for patient's sakes.

nurses are supposed to be "professionals" and many feel like forcing them into standardized uniforms takes away from that status. tthey feel it means the management doesn't trust them to dress appropriately. though this is not the reason for the policy, i can understand where they are coming from

[theatredork]

I realize there are far more pressing issues in nursing, but that doesn't mean I don't have the right to voice my displeasure about this policy here.

I think patients not knowing who their nurses are or aware that they've already seen their nurse is a culture thing within a hospital or department. Where I work, it's common practice to introduce myself to the patient's family since my patient's are too new to the world to care.

I just feel like reverting back to white is a step backwards when it comes to nursing uniforms.

[Bill E. Rubin]

As SondheimGeek says above, there may be more pressing issues than uniforms, but it's an idea that really irks me, and I'm not entirely sure why... I think it's the disrespect implied in the idea. If hospital management told me that nurses were going to wear white and it was due to research showing lower infection rates, or some such clinical thing, I would go along with it even though I look horrible in white and it's an impractical color. But just because some patients like the idea of the nurse in white is really no different than requiring waitresses to wear short skirts and low blouses because the customers in restaurants prefer it. It'd be better for business, right?

How about we require doctors to all wear those little round things (what are they called anyway?) on their heads and carry little black bags? Hospitals would never dream of showing such disrespect for doctors to even ask such a thing.

As to the ability to identify nurses, I always introduce myself, tell my name and that I will be the patient's nurse until such-and-such a time. I write this information on the white board in the pt's room. If they're too confused to understand this, white uniforms won't help.

We're professionals and we worked hard for our degrees and our licenses. We are not Wal-Mart employees nor waitresses (with all due respect to them).