So recently the Chief Nursing Executive as my hospital decided that all nursing staff are required to wear hospital provided lab coats while on duty, along with the ID badge, no exception. To the tune of thousands of dollars, I might add...
The rationale being that nurses as professionals should be easily identifiable to patients and other staff. Although a few didn't warm up to this idea initially after some grumbling and groaning it appears to be a rousing success.
So one particularly snotty nursing student who no nurse wished to be saddled with d/t her pompous attitude, strolled onto the unit wearing... a lab coat (the kind found at a medical supply store).
The NM took one look at her and said, "You are not staff, you are not a professional, go remove the lab coat and then you may return to the unit."
The snotty little thing went crying to her clinical instructor whining that she had been "discriminated" against causing a frenzy of bad vibes that has now caused a rift between an already fragile dynamic between staff and students, all because of one bad egg.
So was the student in her right to attempt to blend in or did she cross the point of no return?
In my opinion, student was probably darned if she did or darned if she didn't. If she had ignored the floor's cultural preferences for lab coats, she would have been called out for being a fish out of water and calling attention to herself and if she wore it, then she is apparently uppity.
Sounds like the student's clinical instructor should agree with the student's assessment and find another floor to teach the students on.
(And yes, my school required lab coats on certain occasions and some students wore them for warmth on the floor.)
In my opinion, student was probably darned if she did or darned if she didn't. If she had ignored the floor's cultural preferences for lab coats, she would have been called out for being a fish out of water and calling attention to herself and if she wore it, then she is apparently uppity.
Sounds like the student's clinical instructor should agree with the student's assessment and find another floor to teach the students on.
(And yes, my school required lab coats on certain occasions and some students wore them for warmth on the floor.)
It isn't the floor's "cultural preference," it is the RN dress code, per the management team. A nursing student should look like a fish out of water in that respect. No manager wants a nursing student to be mistaken for one of the staff RN's. Keep in mind that the nursing student tried to set herself apart from her peers. Talking about looking like a fish out of water!
I seriously question that student's common sense and motives. She no doubt was given the dress code for her school and chose to try to put herself above/outside of it. Then when reprimanded, she went crying discrimination. Even without OP's description of the student as snotty, this is not a nursing student that I would look at and think "now there's a future nurse that I want to work with"
It isn't the floor's "cultural preference," it is the RN dress code, per the management team. A nursing student should look like a fish out of water in that respect. No manager wants a nursing student to be mistaken for one of the staff RN's. Keep in mind that the nursing student tried to set herself apart from her peers. Talking about looking like a fish out of water!
I seriously question that student's common sense and motives. She no doubt was given the dress code for her school and chose to try to put herself above/outside of it. Then when reprimanded, she went crying discrimination. Even without OP's description of the student as snotty, this is not a nursing student that I would look at and think "now there's a future nurse that I want to work with"
Its the floor's cultural preference because their leader expressed that that is what this particular floor (among the few in the entire country) wants all of its RNs to wear. Not every hospital thinks lab coats create "professional appearing RNs." This activity is particular to this floor and reflects the floor's cultural norms. My school stated NO PARTICULAR situation in which a lab coat was to be worn and when one was NOT to be worn.
Your perception is that the student was trying to make her self stand out among the students but mine is that she was trying to fit in among the nurses she was surrounded by when she in the patient's room. I can totally envision the opposite scenario : "Oh! And then the snotty little brat didn't wear her lab coat just so the patients [upon seeing her patch] could ask if she attends such and such school. As if IT MATTERs that she is getting a BSN. Can you believe that? She should cover that up with a lab coat." Like I said, darned if you, darned if you don't.
It isn't up to the nurse manager to discipline the student. It was up to the clinical instructor and I say good for the student for fighting back against rude remarks by the nurse manager and the "us versus them" attitude among the floor. You may not want to work with this student but I would feel quite comfortable working with someone who stands up for herself when she is clearly mistreated. Hopefully, she will do the same in the work place and the patients and other nurses will benefit.
Regardless of what wrong she committed, (and I don't think she did wrong), she doesn't deserve hostile treatment as a newbie in this profession. The NM should have commented to her instructor and done nothing further.
I also note the OP stated that the floor was already sensitive about the lab coats.
On the one hand, she's a student. The nurse manager has no place telling a student what they can or can't wear, unless it's a safety issue (i.e. flip flops). The student's not an employee, she's responsible to her school for uniform requirements. We have nursing students at our facility who are required, per their school, to wear a lab coat over business casual clothing when coming in to do preclinical.
That said, running and complaining isn't the way to handle it. How many students want to wear a lab coat anyways?
The nurse manager handled things very badly. My student uniform included a lab coat. If the students weren't specifically told not to wear lab coats, this student wasn't doing anything wrong.
I had a few clinicals where the nurses were openly hostile toward the students, so I don't blame the student for going to her clinical instructor. If the nurse manager had a problem with the student's dress, she should have addressed the clinical instructor.
Went back and reread the original post: this isn't some little naive newbie to the floor who simply wanted to fit in, this is a student with an established pattern of attitude that has already made her unpopular.
She deliberately brought in a lab coat, outside her school uniform; neither her CI nor the other students had them. Yes it was intentional, and the NM was right to call her on it. Wasn't there, so don't know what tone of voice was being used, but the student was the one in the wrong.
As far as only CI's being able to tell students what is appropriate or not, wrong! The NM is responsible for her floor, including students. The impression I got from the OP, is that the NM already knows this student, and put a stop to unacceptable behavior. This is not discrimination, this is upholding standards.
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Went back and reread the original post: this isn't some little naive newbie to the floor who simply wanted to fit in, this is a student with an established pattern of attitude that has already made her unpopular.
She deliberately brought in a lab coat, outside her school uniform; neither her CI nor the other students had them. Yes it was intentional, and the NM was right to call her on it. Wasn't there, so don't know what tone of voice was being used, but the student was the one in the wrong.
As far as only CI's being able to tell students what is appropriate or not, wrong! The NM is responsible for her floor, including students. The impression I got from the OP, is that the NM already knows this student, and put a stop to unacceptable behavior. This is not discrimination, this is upholding standards.
Bottom line: the NM is responsible for what happens on her floor. Her floor, her turf, her call. Students are "guests" on that floor and need to follow the rules. The student in question was out of bounds. My guess is she'll be the first one to complain as a new grad that she is being "eaten" by "older nurses."
PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN
2,211 Posts
I suggest making it official that students must wear their specified, non-unit garb.
They are the invited guests. They are given the privilege to perform alongside the nurses in the unit.
As far as the student's behavior, it shouldn't come into play here except to realize that is her potential should they consider her for future hire.