Professional appearance

[fergus51]

On the lighter side of nursing issues: what do you all think is an appropriate and polite way to bring up a nurse's appearance (lots of jewellery, loooooong nails, unclean shoes, etc). Or do you all not mind that? Am I just horrible and obssesive?

I once made a nurse wash her hands before I would let her check my surgical incision because I could see she still had her foundation on from that morning. ICK!

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

This thread is O-L-D, old , but I'll bite.

.......

I do have two printed scrub tops, but they are both pretty professional. I'll occasionally wear these flowered tops, but some of the prints out there are outrageous. I also don't like cutesy hearts. I had shirts like that in 2nd grade, people.

Yeah, I saw it was like six years old, but hey, it's still a current topic! :)

It's hard to find pretty and TASTEFUL prints, isn't it?? I guess I'm mostly in solids for that reason. Prefer small prints, and I personally am never going to wear a boldly-colored pattern of flipflops or dancing nurses on my clothes. Just not me, LOL.

A co-worker of mine just adores those cartoon prints. I personally can't imagine myself as the CA patient opening up my emotional well to a nurse with Gumby and the Dancing Bandaids on her top. Maybe that's just me

[NursingAgainstdaOdds]

There's a few nurses in my facility that still wear the cap. One of those still wear complete white, whether it's pants of skirt. They do look like odd ducks, though; one patient thought the all-white-with-hat one was in COSTUME for something.

We have one of those (sans cap), pts actually always think she's "head nurse". :)

[Diary/Dairy, RN]

Gotta agree with the previous posters about the cartoon character tops!! I wear solid colors for that very reason. I have not work white since school however....I just hate how dirty it looks so quickly.

[NursingAgainstdaOdds]

It's hard to find pretty and TASTEFUL prints, isn't it?? I guess I'm mostly in solids for that reason. Prefer small prints, and I personally am never going to wear a boldly-colored pattern of flipflops or dancing nurses on my clothes. Just not me, LOL.

A co-worker of mine just adores those cartoon prints. I personally can't imagine myself as the CA patient opening up my emotional well to a nurse with Gumby and the Dancing Bandaids on her top. Maybe that's just me

LMAO! I just saw the flip flop top the other day and I think I visibly cringed!

I will say, however, when I worked as an aide at an assisted living facility I intentionally wore more "cheerful" prints, like flowered prints. My elderly residents always really liked that, and would compliment me all the time. They did, however, also like solid scrubs in tasteful colors, and ciel blue was the most popular. I did have an elderly gentleman surprise the heck out of me one day when I was wearing all black scrubs (yes, possibly not the best choice at this kind of facility, , but I felt like wearing black for a change of pace). He said I looked like a superhero. :)

[Diary/Dairy, RN]

LOL - cannot believe that black scrubs made the nursing home residents that uncomfortable!!! How funny!

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

LMAO! I just saw the flip flop top the other day and I think I visibly cringed!

I will say, however, when I worked as an aide at an assisted living facility I intentionally wore more "cheerful" prints, like flowered prints. My elderly residents always really liked that, and would compliment me all the time. They did, however, also like solid scrubs in tasteful colors, and ciel blue was the most popular. I did have an elderly gentleman surprise the heck out of me one day when I was wearing all black scrubs (yes, possibly not the best choice at this kind of facility, , but I felt like wearing black for a change of pace). He said I looked like a superhero. :)

A superhero! :)

I don't think my more toned-down scrubs are at all non-cheery either; my patients ARE frequently commenting on the pleasing color, or the pretty floral pattern, or whatever. I was wearing red top, white bottoms one day when a little ol' thing smiled and said "you're wearing my favorite color!" :)

Want something else to make you visibly cringe? Picture a very large, 50-ish woman wearing a Dora the Explorer bright pink ensemble. In an adult cardiac unit. Yep, thought it'd get you.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

LOL - cannot believe that black scrubs made the nursing home residents that uncomfortable!!! How funny!

Oh, I don't think she meant they were uncomfortable, but not sure why she looked like a superhero, either!

People are funny.

[NursingAgainstdaOdds]

Oh, I don't think she meant they were uncomfortable, but not sure why she looked like a superhero, either!

People are funny.

LOL yeah I think he was just trying to say he thought I looked sharp.

[CRNI-ICU20]

does anyone know where the idea of wearing only white uniforms for nursing originated and why???? (test question...ahem)

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

OLD THREAD ALERT!!! This thread is over 6 years old, although the subject matter still piques interest to this day. :)

[CRNI-ICU20]

History of Nursing Uniforms

The history of nursing uniforms goes back over a century ago and is a strong part of nursing history itself. Certainly the most famous woman of nursing would be Florence Nightingale. Florence's desire to have a career in medicine was reinforced when she met Elizabeth Blackwell at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London in 1851. Blackwell was the first woman to qualify as a doctor in the United States. Through the efforts of Florence, the roots of nursing were established.

Nursing uniforms also have their origins from nuns who were associated with medicine as providing comfort and assistance to doctors. It was only natural that this association led to the nursing uniform being derived from a nun’s habit. The long dress was completed with a cape and hat that were very similar to nun’s clothing. This garment type became the icon of nursing, especially when nursing became a prominent career in the early 1900’s.

During the First World War, the American Red Cross served as a nursing reserve for the U.S. Army and Navy. The Red Cross nursing uniforms were also worn by nurses of the armed services. These early uniforms established the initial patterns for nurses and the Army Nurse Corps. The garments were white with the internationally recognized Red Cross and featured a cape and hat. This style continued through out history with some modifications through the 1960’s.

Through history the nursing uniforms changed as a part of necessity and function of nursing. As the nursing profession came more into being a stronger part of the relationship with doctors, nurses needed garments that provided more function and a design that reflected their Doctor counterparts. In the 1970’s nursing uniforms became more colorful and styled to fit the changing role of the nurse. Hospital scrubs now became a part of the uniform for both identity and practicality.

Since the 70’s the history of nursing uniforms has evolved into today’s nursing uniform which like the medical industry has expanded into different areas of medicine, from radiology to surgical areas to men entering the field of healthcare. These changes led to today’s’ nursing uniforms which are specifically designed for the different roles of nurses and the need for a garment to function with the operations of nurses. Color and prints not only offer a unique look to a nursing department but also make patients more comfortable in the hospital environment.

Florence Nightingale

Circa 1917

Circa 1939

Circa 1962

*Photo Credits:

1917 Uniforms - Department of the Navy

1920-1950's Uniforms - United States Army Nurse Corps

[CRNI-ICU20]

another good reason that we have male nurses....otherwise they would look like this:

m*a*s*h character