oldshoes

20. Your OR cap has a John Deere patch sewn to the front. 21. There's a gun check right next to the information desk. 22. A patient has ever actually held on to a rifle long enough to have it pried from his cold dead hands, and his family considered this a point of great pride.

I may not need a certain outfit to express my professionalism, but I also don't need clothes to express my individuality- my personality and behavior do that. I'm in the camp that says that uniforms are a tool, a way of announcing yourself before you've said a thing. Some patients don't need it, some prefer it. In either case, the idea that you can't be an individual without Mickey Mouse scrubs is as silly as the idea that you can't be a professional while wearing Mickey Mouse scrubs. There's a huge movement all over the country- sort of a backlash, I guess- toward people being more formal in general. More attention to etiquette, stricter dress codes in school, and so forth. Many people believe that erring on the side of formality is a sign of respect. I imagine this is the reason some hospitals are going back to more of a uniform look, even if it's only uniform scrubs- it's not for the nurses, but for the patients.

A lot of public elementary and high schools are also implementing uniforms now, or at least stricter dress codes. In general, all over the place, there seems to be a desire to bring back some of the formality that was lost in the last few decades. I understand why a lot of people don't want to go all the way back to white dresses and silly hats, but this is part of a broader trend. And, more importantly, It sounds like the nurses at that hospital, at least those who were quoted in the article, like the idea. That's what really matters.

It makes me wonder why someone like that would even become a PCA. I never understand why such hateful people choose work that requires people skills and a caring attitude.

I've seen so many cranky nurses who take out their unhappiness on nurses, doctors, patients, anybody who walks into view. It's like, if they're not happy, nobody can be happy. And a lot of them feel the need to beat the enthusiasm out of new nurses. And then there are the ones who feel it's their duty to treat med students as badly as possible, which only leads to doctors who have a thing against nurses, so those nurses get even by treating med students badly! It's not just nursing- every profession has people like that. People who bully the new person, people who feel their misery should be shared, people who want everyone to experience the same unhappiness they feel. These people suck. But there are nice people out there, too. You'll find them! Just don't let the crankies turn you into one of them!

Two different ads, same school. Perk, yes. I'm sure a lot of women got into nursing "back in the day" because they were imprssed by the old uniform. But primary reason for going into the field? Noooooooooooooooooooo.

Oh, look, Rush Limbaugh's doing the same thing: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15408508/ "Possibly worse than making fun of someone's disability is saying that it's imaginary. That is not to mock someone's body, but to challenge a person's guts, integrity, sanity. To Rush Limbaugh on Monday, Michael J. Fox looked like a faker. The actor, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, has done a series of political ads supporting candidates who favor stem cell research, including Maryland Democrat Ben Cardin, who is running against Republican Michael Steele for the Senate seat being vacated by Paul Sarbanes." Okay, it's Parkinson's, not autism, but the attitude behind it is the same- complete ignorance, and a total lack of compassion.

Not long ago, there was an ad running on t.v. around here for an LPN program. It opened with a woman in a business suit saying to a woman in scrubs, "Wow, you lok comfortable!" and the woman in scrubs went on to explain that she's an LPN. The ad went on to explicitly give wearing comfy scrubs to work every day as a good reason to be an LPN! Another ad that was on recently showed a woman giving another woman a list of reasons why she became a medical assistant. All good reasons, until she got to, "And that's how I met Dr. Brown!" (Or whatever name they used.) In other words, "Become a medical assistant and hook up with a doctor!"

Food point. And not just different types of work, but different communities, too. Different groups of people will have different impressions of your uniforms.

I'm pretty sure they still are! :) I always figured the Aussie "sister" thing was partly a throw-back to the days when a great many nurses were women of religious vows, and also a throw-back to the days when aligning nurses with religious women appeared to be a neccessary way to make them seem more respectable, because of course to respectable woman would choose to do work that would put her in such immodest circumstances unless she was responding to a sort of religious calling, and was completely asexual.

She might not have been a drama queen. She might have just been uneducated or just really panicked, especially if it was her first baby and she was alone at the time.

Oooh, I know a woman who used to work PICU and became possibly the most over-protective mother I have ever seen. Then again, her kids are all happy and healthy and haven't been hit by a bus or anything like that. I'd say your fears are pretty normal.

When I was in college, I knew students who found ways to get food stamps, not because they came from struggling families, but because they had a limited budget and wanted to save their own money for other things, like beer. One guy I knew who did this was a member of a frat that was known for being a haven for young Republicans... and he said he knew lots of guys in his fraternity who did exactly the same thing. I also knew a girl who was planning to transfer to a nursing program who was talking about pulling the same stunt. They may not have been rich, but they weren't really poor, either. They'd just found a way to work the system, despite the ethical issues.

Gawd, I hate those things. I don't think the test is really about the sated questions at all, but rather about your ability to figure out what answer the employer wants you to give. And anyone can figure out what answer would be considered "right" and just go ahead and give that answer, rather than the truth. I don't think they're a very good indicator of how a person would handle anything.

About the hats: The really old school hats were actually practical- they covered your hair. Somehow, they were gradually reduced to something merely ornamental. I guess today's equivalent of the old caps would be an OR cap. Or, a bandana, I guess. Or a hair net? Anyway, I wouldn't object to being required to have my hair covered, or pulled securely back. Um, as long as I didn't have to wear a hair net, that is...