Question About Changes in Uniform

newadventure · Jan 5, 2005

I have not heard about going back to the white uniforms, but I have read about puting some kind of uniform back into place. The reasoning is that right now it is hard to see who the nurses are in a hospital. Some people feel that if nurses were better identified it would help with the image problem. I don't know about image, and I certainly don't like the idea of wearing white, but I do think having better identification would be a plus.

purplemania, BSN, RN · Jan 5, 2005

there is definitely a trend in creating a nursing uniform, but so far it has meant that each facility chooses which dept. gets which color. The patients & visitors seem to appreciate being able to know who is providing care. I know it has helped me when interacting with a staff member. But all white?? too impractical.

lil' girl, LPN · Jan 6, 2005

The hospitals and nursing homes here have reverted back to the white uniform, mostly because the pts. and their family couldn't tell a nurse from a CNA. It doesn't bother me, I am proud to wear white, kinda like us nurses earned the right to wear white, if you know what I mean.

Jamesdotter · Jan 6, 2005

There has been a lot of discussion on here about reverting back to the white uniforms that nurses once wore. I was wondering what brought about the change in uniform anyway? When did it happen? And was it a struggle for nurses to change?

I think it was in the 70s here . It was at the same time that the medical students quit wearing slacks, white shirts and ties(!) and one of the classes in the nursing school refused to have a class picture done. I never heard the reason for that.

That was also the time when one hospital in town allowed the nurses to wear colors, but they had to wear dresses, while another hospital allowed pants, but the uniforms had to be white. It was really a gradual process. I remember that it was probably between '85 and '90 that we started wearing scrubs.