Question: Why don't hospitals color code the scrubs?

shodobe · Jun 21, 2009

This has always been a issue with me. I don't like the idea of anyone and everyone being allowed to wear scrubs on all the floors throughout the hospital. I am an old sentimentalist who believes the nurses should go back to wearing white sans the hats of course. I know this is a sore spot to floor nurses in general. The reason is exactlly what you are questioning, WHO IS WHO! This is a very confusing part to visitors and patients. They sometimes never know who their aide is or housekeeper or most important, who their nurse is. Sometimes they never know who is taking them where or who is in their room doing whatever. I advocate a color code system to distinguish the different areas, but there is a wide outcry that this would never work. Well, you can't blame a guy for trying.

CeeKayRN · Jun 21, 2009

Our hospital recently(within the last year or so), went to color coding. RNs are midnight blue, LPNs violet, CNAs chocolate, RTs royal... etc etc.... I do, however, miss my fun tops, and my bright solids.

VORB · Jun 21, 2009

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Our hospital staff wears different colors based on their role. No two roles share the same color. That way patients & staff know who's who.

Cassaundra · Jun 21, 2009

It depends on the facility. A number of facilities have dress code by department and others by job. I work in a facility where all nurses wear navy &/or white. The local hospital uses colors for department - brown is resp. Suggest it to your mgmt.

Be_Moore · Jun 21, 2009

You can accomplish the who is who without going to wearing white. My hospital is color coding the entire hospital starting in July. RN's will wear black pants with royal blue tops that say "RN" on them. Respiratory will wear all black. Radiology will wear a maroon type colored top. I don't know the colors for the rest of the hospital, but everyone will be color coded with their position embroidered on the top.

Studies show that color coding personnel is beneficial to patients for ease of recognition.

caliotter3 · Jun 21, 2009

Anything that is uniform (pun not intended) and consistent goes with me. And if they are going to have a set uniform, then the employees should be provided with the first two uniforms free on hire.

DolceVita, ADN, BSN, RN · Jun 21, 2009

I was reading on some other posts that some techs don't discourage patients and visitors from calling them nurse. Also, if no one knows "which one" is the nurse then surely they will get the wrong idea of what nurses do?

nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN · Jun 21, 2009

I've done clinicals in sites that have "RNs in white" or "LPNs in blue" kinda uniforms and that's been their dress code for years -- and I still hear the patients saying to the cleaning lady in maroon "are you my nurse?" And in some of the sites the nurses wear white, all right -- white tshirts with white pants and they look like painters. One site went to the RNs wearing vests like they used to at WalMart.

I don't like white. One spill of water, and you look naked. And contrary to "Grey's Anatomy" and "ER" none of the folks I work with would look good naked....ewwww, mental image I don't need.....

cardiacmadeline, RN · Jun 21, 2009

I wouldn't mind if our hospital went to color coded scrubs. I wear solid colors all the time anyways. As long as I didn't have to wear a pastel color, I would be fine with it. Or black, there is something about nurses wearing black that bothers me.

doesanyoneknowwhy · Jun 21, 2009

CeeKayRN,

RN-MN blue and did you day RT-royal?

----NO NO NO----now that is crazy, and no doubt is confusing to some patients,CONFUSING.

RT should have been made to wear a totally different color---like maroon.

Tait, MSN, RN · Jun 21, 2009

We are going to all nurses in navy blue scrubs only January 1st.

In my opinion in the end it is the nurses responsibility to communicate their role, and establish a quick rapport at the beginning of the shift, more than colored scubs, but one is more consistent than the other I suppose.

Tait