Required Nursing Uniform

[pbstrums]

My hospital is going to mandate the color and brand of scrubs we (RN's ICU) are to wear. This is apparently because patients want to know who there nurse is. (despite the fact we are all required to wear our identifying badge).We are also told we need to be uniform(no pun intended:)) because we are a magnet facility and magnet hospitals are requiring RN's to wear all the same brand and color. Personally I think this is ridiculous. I thought the magnet philosophy was to give nurses a voice? Since becoming magnet we have no voice, or options and morale has dropped considerably. In times of a bad economy when we are struggling to make ends meet, it is not going to be feasible for nurses to go out and spend money for scrubs and especially ones they do not like. Next we will be told caps are back! Also not everyone has the same shape so many of us will be wearing scrubs too tight or too loose because of the brand we will be required to wear. How professional will that look?? Can you share your thoughts on this? Thank you.

pb

[fuzzywuzzy, CNA]

my LTC company has done this. we are supposed to wear the same colors and same brand. they bought us 3 sets of scrubs. the thing is, our options are limited that we are allowed to order. i'm fat. they dont provide the size i need nor the length. im a short, fat girl at that. the tops dont fit right either and i looked awful. so i ordered my own from a different company in the same colors. i dont think they can even tell its not the same brand! i figure if my employment hinges on being able to wear a specific brand and they want to get rid of me...then i dont want to be there anyway. i show up every single day im scheduled in the appropriate uniform colors and do a great job. if not wearing Landau is going to get me fired....then so be it. i dont mind wearing the colors. i think we all look very professional. i just dont agree with it being one specific brand so as long as the dyes are the same color.

I don't really see the need for this in LTC. You see the same people every day, and if they're cognizant enough to know what your colors mean, then they already know who you are.

I actually wouldn't MIND a color scheme, but at the same time, I like my pretty patterned tops and I've spent a lot of money on them to NOT wear them ever again. And the brand thing is ridiculous. Look how many threads there are in the scrubs forum on this website- no 2 people are alike in what size, fit, and material is most comfortable for them.

[mcknis]

i know most don't care for the color coordination of scrub colors, but based on my recent stay as a pt in my own hospital, you dont always know who the other staff members are by looking at turned around name badges. At 3am, someone in blue looks like any other nurse, RT, aide, etc., but if you are already familiar about a certain color scheme amongst employees, it would be easier to pinpoint the nurse from the RT, NA, housekeeper, etc. It also, from a pts perspective, hightens views and opinions of professionalism among the growing public when they come to be a customer of your facility! i am all for color schemes, but not for certain brands!

[pers]

The only time I've ever had to wear a specific set of scrubs was in school as my facility doesn't care what we wear provided it's not denim. They've talked about going to a uniform but so far it hasn't happened. I did work with one nurse who came from a facility that only color coded the pants while staff were free to wear whatever coordinating top they liked. I'm not sure how effective it was for patients but she said staff felt it was a fair enough compromise on being color coded or not.

[travel50]

My corporate office is telling me that soon we will be required to wear specific colors at the nursing home, different colors for different departments. They are to give us 2 uniforms each. Colors are drab. I object. My staff objects. At the nursing home, most of our residents know us on a first name basis. Those who don't are too confused to remember that everyone in tan is a nurse. Our residents like the different colors and patterns we wear. I think the colors help brighten their day, and lord knows when you are in a nsg home, you need all the brightening you can get. Furthermore, 2 uniforms just won't be enough. Most of my aides don't own a washer. They will not have time to go to the laundrymat every other day. And most don't have extra money to just go buy new uniforms (landau, not what is at walmarts). Corporate has frozen wages so I can't give anyone their raises, so they want to look good by giving them 2 uniforms? Our jobs are stressful enough. It is some little bit of control and independence that my staff have to at least be able to choose what they wear to work.

[unwell]

I like the idea of different departments being color coded. It makes life so much easier, not to mention, you don't have to put any thought into what you will wear to work. As a student nurse on a new floor, or in a new hospital, I have confused CNAs with Nurses, Nurses with housekeepers, etc.

[NurseCard, ADN]

The hospital that I recently left had the nurses on all of the units wearing the same color tops... WHITE!!! Ugh!!!!!!

Not only could I not keep a white top clean to save my life, not even through one shift, but I'm fair skinned so it kinda washed me out as well.

I think color coding is a good idea, though I have to say I like being able to choose what I want to wear. I currently work in a small psychiatric facility where we are allowed to wear either business casual attire, OR whatever type of scrubs we want to wear.

In a big medical hospital though... I'm all for the idea.

[MS._Jen_RN, ASN, RN]

My former employer had a color-coding. At first I thought it was silly, but I grew to really like it- for many of the reasons stated above. I currrntly work as an NP in a different facility, I wish there were color coding, especially when I need to go to a unit I don't go to often and I don't know the nurses well. We are going to have a magnent visit, (the document has been accepted) and if it were a requirement, I'm sure they would have looked into it. S

[Mike A. Fungin RN]

I can see both sides of the argument here.

When I worked as a firefighter I wore a distinctive uniform. My patients could tell apart the firefighters, cops, and EMTs/medics. The uniform inspired confidence in patients, because they knew they were in the hands of a skilled professional (I think that print scrubs generally fail to have the same effect :rolleyes:).

On the other hand, public safety uniforms have a lot more than just color setting them apart. The "look" of a cop versus an EMT is pretty well established in the public consciousness, and if that's not enough we also have different badges, patches, and equipment (The "handgun or stethoscope?" test is pretty darn reliable ).

I'm all for banning print scrubs in the hospital, with the exception of pediatric and maternal/child units where they have a place. If I wake up in the ICU on a vent, I don't want to look up at Sponge Bob scrubs. That inspires ambivalence, not confidence. Like it or not, appearance matters, and making my patient and their family feel secure takes precedence over my personal expression. Plain scrubs is the way to go.

All that said, I'm don't like the color coding concept. I just don't think it can be effective enough to justify the headache of implementation. In the hospital we're all too homogeneous in our appearance to differentiate as well as cops and firefighters, for the reasons I already mentioned. Most patients are overwhelmed enough anyways without having to memorize a color scheme, and you know different hospitals are going to use different colors. I think as long as we wear our badges and readily identify ourselves and our role that we're doing enough.

My two cents, and then some.

[GGodwinRN]

My current hospital is requiring the same thing. Color coding and you have to buy a specific brand that they picked out. They say it is because different companies colors are not all the same. Also, we all have to purchase all of our own new uniforms. I have heard there is a law against this (requiring a specific brand) in the state of Florida but I haven't been able to find anything on it yet. Does anyone else know??

Thanks

[Hoozdo, ADN]

Then what would a person do with all the scrubs they have paid for, holiday patterns, seasons etc. I have a better wardrobe in scrubs than in regular clothes. I wish you luck with this.

I have a WAY better wardrobe in scrubs than regular clothes. Nice scrubs with no cartoon characters. I just accepted a job that requires all one color. Woe is me. At least I can wear whatever kind of shoes I want. I guess I will turn my scrubs into gym wear. :smackingf

[morte, LPN, LVN]

My corporate office is telling me that soon we will be required to wear specific colors at the nursing home, different colors for different departments. They are to give us 2 uniforms each. Colors are drab. I object. My staff objects. At the nursing home, most of our residents know us on a first name basis. Those who don't are too confused to remember that everyone in tan is a nurse. Our residents like the different colors and patterns we wear. I think the colors help brighten their day, and lord knows when you are in a nsg home, you need all the brightening you can get. Furthermore, 2 uniforms just won't be enough. Most of my aides don't own a washer. They will not have time to go to the laundrymat every other day. And most don't have extra money to just go buy new uniforms (landau, not what is at walmarts). Corporate has frozen wages so I can't give anyone their raises, so they want to look good by giving them 2 uniforms? Our jobs are stressful enough. It is some little bit of control and independence that my staff have to at least be able to choose what they wear to work.

what is this with Landau? this the second mention that they are the brand of choice.....i suspect some behind the scene marketing here.....and yes, LTC is another kettle of fish entirely.....bright colors and prints are oft welcomed by the residents, for your mentioned reasons.....keeping it under the radar, can the aides stretch things for a little while, by wearing either the top or bottom with something they already own?....just silly, wasteful, and arrogant.....

ps perhaps you should have your resident counsel write to corporate, after all it is their home!

[Hygiene Queen]

Whoa. I don't know what some decision makers are thinking when they pick colors. Somebody mentioned techs and secs wear MAGENTA? What if those employees were male? I don't think any man wants to wear MAGENTA... maybe maroon, but not MAGENTA. lol