I am taking part in a research project in my post-bacc nursing program which is looking at the history of nursing uniforms, as well as asking the question, "Should nurses return to wearing uniforms?" We are surveying nurses at a local hospital to get an idea of our area nurses' opinions; but would also like to get a wider variety of responses.
So, if you'd like to be part of this discussion, please answer the following:
1. How long have you been a nurse?
2. In what field of nursing are you working (I.e. long term care, acute care, rehab, etc.)?
3. Where geographically are you located?
4. What is your level of training? (I.e., ADN, LPN, CNA, BSN, masters or higher education level, CNP, CRNA, etc.)
5. Do you think nurses should return to wearing a uniform? Why or why not?
***to clarify-- By "uniform", I mean a move away from scrubs, to a uniform style that would be recognized across regions as belonging to "nursing". This could include the "all-white" uniform, or nursing caps. Whatever it would be, the standard would be set by the nursing profession, for all professionals to follow***
6. If you think nurses should return to a uniform, what type of uniform do you think nurses should wear?
As far as the cap is concerned, I know they are all different, but there is a way to attach them with a hair comb on top, that secures them.
This only works for people who have some body to their hair. I can't even get barrettes or covered rubber bands to stay in my hair, much less a comb. Doesn't matter if I use gel or hairspray either...nothing stays in it. Whatever it is will stay in for an hour if I sit still, but if I'm moving around, ten minutes max.
I have absolutely NO problem with anyone who wants to wear a traditional cap. Please do. But not me. I'd have to file for disability after a day's worth of trauma of trying to keep it on. Oh, the nightmares! (can you tell I have years of issues here of WANTING to wear things in my hair only to never have it work out?) :)
They'd have to develop a ballcap style nursing hat if they ever wanted me to wear one. This WOULD work for the guys as well. Make it white, with a big red RN. Then no one would mistake any of us.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
I always hated the caps, still do. As far as securing it, I have WAY too much hair. It's all I can do to put it up in a the bun or comb and keep IT out of the way. A cap would definately get in the way. Plus, they are not too dang practical in the OR now, are they.
I am an ADN acute cardiac nurse. Out of school for 1 year. Live in Oklahoma. Yes I think we should wear a uniform; namely any scrub top alone or with a lab coat if we wish and other hospital employees should wear solid colored scrubs; ie. aides wear blue, housekeeping brown, orderlies green, labor and delivery purple - security issue. The problem is when patients and floaters can't tell who is who. Our hospital decided to go by a color code because you can't tell who is who but nurses are forced to wear white or maroon and no one gets to wear prints. Personally, I have always worn white pants but I like the prints that I have to give up.
I've been a RN for 7months, in acute care (pcu), in a medium-sized community hospital 30mins outside Phila, PA. I'm all for a casual dress code. The ER & OR have uniforms. I am for wearing scrubs, no white (esp white pants) -anything white get's to dirty. I could live w/ a white top if I could wear colored pants.
:Melody: I'd never want the nursing staff to go back to caps and dresses and white scrubs. At one nursing home I worked at, we had to be in all white. They'd let us wear a button down scrub top/warmup with a white Tshirt underneath and white pants and prints/colors on holidays, birthdays, and nursing week. But we were in white mostly and it was boring. Plus my scrubs got dirty all the time. I have mostly prints and colored pants. I have 2 pairs of white pants and I gave away most of my whites to my friend since I've lost weight.
I'd be bored in white or the same color. I love my printed scrubs. I wear them to my volunteer job at the hospital. I have to wear a teal scrub jacket over my clothes so they can tell we're volunteers. The junior volunteers from high school wear teal polo shirts with the hospital logo and khakis. (no jeans or sweatpants allowed for volunteers.) Candystriped uniforms went out of style for the highschool volunteers. We got a new director of volunteers last year and she changed the dresscode for the kids. The adults always wore the teal jackets over scrubs or business casual street clothes. (again, no jeans or sweatpants.) Until the early 90's the adult volunteers wore pink jackets at the hospital. The surgical staff wears blue scrubs and the OBGYN nurses wear purple scrubs except for the aides. The rest of the nursing staff and lab/xray staff wear any scrubs they want. :balloons:
Located in Southern California, Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
BSN enrolled-ADN graduate
Labor and Delivery....with a few years in Critical Care
Currently on my unit...we do wear scrubs, in a uniform color. All the RN staff is in one color.
Secretarial/Tech staff is another color, and LVNs (our scrub techs) are in another color.
Housekeeping is in another color...and their department recently changed their outfits. However, because our housekeeping staff must clean our ORs, they change into their color L&D scrubs when they are here.
We HAD to go to color colding because we had a few incidents when our secretarial staff would get too "involved" in pt care to the extent that they did not report pertinent information to the nurse in a timely matter and untoward events happened. E.G., we have one tech who, rather than answer the call light at the nurses station, goes to the pt's room to see what they need. Well intentioned indeed, but the pt has the idea that "the nurse responded"...meanwhile the tech is still looking for the nurse to (hopefully) tell her. During this lapse, events occurred. One such event happened that a father delivered his own baby. When everything was sorted out, it was found that the father had told the "nurse" who was actually a secretary that the baby was coming. Because the secretary had left the desk, she didn't see the nurse pass the nurses station, and thus wasn't able to report to the her.
Since we were all in the same color, the father made no such differentiation and the secretary did not clarify that she was NOT the nurse, she simply stated she'd take care of it. Needless to say, the father of the baby was pissed.
So now, on our unit, in addition to our badges, our color stands out.
This only works for people who have some body to their hair. I can't even get barrettes or covered rubber bands to stay in my hair, much less a comb. Doesn't matter if I use gel or hairspray either...nothing stays in it. Whatever it is will stay in for an hour if I sit still, but if I'm moving around, ten minutes max.
I have absolutely NO problem with anyone who wants to wear a traditional cap. Please do. But not me. I'd have to file for disability after a day's worth of trauma of trying to keep it on. Oh, the nightmares! (can you tell I have years of issues here of WANTING to wear things in my hair only to never have it work out?) :)
They'd have to develop a ballcap style nursing hat if they ever wanted me to wear one. This WOULD work for the guys as well. Make it white, with a big red RN. Then no one would mistake any of us.
Okay I know you probably didn't mean this to be funny, But I thought it was HILARIOUS!!!!! I could see my self in the same position...Running dowm the hall after an errant cap...lol..... I would have to grow a 'fro to keep a cap on......
2) Currently in QM, previous MICU, CCU, SICU, ER, OR.
3) Ohio
4) BSN
5) I think as professionals, nurses should have a "uniform" and it should be white. I wore white for years with no problem - very easy to keep clean because it can be bleached. I love the crispness of nice white clothes and don't find them at all intimidating.
6) Caps have gone the way of the dinosaur. They were uncomfortable and unsanitary - nurses would wear them daily even if soiled and yellow. I agree with name tags clearly stating "RN', and nurses wearing their school pins.
Located in Southern California, Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
BSN enrolled-ADN graduate
Labor and Delivery....with a few years in Critical Care
Currently on my unit...we do wear scrubs, in a uniform color. All the RN staff is in one color.
Secretarial/Tech staff is another color, and LVNs (our scrub techs) are in another color.
Housekeeping is in another color...and their department recently changed their outfits. However, because our housekeeping staff must clean our ORs, they change into their color L&D scrubs when they are here.
We HAD to go to color colding because we had a few incidents when our secretarial staff would get too "involved" in pt care to the extent that they did not report pertinent information to the nurse in a timely matter and untoward events happened. E.G., we have one tech who, rather than answer the call light at the nurses station, goes to the pt's room to see what they need. Well intentioned indeed, but the pt has the idea that "the nurse responded"...meanwhile the tech is still looking for the nurse to (hopefully) tell her. During this lapse, events occurred. One such event happened that a father delivered his own baby. When everything was sorted out, it was found that the father had told the "nurse" who was actually a secretary that the baby was coming. Because the secretary had left the desk, she didn't see the nurse pass the nurses station, and thus wasn't able to report to the her.
Since we were all in the same color, the father made no such differentiation and the secretary did not clarify that she was NOT the nurse, she simply stated she'd take care of it. Needless to say, the father of the baby was pissed.
So now, on our unit, in addition to our badges, our color stands out.
They actually let the secretaries and housekeepers wear scrubs? I think scrubs should be for the nursing, xray, and lab staff. In the hospital where I volunteer at, the office staff wear business clothes or office casual and the housekeeping wear blue and white striped blouses and pants with a white collar. The male housekeepers wear polo shirts with housekeeping stitched on the front and blue chinos. The kitchen staff wears polo shirts, aprons, chinos, and hairnets. That's too bad you had to be colorcoded because of the fact that the office staff got to wear them and pretend that they were nurses.
The office and housekeeping staff should not be in scrubs.
I agree with clerical staff wearing office dress and other staff wearing a different type of uniform; I used to work in a large clinic where everyone wore scrubs; the receptionists, the patient accounts supe wore a labcoat, film librarians wore scrubs--patients could not differentiate between ancillary staff and medical personnel. I don't have a problem with whites, I usually wear them now with a printed jacket if I like. I even iron mine and am constantly teased about my "crispy uniforms". Sorry, much as I loved "Julia" and and her nurse cap. I would be bothered by a cap.
I am all for uniforms. uniforms for house keeping, cafetieria, ect. the nurses can wear their scrubs. heck even the aides/techs. I am a tech. we wear what we like and so do the nurses. everyone else wears polos and chinos. OT and PT also wear scrubs. but our badges are unmistakenable. mine says NURSE TECH in like 3 inch red letters. I bet that man that delivered his own wouldn't have remembered what color the nurse was. 99% of the time patients or their family grab the first warm body they can find. unless we went to dresses and caps I don't think it would make a difference. I walk into patients and say " Hi, I'm Kris and i am going to be your Nurse Tech today. Your Nurses name is _____. There are some things I am not allowed to do for patients, If you need something I can't help you with I will get your nurse." It usually is something to that effect. normally they understand. I have had very few problems. I also make sure their family understands that not all the staff are nurses so don't be offended if the help they offer is to get the nurse. My nurses always tell me what a good job I do of informing the patient of my role and who there nurse is and my desire to help. works for us
5. No to white unis. Yes to something that distinguishes nurses from all the other areas in the hospital that wear scrubs. At ours, RNs and LPNs wear navy &/or white, scrubs or uniforms. NAs wear cranberry, housekeeping green. Lab, RT, PT, Rad techs, unit secretaries wear any combination of scrubs. The idea was for nursing to stand out but I don't think the pt. gets it. They see anyone in their room or at their bedside as a nurse.
hypnotic_nurse
627 Posts
This only works for people who have some body to their hair. I can't even get barrettes or covered rubber bands to stay in my hair, much less a comb. Doesn't matter if I use gel or hairspray either...nothing stays in it. Whatever it is will stay in for an hour if I sit still, but if I'm moving around, ten minutes max.
I have absolutely NO problem with anyone who wants to wear a traditional cap. Please do. But not me. I'd have to file for disability after a day's worth of trauma of trying to keep it on. Oh, the nightmares! (can you tell I have years of issues here of WANTING to wear things in my hair only to never have it work out?) :)
They'd have to develop a ballcap style nursing hat if they ever wanted me to wear one. This WOULD work for the guys as well. Make it white, with a big red RN. Then no one would mistake any of us.