Silly question--what to wear for class

pooptacular · Jul 29, 2009

dress comfortably.

i live in florida and work nights. getting up at 5:30 am for class was pure torture. i actually did wear my pajama pants one day.

i usually threw on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, comfy undies (you will be sitting for many hours) and NO br and a pair of 'flops. i need comfort, not fidgeting. makeup sometimes helped me from not falling asleep- i didn't wanna mess everything up, so i'd sit up straight and not rub my eyes. =D

everyone's different, though. when peds came around, class didn't start until 12:30pm (sweet!), but i had to head to work right after. so that semester, i always had my hair and makeup done and dressed decently.

wear whatever you feel comfortable in, but i didn't start slumming it until we were a couple of weeks in.

p.s. my uniform for clinicals was always perfect and always looked presentable!

Nervous1 · Jul 29, 2009

I do have one recommendation. Whatever you decide to wear - go ahead and put it in the bathroom or wherever you change before going to bed. My husband works 12 hours on second shift, so me fumbling around in the closet at 5am when he just went to bed at 3am will not go over so well. Plus.....it will help you feel "less rushed". Also....I have a launch pad (if anyone knows about Flylady). My "stuff" (keys, sunglasses, purse, etc) is in the same spot ready to be grabbed and thrown in the car. I gather my stuff before bed and put it on the launch pad.

Mookie427 · Jul 29, 2009

I went to nursing school in South Florida, having lived my entire life before in Northern Europe and NYC. I walked around the campus prior to my first day of class, and looked at the attire of the student body. The norm was shorts, polo or tee shirt, sneakers or sandals. Thats what I did, and glad i took the time to observe first. Casual dress is different by region.

You want to 'fit in' that first day, so others who give looks a first impression, wont misjudge you. I'm sure when you do your rotations at the hospital, you will be informed of proper attire. Hopefully, colleges for professionals have more to do than judge you for what you wear than how you maintain your level of maturity in the field.

Good luck in the chosen profession.

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Jul 30, 2009

short tshirt flip flops in the summer

jeans and a hoodie in the winter.

Comfort was where it was all about for me.

allnurses Guide · Jul 30, 2009

Just a thought: if you are going to want letters of reference from the instructor, do you want them remember you as someone who couldn't be bothered to dress for class? Sorry, but shorts and flip flops wouldn't make me take you all that seriously. Jeans are fine, when clean and whole.

On the other hand, our department director looked at me when I dashed into the office during a lecture break, and spotted my bare feet. I said "I'm always barefoot for lectures!". She just rolled her eyes. (I teach health assessment, and use my own legs, while wearing a skirt, to demo things like where to feel for pulses, cap refills, hair pattern etc.) My sandels slip on and off easily :chuckle

Music in My Heart · Jul 30, 2009

Sorry, but shorts and flip flops wouldn't make me take you all that seriously.

Nope, they wouldn't.

My performance on tests and at clinicals would, though.

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Jul 30, 2009

I would hope they can factor in other things when they evaluate me such as the fact that I am early for every single class, that I have not missed a class since the program began ( except one day for court ), or how I do well on all my tests, or that I am constantly praised by the nurses on the floor for how well I know my skills and how well I treat my pts. Don't be so quick to judge that just because I come to class in nice and clean clothes that I can't be taken seriously.

pooptacular · Jul 30, 2009

my instructors had no problem writing out three letters of recommendation for me.

this is nursing school, not fashion merchandising.

NewAggieGrad09 · Jul 31, 2009

They pretty much didn't care what we wore at my school, BUT my sorority's advisor was also a nursing instructor, so needless to say she had something to say about anything! I am top-heavy, so I have to be cautious about wearing tops that are too low-cut and that have words on them. I love Sex in the City, so when the movie came out, I got a shirt that says I Heart Sex in the City....however the "in the city" part is in smaller text AND is hidden because of my chest. Showing up to class with a shirt that reads I Heart Sex to everyone who couldn't see the whole phrase didn't go over too well. I am african-american, who also has natural hair that hates humidity, so if I wanted to keep it wrapped until I made the walk from the car to the building, I had to rush and take my hair down because that was also frowned upon. Also...NO PAJAMAS!! Even if you have a class at 8am, they expected us to be dressed in street clothes at least!

shrimpchips, LPN · Jul 31, 2009

Regular street clothes...not something that you would wear to a club (no low-cut shirts, mid-driff shirts, really short skirts, etc)

Nervous1 · Aug 1, 2009

I start classes this next week but I have spent several hours in the classroom we are going to use already. It was 100 degrees outside, 80 in the hallways and about 50 in the classroom (feels like 50). We have to sit in the same room all day for all classes so I will probably be bundled up and may have my uggs on whether its 100 outside or not. That room is freezing and they told us that it stays that way year round. I would carry a sweater with me just in case its cold in there.

phelipa · Aug 2, 2009

For clinical we wear scrubs/nametags, for picking up clinical assignments or lab classes we have to wear professional dress (ie. black shoes, dress pants, blouses), but for our other classes where we don't have lab/clinical we can wear whatever we want. Half the people come in sweats or pyjamas - the farther we get along the more clinicals/labs we have so it's kind of nice to have the couple classes to look like crap