skirts to work

[eternalbride]

hello everyone,

do you guys see nurses who wear skirts to work treated differently.

also since I'm going to start nursing school in the fall, will there be any reason why there would be an issue if i wear a skirt instead of pants as a uniform?

[aura_of_laura]

Skirts limit your range of motion when providing patient care. If you can't quickly easily, and modestly get down on the floor to administer CPR, lift a patient, or in my work, restrain a patient, you're going to be in trouble...

Most nursing skirts are only knee length, which can give your patient an eyeful when you are bending and doing all the other things required in your job.

If it's for religious or personal reasons, you certainly can wear skirts, but you will most likely be viewed as an anachronism, since nurses have not routinely worn skirts since they've earned some respect as a profession. It's kind of like the nurses who insist on wearing nursing caps - it makes you stand out in the wrong way!

[wooh, BSN, RN]

We have a house supervisor that always wears skirts. She's just old school that way. :) I don't really think anything of it, but I think if one day she wore pants, I'd spend the day wondering what looked odd about her.

I do peds, and so we all wear cute prints. There was a nursing student one time that wore a long skirt, and I'm assuming was muslim, as she wore a scarf that she must have specially made because the scarf was made out of a cute duck print. I just thought it was the cutest thing, and thought it was so nice the way she combined her culture with the environment she was in.

[GM2RN]

I went to nursing school and then worked briefly with a nurse who wore long skirts. As far as I know, no one treated her differently and she had no problems on the floor where she worked. I think if you want to wear skirts, make sure they are long enough to be modest and roomy enough to do your work. You shouldn't have any problems. Who cares if you are viewed as an "anachronism?" Even IF that's the case, people who work with you on a regular basis will soon forget about it. Those who don't have a problem of their own.

[HealthShepherd]

Skirts limit your range of motion when providing patient care. If you can't quickly easily, and modestly get down on the floor to administer CPR, lift a patient, or in my work, restrain a patient, you're going to be in trouble...

Most nursing skirts are only knee length, which can give your patient an eyeful when you are bending and doing all the other things required in your job.

If it's for religious or personal reasons, you certainly can wear skirts, but you will most likely be viewed as an anachronism, since nurses have not routinely worn skirts since they've earned some respect as a profession. It's kind of like the nurses who insist on wearing nursing caps - it makes you stand out in the wrong way!

Yeah, I've always thought it ironic that skirts have a reputation as being more modest or religious than pants, when they're clearly more revealing. I guess it's because pants make it obvious that you have a crotch, whereas a skirt blurs over that fact. But really, pants cover your body, but with a skirt there's basically nothing between your panties and the rest of the world.

Aside from the possibilities Laura mentioned of accidentally flashing people when you're being active.... there are also more possibilities for a deliberate invasion of your privacy. If I worked with adult patients, I would hate to wear a skirt when in close contact with strangers. It's a lot easier to put a hand/camera up your skirt than down your pants.

If you have to wear a skirt because of your religion, I'd suggest wearing thin pants or leggings under it.

[mamamerlee, LPN]

In recent years, I have worked with 2 women who wore very long skirts due to their religious/cultural customs. No one really cared. I remember the mini-skirt days BEFORE pants, and yes, there were modesty issues!

And I have worked with a few nurses who wore head coverings of different kinds. No one cared about that either.

I care about your work ethic more than your clothing, your intellect more that your make-up.

I've worn crazy costumes on more than one occassion - as long as the work gets done and no one is offended, who cares?

[aura_of_laura]

I didn't mean to come across as so negative... I think that the appropriateness of wearing skirts on a hospital floor depends on why you are wearing them - if you're wearing a hijab, or a kapp (Mennonite), that's one thing, but I can't say that any of the skirt wearers I've known (granted, it's only three) have been observing religious preferences... most of them wanted to separate themselves from their nursing peers. There's a reason we got rid of the practice of wearing skirts to work - they increase the perception of nurse-as-a-sex-object and as subordinate to our male colleagues. Unless there is a genuine conviction that is also displayed in one's personal life (i.e. one doesn't ever wear pants), I don't feel that it's really appropriate.

"Old-school" nurses are one thing, but the OP is new-school..!

[SpringerCab]

I went to nursing school with a lady who was a Pentecostal and she wore a skirt or a dress. In fact we were the first vocational nursing class to be able to wear pants. We had a designated uniform we had to wear so we had to make sure that it was availabe in a dress as well. She was not treated any differently by us, the hospital staff, or even the patients she took care of. I also have worked with another LVN who wears skirts for the same reason, and she is not treated any differently than anyone else. If you the skirt or dress is done modestly then I don't see the problem.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

I became a nurse only four years ago and often wear skirts. I have had no problems finding below-the-knee, gathered skirts that allow me to move. And I am certainly not viewed as a sex object.

People treat me more respectfully in a skirt.

[iNurseUK, RN]

All our (female) nursing uniforms in the UK come in a choice of tunic and pants or a dress.

Lots of nurses have a few of both as dresses are cooler in summer. No-one takes any notice at all of what colleagues choose to wear. It's just a matter of personal preference.

[sassy_cassie]

I work with several CNA's that wear long dresses/skirts. One is older and says she just never switched to pants after they became the norm. She has never worn pants outside of work either. And several others wear them for religous reasons. It has not been an issue as far as I am aware. If they wear short skirts then I could see it being a problem.

[Crux1024]

I work where theres a large mennonite community and I know several nurses/CNAs that wear skirts. Theyre usually below the knee and Ive never seen anything that I wasn't supposed to.

Wear what youre comfortable in, IMO, regardless of your reasons. Who cares what others think?