skirts to work

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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?

It's not an assumption. If you actually read the posts, several people stated that they know someone who wears skirts, including myself. I don't know these other people personally (a correct ASSUMPTION on your part, but an assumption all the same since you don't know who I know), but I have no reason to disbelieve that they actually know someone who wears skirts to work if they SAID they did. As for the other stuff, I believe that those things have happened, I just don't believe that it is nearly as prevalent your post made it sound.

Whoops, that's not what I meant. I agree with you that it's reasonable to assume that people who post about someone they know are telling the truth. But I don't think it's reasonable for you to assume that I don't know any nurses who wear skirts, just because I didn't say that I know any. In fact, I've had experiences myself with being groped on public transit while wearing skirts. Anyway, sorry for the confusion.

As for prevalence - I doubt that it's very common for nurses to get a hand/camera up their skirts because it's not very common for modern nurses to wear skirts in the first place. But I don't think it's that uncommon for patients to be sexually inappropriate towards nurses, whether deliberately or as a result of dementia - I've certainly seen many stories along those lines at allnurses. If an oriented patient is a creep, he may see your skirt as a rare opportunity. If a disoriented patient pulls on your clothes during a transfer, there's less potential for embarrassment if you're wearing clothes that cover your body reliably. We nurses always talking about "covering your a--" just in case of a negative outcome - so why not do it literally, not just metaphorically?:)

Anyway, wearing a skirt with stretchy pants underneath sounds like a good compromise between religion and practicality.

PS to Eternalbride: "OP" means opening poster, in this case you.

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Specializes in OR Hearts 10.

Lots of Pentecostals around here, no one thinks twice about a nurse, pct or housekeeping in a skirt.

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Whoops, that's not what I meant. I agree with you that it's reasonable to assume that people who post about someone they know are telling the truth. But I don't think it's reasonable for you to assume that I don't know any nurses who wear skirts, just because I didn't say that I know any. In fact, I've had experiences myself with being groped on public transit while wearing skirts. Anyway, sorry for the confusion.

As for prevalence - I doubt that it's very common for nurses to get a hand/camera up their skirts because it's not very common for modern nurses to wear skirts in the first place. But I don't think it's that uncommon for patients to be sexually inappropriate towards nurses, whether deliberately or as a result of dementia - I've certainly seen many stories along those lines at allnurses. If an oriented patient is a creep, he may see your skirt as a rare opportunity. If a disoriented patient pulls on your clothes during a transfer, there's less potential for embarrassment if you're wearing clothes that cover your body reliably. We nurses always talking about "covering your a--" just in case of a negative outcome - so why not do it literally, not just metaphorically?:)

Anyway, wearing a skirt with stretchy pants underneath sounds like a good compromise between religion and practicality.

PS to Eternalbride: "OP" means opening poster, in this case you.

Ok, but my post wasn't talking about who YOU know or don't know that wears skirts, only those who posted specifically saying that they know someone. I deliberately didn't specify you because you're right, I don't know if you personally know anyone who wears them because you didn't state whether you do or not.

I agree that it's not uncommon for patients to be sexually inappropriate toward nurses--I've been on the receiving end on occassion myself and I've never worn a skirt to work. I just don't think that creeps need the excuse of a skirt to take advantage of a situation, so I don't think it's a big deal as far as possible groppers go. And while I don't think it's a bad idea to wear some kind of shorts or thin pants underneath, I don't think it will do much to hinder a gropper if he's a mind to do it.

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Skirts are lovely. Don't base your decision based on what others think is proper, especially when it comes to matters like this.

And what you think people may notice, people end up not paying attention to. It is you the individual, you the nurse that people relate to.From your post, you've been comfortable wearing skirts all your life, this should be no different.

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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?

Once you're working with your own licence I can't imagine there would be a problem. But I know that skirts weren't an option for our clinical uniform (specific color scrubs with school patch on left shoulder).

This will vary from school to school though. I would contact the school and see what they say.

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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!

I beg your pardon??? I've never encountered a situation where a nurse in a cap stood out "in the wrong way" (I wear my cap on the rare occasions when I'm in whites (I work in psych, so I've worn street clothes most of my career), and get nothing but positive comments -- and I've seen the same when I've encountered other nurses wearing their caps.) Also, I go back to the days when nurses wore nothing but skirts (before pants, I mean, not that we went topless :)), and I can tell you for a fact that we don't get any more "respect" from clients or colleagues now than we did when everyone wore skirts.

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Specializes in mental health, military nursing.
I beg your pardon??? I've never encountered a situation where a nurse in a cap stood out "in the wrong way" (I wear my cap on the rare occasions when I'm in whites (I work in psych, so I've worn street clothes most of my career), and get nothing but positive comments -- and I've seen the same when I've encountered other nurses wearing their caps.) Also, I go back to the days when nurses wore nothing but skirts (before pants, I mean, not that we went topless :)), and I can tell you for a fact that we don't get any more "respect" from clients or colleagues now than we did when everyone wore skirts.

That's a dead horse that's taken enough of a beating on this forum ;) This is merely my opinion, and my experience with one nurse who insisted on wearing her cap.

I'm in favor of unisex uniforms - my husband threatened to wear the cap and dress whites to graduation a few years ago when the instructor told us females we needed to wear a cap. To our instructor's relief, we skipped it altogether.

I love skirts and hats in my personal life, but scrub skirts? Ew. Anything with an elastic waist is... *shudder* And scrubs hardly show off one's assets. If you've "got it," it doesn't matter whether you're wearing a skirt or scrub bottoms, guys'll notice ;)

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Specializes in Surgical, quality,management.

I agree with inurseuk here in Australia as well many nurses both young and old wear skirts . No one looks at them any differently than those who wear pants because there are bigger things to worry about like what was on TV last night

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If you've "got it," it doesn't matter whether you're wearing a skirt or scrub bottoms, guys'll notice ;)

That's exactly my point. A skirt will make no more or less difference to someone who is a lech or gropper anyway.

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Specializes in Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC.

I wouldn't wear one, but then I've never been into crossdressing. :)

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the only reason i can think of for forcing the wearing of skirts is for sexual access.......that includes religion.

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Hey, I have been a nurse for 23 years and I only wear skirts, and I wear them with my white support stockings (hence the name). I order my skirts from a site online, they are neither too long or too short. I can purchase them in any color and I have several styles that I can choose from. I have worked in a variety of settings over the years and have not encountered any problems by wearing skirts. It's no big deal, and it's my personal choice, and I am not bothered by the vast majority of nurses that only wear pants.

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