standardized uniforms

[traumamomtx30]

Ok, our hospital is wanting to go to identifying uniform colors. They claim that: the pt's are happier they know who the personnel i.e. nurses, techs, respiratory, lab, are and it gives off a much more professional appearance. This is my question: Has anyone found any research that it doesn't/ does to these things management is claiming. Our arguement is: we went to new ID badges with larger letters with our credentials, we introduce ourselves and write our names on a dry erase board in the rooms every shift, and I know for a fact my patients still don't know me after 3 nights of continuous care. They are even talking doing away with t-shirts with the hospital logos, no t-shirts, period. If anyone has any solid evidence either way I would appreciate it.

[beachbum3]

I recently saw on some medical reality show where the nurses wore t-shirts with "RN" on their back... in huge letters. I actually like that idea.

[mandasueRN]

my thought has always been that unless the standardized color is white, it won't work. People associate nurses with white in our culture. Its just how its been all these years. I am a huge fan of nurses wearing white.

I worked where colors were standardized and no one really knew who was who anyway. But put on a pair of whites and they know you are a nurse.

I have no studies to offer you, just my humble opinion!

In the hospital I work in all the nurses wear white--the pts. still ask "Are you the nurse?" or "Are you my doctor?" We've worn white for a few years at this facility. I personally hate it because I work in the ER and it tends to get messy sometimes. I am cool with a standardized color, but anything but white please!

[Sis123]

As soon as I am given a chance to select my uniform, it'll be a whites, with white hose, white shoes, etc. I'd consider wearing scrubs if they were hospital provided, in a nurse's locker room, and I could simply get a pair off the shelf that were laundered and pressed for me. Otherwise, I'll just wear my white uniform.

[Hannah06]

Our clinics decided a few years ago to standardize RN,LVN and CMA uniforms to Navy, Royal Blue and Teal. A legend was posted in the lobbies for patients to see. After 2 years no one was any closer to knowing an RN from a CMA. It didn't matter to the patients or the doctors. When we went back to colorful scrubs patients did notice, very favorably. The morale in the nurses was incredibly high. If an administrative nurse who wears suits was told she could only wear navy suits, how do you think that would go over? Not too well. Taking away a licensed person's creativity and individualism is the same as a prison. It is not a good thing to do.

[luvazsun, RN]

Patients associate white with nurses. If you go that route, I know a lot of nurses who would need professional help to select the correct undergarments and a proper fit!

[Jmiami]

I would think it's more the type of uniform if anything. Housekeeping or a maintenance man wearing scrubs? I don't think that's appropriate. CNAs wearing scrubs is pushing it. As a patient, I would associate anyone wearing scrubs to be a real nurse. Everyone under the sun wearing scrubs doesn't make sense to me. I go to the doctors office and the receptionist is wearing scrubs. Silly for someone who is pushing papers, changing beds or fixing the building if you ask me. T-shirts for nursing staff? I don't agree with that either.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

ok, our hospital is wanting to go to identifying uniform colors. they claim that: the pt's are happier they know who the personnel i.e. nurses, techs, respiratory, lab, are and it gives off a much more professional appearance. this is my question: has anyone found any research that it doesn't/ does to these things management is claiming. our arguement is: we went to new id badges with larger letters with our credentials, we introduce ourselves and write our names on a dry erase board in the rooms every shift, and i know for a fact my patients still don't know me after 3 nights of continuous care. they are even talking doing away with t-shirts with the hospital logos, no t-shirts, period. if anyone has any solid evidence either way i would appreciate it.

i feel your pain. patients won't know how to decode the uniform colors without a program, and that's assuming that they can read the program, they're not color blind, they're not too sick to care and that they were given a program in the first place. all this is one more way for management to put their foot on our necks.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

its funny because unless its posted some place ie "all the nurses wear navy" patients dont really know - we went to the standard color deal and it hasnt improved anything, and it blasted morale

my morale is blasted just anticipating the return to "nursey colors."

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

when i worked in the er i wore a clean, pressed good-quality white t-shirt (not an undershirt or one of the cheapo thin ones) with my clean, pressed ceil blue scrub pants and i can assure you of two things. first-i looked way more professional than some of my coworkers in stained, wrinkled scrubs and second the fact that i was wearing a t-shirt neither affected my ability to give quality care nor diminshed the amount of trust my patients had in my ability to give quality care. as to color coding, it isn't a big deal. it made my life easier because i knew what i had to wear. the patients don't get it. no matter how hard you try to educate them they just yell "nurse" at whoever walks by.

i agree about the t-shirts. i, too wore good quality t shirts with scrub pants -- until they changed our dress code last year. this year, we're going to standardized colors. i still have six sets of scrubs i had to buy 11 months ago . . . i hate the idea of standardized colors anyway. the patients don't get it, and it isn't going to look any more professional. wrinkled, stained scrubs in a standardized color look no nicer or no more professional than wrinkled, stained scrubs in the color of choice. it's just one more way for management to keep us under their thumb.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

i'm not a fan of color coding either. like almost everyone else, i found it claridied nothing for patients. my only question is this.....why navy ?? we were polled and then told most votes were for the navy but no one admitted to wanting that color. we all decided it was rigged. surprise, surprise.

i must work at your hospital . . . we were told we "voted" for navy -- but i can't find anyone who actually did vote for navy.

[tntrn, ASN, RN]

I started a new thread just yesterday regarding our admin's decision that white makes patient satisfaction scores go up. We will never agree to white, but imagine the looks I got when I asked why we are trying to trick patients into thinking they are getting good care by requiriing nurses to wear white. I no doubt have a big red flag by my name now! So many reasons why white is no good, not the least of which is that it puts the image of nurses back a century.

Very interesting to read input from nurses who already work in color coded facilities, and how people still don't know who is a nurse and who is the maintenance worker.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.