I think that we can all agree that we are getting a different generation of students. This brings many other struggles. The clothing stores are full of crop tops and shredded pants. The students are more willing to show more skin. That is the style.
Currently, our student nurses wear a white top and navy bottom scrub. The RNs on the floor wear Navy tops and bottoms. Although it is the expectation that the students wear an undershirt and that they DO NOT wear a black or lacey bra, they are. Then they are missing clinical because they are sent home. The problem is that this comes back on the instructors to make up the clinical hour time (we must be present on clinical) when we are already short on time.
I see trying to teach a student professionalism, discipline and respect. However, I am realistic in the fact that some of these students quite literally do not see anything wrong with wearing only a white top and allowing their bra to see through. This is how they have been dressing for the past 5ish years.
I am looking for suggestions on other scrub colors. To save us the argument. We have many low-income students, fresh from high school, single parents and second students. We are a diploma program. It would have to be a color that the students could find at a local Walmart.
These stub are already coming out of high school with a sense of entitlement the likes of which I’ve never seen before
On 12/28/2022 at 4:17 AM, FiremedicMike said:
They’re showing up to clinical dressed inappropriately and being sent home. I agree they shouldn’t need parents, but obviously they do.
I went into class one day and a student's breasts were literally on her desk in front of her. 30 years ago I would never had seen something like this. Now, it is a totally different game.
On 12/27/2022 at 7:56 PM, Tegridy said:
Students pay money for education not for another set of parents.
I would pay for their parents to dress them. Different levels of education (medical school) see different sociological stratum. I would give everything to help nursing students with their grammar "he don't want to do it.". I was told 20 years ago that you must respect their culture (meaning "do not correct them"). What happens when they want to move up?
What do you mean you can’t work on their grammar because of culture? So these students will come out of school sounding illiterate and not like a professional? What does culture have to do with being able to speak and write professionally? So it would be appropriate for a nurse to say, “I be in room 229?” If I were the patient, I would be very concerned about the care that the nurse would be providing. If the nurse can’t speak properly, how can she possibly be able to take care of me? I see nothing wrong with working on grammar.
The problem is easily solved by telling the students what is expected from the get go. Take it or leave it, their choice. I get that some students have financial issues. Mandate white scrub top, white T-shirt underneath, and white or nude bra. All available at Walmart.
When I went to school it was all white scrubs, white sweaters (optional if cold), hair had to be put up with only hair color (brown etc) barrettes if necessary, white shoes (cleaned). Anyone not abiding by the rules was sent home.
There is absolutely no reason the generation of which you speak cannot be held to standards of professionalism including dress and grammar.
Nor do I! But, by the time they get to a nursing program this should have already been fixed.
I agree, the lowering of expectations is not good for anyone.
Specializes in Former NP now Internal medicine PGY-3.
londonflo said:
I went into class one day and a student's breasts were literally on her desk in front of her. 30 years ago I would never had seen something like this. Now, it is a totally different game.
I would pay for their parents to dress them. Different levels of education (medical school) see different sociological stratum. I would give everything to help nursing students with their grammar "he don't want to do it.". I was told 20 years ago that you must respect their culture (meaning "do not correct them"). What happens when they want to move up?
Isn’t that what admission standards are for? Otherwise I would agree with the rest. Just out of interest what do you mean by breasts out?I’m assuming this person didn’t just untuck them and throw them out for everyone to evaluate.
Specializes in Former NP now Internal medicine PGY-3.
2 hours ago, Daisy4RN said:
The problem is easily solved by telling the students what is expected from the get go. Take it or leave it, their choice. I get that some students have financial issues. Mandate white scrub top, white T-shirt underneath, and white or nude bra. All available at Walmart.
When I went to school it was all white scrubs, white sweaters (optional if cold), hair had to be put up with only hair color (brown etc) barrettes if necessary, white shoes (cleaned). Anyone not abiding by the rules was sent home.
There is absolutely no reason the generation of which you speak cannot be held to standards of professionalism including dress and grammar.
I agree but white is just a terrible color. Light blue would be more reasonable. And shoe mandates? Let them wear what is comfortable as long it’s closed toe and not ridiculous. Back when I was in school we had the same hard rules and most of it was posturing by nursing instructors who honestly were not even close to remotely intelligent.
I went through a state school CD2 program, there were no admission standards beyond a degree from an accredited school and a review of my transcripts - no minimum GPA, no interview, it was just we have one chair open and welcome.
Funny thing, I had studied art while many of my classmates had serious science degrees, like Microbiology, and when they pulled my clinical group aside to teach us drip rate calculations I was the only one who got it; me the guy who took no math classes in college and was in the dummy math classes in HS and failed freshman algebra. Drips are basically just a sequence of ratios and the presumably smart ones couldn't do it.
Specializes in Med-Surg, Ortho, Trauma, Staying Calm.
Definitely demonstrate firmness with the attire for clinicals and don't be lax. Regardess of age and circumstances, how they present themselves is a representation of the school, the program, the teachers, and the relationship with the clinical site. Be open and transparent about this with them and have a safe place for students to be able to voice their needs to better understand how to address the issue as a class as well as individual case basis. They are entering a profession that has high standards, responsibility, and expectations for how they conduct themselves. If they don't learn it the easy way now, they are going to learn it the hard way in the future. The sooner they learn this, the better it will be for them as they progress and devolop their nursing practice. Nursing has a whole realm of possibilities for them to explore and learn. It's a career that can really change them as people and what they put into it they get out of it.
Do students have a simulation portion for their program or skills days on campus/at school? I would suggest on those days that they could be allowed to wear different colored scrubs while still demonstrating professional attire. I had a CNA class through my high school and it was much stricter than the dress code for clinicals for nursing school. Our scrubs had to be a specific color for our school in the district, specific brand that was what was ordered and available for us to buy, white T-shirt, white sneakers w/o holes or mesh, hair secured and behind our ears, no jewelry except flat engagement/wedding band, nails trimmed so when plam side up nails cannot be seen, only clear nail polish allowed, no perfume, make-up had to be natural if worn. Halfway through the school year, on lab days at the school we were allowed to wear different colored scubs or with prints as long as they were still appropriate. We weren't required to iron our scrubs before each clinical, but it was something I remember doing every morning.
londonflo
2,997 Posts
I went into class one day and a student's breasts were literally on her desk in front of her. 30 years ago I would never had seen something like this. Now, it is a totally different game.
I would pay for their parents to dress them. Different levels of education (medical school) see different sociological stratum. I would give everything to help nursing students with their grammar "he don't want to do it.". I was told 20 years ago that you must respect their culture (meaning "do not correct them"). What happens when they want to move up?