there's been a debate on another thread about the way scrubs, particularly patterned scrubs, are perceived by non-nurses. the original poster's position was that they diminish the respect (or potential for respect) other health care professionals have for nursing. many members argued that patients, particularly paediatric and geriatric patients, prefer them.
research indicates that the public find it harder to identify nurses now that the 'traditional' uniform of whites (plus or minus cap) is the exception. skoruspki and rhea (2006) compared perceptions of four kinds of uniforms and ten characteristics, finding that
the white uniform was the most frequently selected for 5 of the 10 characteristics: confident, reliable, competent, professional, and efficient. the print uniform was most frequently associated with the other 5 characteristics: caring, attentive, cooperative, empathetic, and approachable. in contrast, the solid uniform was least of ten selected for 6 of the 10 characteristics with the print uniform being least often selected for the remaining 4 characteristics.
for overall images, the white uniform was paradoxically the uniform most often selected as the nurse that patients would "not like to take care of you" but also most often selected as being "easiest to identify as a nurse." the print uniform was the most often selected as the nurse "you would most like to take care of you." the solid was the least often selected both as being the nurse "you would most like to take care of you" and as the "easiest to identify."
in other words, the white ensemble allows easy role identification and conveys the professional aspects of nursing care, while a patterned uniform makes identification harder but conveys the human aspects of nursing care and is preferred by patients.
as a student i wore a very traditional uniform, complete with voluminous starched white apron and belt, laundered by the hospital. as a newly registered nurse i wore a pale blue dress (known as the blue sack), until a new don noted that the only other staff who wore uniforms were support staff, while the other professionals wore street clothes (scrubs are reserved for or, ed and icu). i wore, and still wear, black laced shoes, navy or black pants, a white polo shirt or t-shirt and a vest (red, navy or black). i introduce myself to my patients and their visitors as "hi, i'm talaxandra and i'm the nurse caring for you today." i've never yet had a patient or family member voice confusion about my role or status.
i think reducing role fragmentation (so patients have interactions with fewer people), uniforms for support staff, and a policy that all staff introduce themselves would improve identification by families and patients without requiring the regressive step of starched white attire. what do you think?
LPN's aren't considered (real) nurses in my neck of the woods and in fact they mainly work in LTC facilities. Hospitals have pretty much stopped hiring them unless they are in the RN program.....and a lot of facilities are offering tuition for their LPN's to get their RN degree because in the not too distant future they won't be hiring them either. And I'm gonna be honest with you...if me or my family member is critically ill, I'd like a RN rather than a LPN please. LPN's are very helpful but 1 year of schooling is no comparison to the 2-4 years of schooling for a RN. This is a no brainer. And before you take offense I like LPN's & hope there is always a place for them.
PUH-lease! I am graduating this year and cannot wait to get out of my sanitation looking white on white super starched scrubs. The only adornment I'm allowed to partake of as part of this ensamble is my terrific ceil blue stethascope. I don't understand why it could be that confusing to patients and/or their respective families when the staff nurse introduces him or herself first and their name badge hosts the letters R.N. behind their first name in size 32 font (so it seems). I think a little autonomy for nurses to wear the color of scrubs should be granted, so long as they are following hospital protocols, look neat, and professional. Scrubs are scrubs. The color should not be dictated in my humble opinon.
Where I work, they started with the intention of differentiating staff members... but it has gotten way out of hand. Here are the ones I can remember
RNs- royal blue
LPNs- teal
CNA/HCT- sky blue
RT- black
Pharmacy tech- purple
Housekeeping- brown
Central Supply- gray
I know there are more colors for the EMT techs, the radiology techs, US techs, etc.
What started as a good idea has gotten way out of hand. I agree that if you don't provide direct patient care, then business casual or even a uniform polo should be used.
Coming from a workplace where scrubs aren't seen on anyone outside OR/ED/ICU, and where uniforms are optional for nurses and mandatory for support staff, what jumps out at me from this list is that there's no colour for doctors. Or for allied health professionals (we don't have respiratory therapists in Australia, though I understand they form part of the AH team in the US).
Even understanding that this list is incomplete, these omissions say to me that colour-coding, at least in this institution, is used for support staff, while the health care professionals wear clothing of their choice. And nurses? Fall into the support staff category.
I prefer white and starting in a month at my hospital all professional staff must wear either wear all white or white tops/nave blue pants. I cannot begin to tell you how often I have walked into a room and had both patient and family say "finally, the nurse". Now I know the previous nurse was in that room, but they could not be identified easily. I have had family and visitors come up to me and the other 2 nurses who wear white ( one wears her cap) and tell us much they appreciate us wearing white and how professional it looks. And some of these people are in their 30's and 40's. As far as stains go, I've worn white for most of the last 30 years and only got stains on a uniform once-and I work med-surg.
As an LPN I wore colored scrubs with matching jackets. I always felt like I could look neater. Now, as an RN Infection Control Nurse, I wear street clothes and when I go onto the units, I put on a white lab coat. We have a very liberal dress code, most of the management nurses used to dress in street clothes with a white lab jacket. Now we have new staff r/t a high turnover and most wear scrubs. DNS, Staff Dev. does not. I actually prefer my street clothes. I keep a set of scrubs in my office just in case I get dirty or need to work an extra hift on the units. My name tag is always visible and many of the family member will read it and ask apropriate questions.
I feel strongly that in the hospital setting, that anyone involved in direct patient care should wear scrubs. When a nurse is wearing normal street clothes, I cannot tell the nurse from a visitor - and this does not inspire confidence! The color-coding thing that some hospitals have is great. Where I used to work, all PCAs and techs wore the cornflower-blue scrubs and nurses were not allowed to wear that color. This made it easy to tell the techs from the nurses.
The newer scrubs for women are tailored, professional and attractive. Unless you work on a pediatrics floor, I think it's unprofessional to wear scrubs with teddy bears on them.
Just as I expect an MD to be wearing his lab coat while making rounds, I expect a nurse to be professionally dressed in some type of "scrubs-like" attire. It's part of maintaining a professional attitude, demeanor and dress as a nurse. No, we don't have to go back to wearing starched white pinafores - but I dislike the dressing-down trend that has pervaded many workplaces.
White is impractical for nurses because it shows stains and bodily fluid splashes very quickly. However, it looks crisp and professional - and it commands authority. I'll admit that I tend to take a nurse more seriously who marches in wearing an all-white tailored scrub set than one who shows up in khakis and a polo shirt.
At my dentist's office, everyone wears the same color scrubs, including the dentist. I looks very professional. They wear a different scrub color for each day of the week. I love it and so do the patients who go there.
Specializes in ICU, Trauma, CCT,Emergency, Flight, OR Nursing.
I trained as an RN and worked as an RN in ICU and ER/Trauma for many years in South Africa before immigrating to the USA.
In South Africa there was and still is NO confusion as to who is the RN (or "Sister" as female RN's are still often referred to). All nurses wear Uniforms that are specific to that hospital group/company or government region requirement and then the RN's wear maroon epaulettes on their shoulders, Enrolled Nurses (LVN equivalent) wear White eppaulettes on their shoulders and enrolled nursing auxilliary wears a South African Nursing Council brooch on their uniform.
Scrubs are only worn in the OR's/ Theatres and sometimes in the SICU and trauma and are owned and laundered by the hospital. When you work in OR/ Theatre, you come to work in the regular nurses uniform and then change into scrubs that are worn ONLY in the OR sterile zone.
Uniforms are designed to look professional and are comfortable to wear.
I was dismayed when I first came to the US and saw patient's asking health advice from the EHS cleaners in the ER (who sometimes liberally gave medical advice as they saw fit indeed). Pts still really have no idea who is the RN and the MD or the tech or the cleaner/ house keeping. Another thing, is the design of the scrubs that are worn. Can you really expect your patients (adults and older people) to take you seriously when you are wearing a "Bart Simpson" or Micky Mouse print top or trousers?? I think not.
I really dont believe clerks, monitor techs, and non-clinical personnel should wear scrubs at all.
As a profession, scrubs have totally diluted our identity and distinguishability from other categories. I trust that one day in this country we will move back to some type of uniform identity.
I make it very clear to my patients how to identify the RN's while they are in my department.
I also wear my Badge from my training university which clearly indicates that I am a Registered nurse.
I always say to new nurses and students; for just a few moments consider how your appearance will influence how your patient regards you as a professional. Image is not EVERYTHING, but it does constitute alot in terms of how comfortable a patient feels with you as their Health Care Professional.
I like scrubs, but I don't like the all white. Doesn't look more professional to me at all. Looks very dated in a bad way. I do think scrubs should be limited to those in direct patent contact, though.
I prefer white and starting in a month at my hospital all professional staff must wear either wear all white or white tops/nave blue pants. I cannot begin to tell you how often I have walked into a room and had both patient and family say "finally, the nurse". Now I know the previous nurse was in that room, but they could not be identified easily. I have had family and visitors come up to me and the other 2 nurses who wear white ( one wears her cap) and tell us much they appreciate us wearing white and how professional it looks. And some of these people are in their 30's and 40's. As far as stains go, I've worn white for most of the last 30 years and only got stains on a uniform once-and I work med-surg.
Down with the patients and their families or is it just you, mostly. It is not enough that we provide them with great care but they also want to tell us what to wear. We may serve them but they do not control us. I'm surprised that we are not given curfews and the lifestyles that we should live. We have some Florence Nightingales in our midst and I respect what they want to wear but the ladies that I work with and have worked with love the printed scrubs and they look beautiful in them. The patients and families not knowing who the nurse is is a poor excuse.
I am probably in the minority here, but i favor a white uniform in the hospital setting and in long term care. As a patient, i want to know who is the nurse and who is in environmental services!
I also thought this was a good idea. But recently I've been looking into LTC more and the changes that, slowly, so very slowly are happening in some of them. There is a new nursing home being built that is going to be more "home" like around where I live. No more med carts, med's are in a cabnit locked in the patients room. No nurses station, and the kitchen is open for resident use (with supervision). It sounds really great, and I hope that it works as well as it sounds. Also, staff like nurses/aides would wear nice clothes and housekeeping etc a uniform and administrators etc business attire. It's all to make the residents feel like they are at home, and not in a hospital.
Down with the patients and their families or is it just you, mostly. It is not enough that we provide them with great care but they also want to tell us what to wear. We may serve them but they do not control us. I'm surprised that we are not given curfews and the lifestyles that we should live. We have some Florence Nightingales in our midst and I respect what they want to wear but the ladies that I work with and have worked with love the printed scrubs and they look beautiful in them. The patients and families not knowing who the nurse is is a poor excuse.
Thank you!!! I agree with all of this. Sure I want to help people, but why should I have to change what I wear? Makes no sense!
Working in pediatric primary care and with nursing students in adult med-surg clinicals, I usually wear comfortable, business casual with a white lab coat. I identify myself so it is known I am the RN or faculty member and RN. I don't have much problem with wearing white as far a spills, etc. I have several coats and change them often. I personally don't feel as professionally presented when wearing scrubs because of the poor fit. Some of the newer styles have a better fit, a better fabric, and a more professional look and I might wear them occasionally.
gusblom
81 Posts
You strayed off the topic to be nasty! Shame!