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?
Don't ever come north to Canada, the home of universal healthcare and the home of the two year LPN programme. Yup, that's correct, two whole years to become an LPN. Gasp, we even work in ICU and ER. We had a family try and pull your stunt of "RN care only" who were taken into an office and shown the staff records. The only "RN care" their member had recieved was one circulator in the OR and the RNs in recovery (where he stayed for two hours). Otherwise, it was LPNs who had looked after him. Shock, horror, he recovered and went home.
Now back on topic. I don't care what you wear as long as it's clean and site appropriate. And for the "professionals don't wear uniforms" what do you consider the police and armed forces? The same uniform regardless of rank or trade.
As I recall it takes two years of studies and about 64 credits (half a bachelor degree) to become an LPN.
Maybe I'm just showing my age but male nurses in all white uniforms remind me of the days when hospitals had orderlies roaming the halls wearing their ice cream suits. What exactly was an orderly anyway? At the time my impression was their main duty was to "control" unruly male patients.
And lets not forget the ambulance attendants on that very campy television show "Emergency!" who had no discernible purpose rather than standing around waiting for the paramedics to load the patient up for transport.
While ladies in white may bring up nostalgic thoughts of the "good ole days" when nurses looked like nurses, they only thing it reminds me of is the time when a male who worked in a hospital was considered to be nothing more than a bed pan jockey.
"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".
"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"
Sorry, but I think you are hallucinating. I never liked South Africa anyway and what you have just described sounds like a police state. Welcome to America where even patients and their families have some liberal tendencies. I'm an immigrant too and I'm loving America for its diversity.
If the giant red 'RN' tag hanging down from our nametags doesn't tip patients and visitors off to what my role is in the hospital, then I think they need more help than what a dress code inspired uniform can do.
The ER at one of our hospitals recently went to all black, mine hasn't gotten there yet and I will be hella ticked if it does
If the giant red 'RN' tag hanging down from our nametags doesn't tip patients and visitors off to what my role is in the hospital, then I think they need more help than what a dress code inspired uniform can do.
The ER at one of our hospitals recently went to all black, mine hasn't gotten there yet and I will be hella ticked if it does
Tag or no tag patients and families are always confused unless the nurse makes a personal connection and patients are oriented to how to seek help which is not too difficult. Families and friends, on the other hand should be required to check with the Nurses' desk before proceeding to visit the patients or Residents. Is the problem really with us or is it mainly with visitors? I doubt a tag will solve this unless, ofcourse, if it is made part of high school curriculums and even then we will continue to have a problem.
Tag or no tag patients and families are always confused unless the nurse makes a personal connection and patients are oriented to how to seek help which is not too difficult. Families and friends, on the other hand should be required to check with the Nurses' desk before proceeding to visit the patients or Residents. Is the problem really with us or is it mainly with visitors? I doubt a tag will solve this unless, ofcourse, if it is made part of high school curriculums and even then we will continue to have a problem.
A tag may not be the solution, but neither is some random coded uniform rule. I just don't see the logic in assigning mandatory uniform colors to staff...visitors and patients are not going to be able to recognize that unless they're handed a brochure upon admission.
A tag may not be the solution, but neither is some random coded uniform rule. I just don't see the logic in assigning mandatory uniform colors to staff...visitors and patients are not going to be able to recognize that unless they're handed a brochure upon admission.
My point exactly so why can't we be allowed to wear prints? And by the way I love the bears. You see, no matter what we do no one will be satisfied so why not make the lives of the people, who has such great responsibility of caring for people, happy? I'll never wear prints, hey I've got to protect my machismo image, but I would be happy to support those who want to do so. As with color codes we still need to hand out brochures for tags.
No matter what support staff (eg housekeeping) wears, SOMEONE will ALWAYS confuse them with nurses. Seriously, no matter what ANYONE wears, they will always be confused with nurses, because who works in hospitals? Nurses! How many lay people even know professions like respiratory therapy or nuclear med techs even exist?
When I was in the Army, I was walking through an airport in my Class A's (green dress uniform). I'm wearing medals and ribbons and patches along with a name tag with my last name, which couldn't possibly be confused with a woman's first name. Someone ran up to me and asked me where their flight was leaving from--apparently, they thought I was a flight attendent, because who else in an airport would be wearing a uniform except a pilot, and I couldn't be one of those because I am a woman.
I'm a student but I think wearing white uniforms just because that's what nurses used to wear is silly. Should I not worry about using gloves because people didn't use them in the 50s? Maybe only single women should be allowed to enter nursing school, since that's how it worked way back when? Obviously we wouldn't do either of the second things, since nursing has changed and evolved just as medicine or engineering or teaching has over the past several hundred years.
As I recall it takes two years of studies and about 64 credits (half a bachelor degree) to become an LPN.
What Canada seems to have done is make the BSN mandatory for one to enter the profession as a R.N., while two year degree nurses are LPNs. Nice and neat way to approch things, IMHO.
In the ANA's original white paper, two year nurses were to be called "technical" nurses, leaving the RN as above. The terms "practical" and "vocational" could be expanded along the same lines to include "technical", which kind of would solve the problem of all USA nursing school graduates sitting for the same boards and holding the same license regardless of education level.
Play with the thought for a moment; if one expands current one year or less LPN/LVN programs to two years, in essence making them the "new" associate program, it would free such schools from trying to cram so much of the BSN related content into their programs so students not only would pass the boards, but meet demands of employers (hospitals et al). It would probably allow two year programs to return their focus to "bedside" nursing, and maybe even increased clinical/hands on time a la the old diploma days many seem to pine for. OTHO, this would free the BSN to produce nurses designed to go as intended, lower level management and or duties less bedside centered.
There probably would be a huge out cry from both current LPN and ADN programs for different reasons, but eventually things would settle down.
At the facility I work at (LTC) everyone wears white (housekeeping, CNAs, LPNs, RNs). The only difference is a different colored band around the collar. I personally don't like all white just because I have problems keeping it clean. And the uniforms are really ugly! I would prefer to pick my own scrubs but the job market is tough right now.
Whatever anyone chooses to wear, I hope I never go to work at a place that wear all whites. Wearing all whites for clinical was just annoying and uncomfortable, one had to be uber-careful and that was distracting to me. I don't begrudge those that wear it but to say it makes nurses look more professional is just ridiculous. You look professional if you are well groomed and dress in appropriate sized, clean, wrinkle-free scrubs.
I wish the people who make these decisions would just give it a rest. I wish they paid as much attention to paying nurses decent wages and improving their work environments as much as they bother with what nurses wear to work.
gusblom
81 Posts
As I recall it takes two years of studies and about 64 credits (half a bachelor degree) to become an LPN.