Imagine a hospital in which all nurses and doctors exhibit professionalism, beauty, splendor, and awe among colleagues and patients. A place where the people taking care of you appear greater than human, larger than life, infallible figures, portraying an image that captures total trust and total confidence from those nearby. What a wonderful place that would be. But alas, we have work ahead of us.
This thread is designed to discuss the importance of impressions in nursing. While many nurses take pride in appearing beautiful or handsome, many walk in to work with a case of the feck-its when it comes to appearance. Unfortunately I feel that nurses are much worse than doctors in this arena. Where I work the majority of female doctors wear their hair down, liberally apply makeup, wear form fitting clothing, and hard soled shoes. They try to appear as beautiful as they can. Likewise, the male doctors come in with tailored clothing that had been ironed, they have well-oiled hair, nice watches, and other things reminiscent of the show "General Hospital."
Meanwhile, in the ICU I've worked in, we've got a female nurse with a buzz cut, one woman wearing a pirate-like black eye patch, nurses with baggy wrinkled scrubs, nurses wearing those ugly skechers shapeups, everyone wearing their hair up or back in a plain boring pony tail instead of letting it flow, men or even women with untrimmed or unneatly trimmed facial hair and people exhibiting other drab or and in my humble opinion, embarrassing features. I feel like no other college educated profession dresses down as much as nurses do and it bothers me.
What do you think of nurses and the images they portray in the professional setting? Use this thread to talk about what you like or dislike, what you think should change and what shouldn't.
I love how worked up everyone is getting about this thread. Sure the buzz cut and the eye patch may not be any of our business, but there is a way to appear professional and clean without looking like a glam queen.
The reason people are getting "worked up" is because the OP does want us to come to work looking like "glam queens" -- "beautiful," glamorous, inspiring "awe," with long, flowing hair and "form fitting" clothes.
The reason people are getting "worked up" is because the OP does want us to come to work looking like "glam queens" -- "beautiful," glamorous, inspiring "awe," with long, flowing hair and "form fitting" clothes.
That's WELL OILED flowing hair. And nose hair. (per Far). [emoji4]
I find the OPs suggestions just as insulting as everybody else, but where I work her attitude is mirrored by our management.
If the response here hadn't been so fast and negative, I wonder how many posters would have agreed with her.
For one thing, OP is male, and perhaps that makes the post sound like the female staff are expected to look "good" for the male staff?
The whole OP is ridiculous. Where I worked we had several female physicians (many Indian) who did always look clean, neat, and presentable but were very attractive to start with so it just came natural (whereas I often looked like the walking dead since my skin isn't very tan to start and I worked nights so was in the sun rarely and have kinda pale eyelashes).
Sometimes I put on minimal makeup other times went without. Nobody ever acted like I was less of a nurse if my face was bare. Those around me cared that I was able to do my job while keeping my sanity (and my sense of humor).
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Imagine a hospital in which all nurses and doctors exhibit professionalism, beauty, splendor, and awe among colleagues and patients. A place where the people taking care of you appear greater than human, larger than life, infallible figures, portraying an image that captures total trust and total confidence from those nearby. What a wonderful place that would be. But alas, we have work ahead of us.
This thread is designed to discuss the importance of impressions in nursing. While many nurses take pride in appearing beautiful or handsome, many walk in to work with a case of the feck-its when it comes to appearance. Unfortunately I feel that nurses are much worse than doctors in this arena. Where I work the majority of female doctors wear their hair down, liberally apply makeup, wear form fitting clothing, and hard soled shoes. They try to appear as beautiful as they can. Likewise, the male doctors come in with tailored clothing that had been ironed, they have well-oiled hair, nice watches, and other things reminiscent of the show "General Hospital."
Meanwhile, in the ICU I've worked in, we've got a female nurse with a buzz cut, one woman wearing a pirate-like black eye patch, nurses with baggy wrinkled scrubs, nurses wearing those ugly skechers shapeups, everyone wearing their hair up or back in a plain boring pony tail instead of letting it flow, men or even women with untrimmed or unneatly trimmed facial hair and people exhibiting other drab or and in my humble opinion, embarrassing features. I feel like no other college educated profession dresses down as much as nurses do and it bothers me.
What do you think of nurses and the images they portray in the professional setting? Use this thread to talk about what you like or dislike, what you think should change and what shouldn't.
You're kidding, right? I hope you're kidding -- the alternative is that you're as deep as a mud puddle.
Letting your hair flow is a good way to drag your luxurious locks through someone's code brown or oozing decubitus ulcer. Ugly Sketchers may not be up to "General Hospital" standards (although even Nurse Webber, the best nurse in Port Charles seems to be wearing sneakers these days, in between her long breaks to have a 3 martini lunch at the MetroCourt in a sequined cocktail dress with her ex-husband) but they're comfortable and sensible.
As professionals with a strenuous, dirty job, we are required to be neat and clean. Pulchritude is not a job qualification.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
I see a *small* amount of credibility here. I'm not endorsing that your "beautiful/handsome" stance is appropriate, but your overall message is something I support.
Wearing scrubs, while comfortable, is more out of practicality than anything. It would not be very practical to wear a skirt, heels, and stockings to perform patient care. There's a reason it went out of style. While scrubs are both comfortable an functional, professionals should take care to appear well-groomed, and please note this is different from "beautiful/handsome." Examples include hair combed, styled appropriately, body/clothing cleaned, scrubs well-fitting/free of stains, proper footwear, and all appropriate equipment.
In this day of hospital-mandated scrubs, well-fitting may be an impossibility. Our hospital requires not only a certain color of scrubs (which may or may not be a flattering color on everyone) but they also mandate a small selection of styles, the manufacturer AND the website where the scrubs are purchased. Anyone with a less than perfect body has an impossible time finding scrubs that fit well without post-purchase alterations. Since the scrubs are so poorly made that they last about six months at most, alterations seem like quite an expense.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
As a former military nurse and practicing RN I truly can not believe the ridiculousness of the post. Hair should be up, nails should be short and clean, scrubs should be laundered and fit but we are not there to compete with physicians who pop in on rounds, they aren't doing direct pt care so they are dressing in a different manner those those giving care. A patient cares more about receiving good care and having a compassionate nurse than one there all dolled up. If we were on duty with heavy makeup, hair "flowing" down and perfumed we would be sent home and written up for improper appearance. Clean, neat and competent. That's what we are responsible for.
Well, one of rules back in 1887, "Any nurse who smokes, use liquor in any form, gets hair done at a beauty shop, or frequents dance halls will give the director of nurses good reason to suspect t her worth, intentions, and integrity" :roflmao:We also had to mop, dust, bring the coal during cold days, feel the kerosene lamps, clean chimneys all while tending to our 50 patients 13 hours a day expect for day of Sabbath then it's 12 till 2. But if we worked with no faults for 5 years then we just might get a 5 cent raise! We really wouldn't have time to go clubbing and getting our hair done....unless we skipped church
Well, one of rules back in 1887, "Any nurse who smokes, use liquor in any form, gets hair done at a beauty shop, or frequents dance halls will give the director of nurses good reason to suspect t her worth, intentions, and integrity" :roflmao:We also had to mop, dust, bring the coal during cold days, feel the kerosene lamps, clean chimneys all while tending to our 50 patients 13 hours a day expect for day of Sabbath then it's 12 till 2. But if we worked with no faults for 5 years then we just might get a 5 cent raise! We really wouldn't have time to go clubbing and getting our hair done....unless we skipped church
At the time Nightengale first started her work, hospital caregivers were lower-class, often indigent and disreputable. They were considered one step away from prostitutes - and a small step at that.
These were the rules all young working women had to live by if they wanted to be considered "respectable".
Well, one of rules back in 1887, "Any nurse who smokes, use liquor in any form, gets hair done at a beauty shop, or frequents dance halls will give the director of nurses good reason to suspect t her worth, intentions, and integrity" :roflmao:We also had to mop, dust, bring the coal during cold days, feel the kerosene lamps, clean chimneys all while tending to our 50 patients 13 hours a day expect for day of Sabbath then it's 12 till 2. But if we worked with no faults for 5 years then we just might get a 5 cent raise! We really wouldn't have time to go clubbing and getting our hair done....unless we skipped church
elkpark
14,633 Posts
The reason people are getting "worked up" is because the OP does want us to come to work looking like "glam queens" -- "beautiful," glamorous, inspiring "awe," with long, flowing hair and "form fitting" clothes.