Uniform Question For Seasoned Nurses...

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jul 18, 2009

we didn't "ease into scrubs"; we fought long and hard for the priveledge of wearing scrubs to work rather than hot, scratchy white polyester and those silly caps. i fought the caps tooth and nail from the get go and i certainly don't miss the polyester or the white. as far as i'm concerned, the hallmark of professionalism is not the white get-up but the ability to choose for yourself what to wear to work.

Dalzac, LPN, LVN, RN · Jul 18, 2009

I worked in Critical Care all my career 35 yrs worth. With all of the wires and monitors and ventilators and body fluids white uniforms were just not practical. I did get pretty good at getting stains out. But I could never wear a cap. It would get caught in all the wiring in the first 5 minutes of an assessmnet. Scrubs were so much cheaper than a white polyester nursing uniform and 10 times easier to clean. So no I don't miss uniforms and caps.

Bill E. Rubin · Jul 18, 2009

And I, speaking for the male nurses among us am especially glad I don't havr to wear a white uniform and cap... I would look like a short order cook.

Hairstylingnurse · Jul 18, 2009

I wore white pull up polyester pants and various types of tunics. Usually had nice big deep pockets. Never had to iron them either. Did get kind of hot.
As things loosened up, I changed to wearing white jeans and white button down collared shirts. I live in jeans, so getting to wear them work was nice.
Now I make my own scrub tops out of material I like (no cartoons!) with an extra panel to cover that deep cut that puts the vee in revealing. Have to iron them if I don't get to the drier at the end of the cycle fast enough.
Now in my ER, people don't even wear scrub tops, there are jerseys and polos and sometimes too short of tees, (but not logos or funky sayings on them). Sometimes its hard to tell who is staff and who are visitors.

Wow Jbudd, I really hate to hear that your er lets the nurses wear polos, jerseys, too short tees & the other un-proffesional uniforms. We should have some pride in how we look since we work in (what I percieve to be) a highly respected profession and then our own :nurse: (nurses) bring it down by wearing weekend clothes.:heartbeat I like it when other dept.s like resp. wear polo and khaki's. I absolutely HATE when housekeeping or kitchen workers are wearing the same scrubs as I am:madface:. I think scrubs or uniforms should be comfy yet professinal. I don't think it would hurt if each floor or unit had matching scrubs. But I do :heartbeatLOVE:heartbeat how comfy scrubs are.......... :yeah:

Medic/Nurse, BSN, RN · Jul 18, 2009

I do think that nurses in white uniforms do look lovely and make it easy to tell the nurses from everyone else. I wore white only on an assignment and found that I sort of liked it - strange but true.

But I am not seasoned - just slightly sauteed till crispy. :)

elkpark · Jul 18, 2009

I started out in white uniforms ("real" uniforms, not scrubs -- no one outside of the OR wore scrubs then and they were the hospital-issued green jobs), white hose, and cap. I never had any problem with any of it, including the cap. I have gone into a specialty where I work in street clothes, so it's rarely been an issue for many years, but I still wear "whites" (inc. the cap and my pin(s)) on the few occasions when I am in a "uniform" situation. That's my personal preference.

emmalou* · Jul 18, 2009

http://dyk2.homestead.com/Index50.html

I had a good laugh looking at some of these! Some of them are the usual 'carry on movie' pics, and some are genuine pics of nurses.

I find this thread really interesting, particularly the different cultures in relation to nursing uniforms. I envy you American nurses wearing scrubs and t-shirts and trainers!

I left uni in the mid 90s, and for the next few years after that we wore white dress uniforms (similar to the blue English ones in the above link). They were buttoned up the front and had a collar and 2 big pockets below the waist. Oh god how I hated those uniforms. As people have said, not too confident wearing them when you have your period, and they used to get so dirty. They were also see-through, so flesh coloured knickers and bra were a must. Some hospitals back then (in the 90s for god's sake) even preferred we wear tights (or pantihose as you guys called them) and trainers were a no no, we had to wear leather brown lace up shoes. No caps but don't quote me, if anyone from Australia is reading this, I'm fairly sure I remember caps from when I was a kid in the 80s, being worn by some nurses here in private hospitals.

From about the late 90s to now, nurses in Australia started to wear what we call the 'corporate uniform'. Generally navy blue bottoms (long pants or knee length skirt) with a top in whatever colours the uniform is - some of them are ghastly, polyester, flowers, circles, in horrible colours. Some public hospitals where I live have white tops and navy blue bottoms so not too bad. Some nurses now even wear high heels with a knee length skirt on the wards! What the? They look nice, but I can't get over how things have changed. I've seen quite a few nurses wearing crocs as well, mostly in aged care or mental health - they are not part of the uniform though and you will be told off if your manager sees you.

So Australia is very different to the US I guess, not in a good way though IMO. Corporate Health are trying too hard to make nurses look like office workers or something, and we're definitely not that.

:nurse:

berrylion · Jul 18, 2009

I trained in the 80's in Australia. We had to wear awful purple and white pin stripe dresses with navy tights and navy shoes. We also had to wear a cap, that would have one star, two stars or three stars on it depending what year you were in. I was always hitting patients in the eye with my cap. Thankfully we got rid of the caps in my second year.

thursmo · Jul 18, 2009

I wonder what the dudes would have worn

So this past week was my first week of being laid off. I spent some time messing around in the internet and did a little research on the history of nursing uniforms. I think that the nursing uniforms/caps of the 50s,60s and 70s were so beautiful. To me, they clearly said "nurse" unlike the nondescript scrubs of today.
I wanted to ask those of you who might have worn the uniforms of yesterday...do you miss wearing them? Were they at all functional? When did you ease into the scrubs and other uniforms? Were you sad?

bluemorningglory · Jul 18, 2009

Thanks to all who responded...I never thought that my topic would get so much attention.

I agree that the white dresses and caps of yesterday did look professional and regal. I dislike the scrubs of today, even if they are functional. They seem commonplace (especially the cartoon ones...unless, of course, one is working exclusively with kids)In my day to day , I actually feel that I move better in skirts. So I am a fan of the dresses.

Again, thanks to all...

JDCitizen · Jul 18, 2009

Just to clarify, I am a student, NOT a 'seasoned nurse'. But I have to agree that the uniforms of yesteryear were very regal and professional looking. I like the caps as well. With those, you either love them or hate them.
Dresses, while rare, are not dead. In fact, some nurses still wear dresses and 'old school' style uniforms as long as their workplace doesn't have uniform restrictions or requirements. In fact, I knew of a care aide who only wore the dresses. I also heard of a nursing student who wore a vintage nursing gown for all of her clinicals (no, I don't know how she was able to not wear the school scrubs). She said that her older patients really liked it. You can still buy dresses and older styles of uniforms, but they do tend to look dated. However, if there are no restrictions on what you can wear, it's up to you.
All of that said, there are many good reasons for scrubs. Some people care, some people don't. There are valid reasons for each side, and it's not all about the appearance. The fact is, nursing is not what it was. Old nursing has gone out with the cap and gown. Before nurses would have 1 or two patients, and have time to give backrubs. A dress would be fine. Nowadays nurses are used to a higher scope to care for sicker patients. While the nurses in the 50s likely stood back and watched the MDs perform lifesaving measures, it's nurses now who would be jumping in. A white gown is simply not practical for many/most acute situations, where you will be bending, jumping, etc. That said, if you work in LTC for example, there is no reason why you can't still wear a more traditional uniform.
Search online or have some custom made. I know Avida Healthware (in Canada) still offers some of the 'old school' uniforms.

I knew of a few "old time" nurses and they told me stories:

School

1) They wore starched white and had uniform checks.

2) Had to ask for permission to leave campus.

3) Had to ask for permission to date.

4) Could be kicked out of the program for violating rules (ie moral turpitude).

5) No smoking

6) No alcohol

Working:

1) They wore starched whites and had uniform checks.

2) Had to arrive early enough to bring in the coal/wood.

3) The nurses washed the windows, mopped the floors and did the laundry as well as patient care...

4) The nurses station was only the nurses station until a doctor entered and then they had to stand and leave the station...

5) When the doctor was ready to make rounds the nurse was also ready to make rounds.

6) 2-3 nurses handled a ward of patients.. Sometimes the wards were totally open, some had rooms that held 8+ patients, Very few semi-private and there were no private rooms. Privacy was a curtain.

5) Could be fired for violating rules (ie moral turpitude).

6) No smoking

7) No alcohol

When I first delved into health care the hospital I was based out of had one room that held 8 patients all the others were semi-private. The nurses for the most part wore white and still used the caps. The orderlies wore white from head to toe...

One charge nurse (RN), one medication nurse (RN or LPN), one IV nurse(RN or LPN), one nurse to 1-2 hallways (LPN or Aid)

They switched to primary nursing one (RN) and one (LPN or Aid) to 6-8 plus patients... It was usually on the plus side..

They switched to team nursing two (RNs) and one (LPN or Aid) to 12-18 plus patients... It was usually on the plus side..

Over the years when I was in the EMS to my early nursing days it was one of the above scenarios depending on staffing.

The nurses went from the whites to the scrubs... About 99% told me they had no love lost for the whites but they all agreed it made them more readily identifiable.

Even in the early 80's: Glass IV bottles, glass syringes, metal needles, autoclaves, multi-dose bottles, mix your own TPN etc.. etc...

One thing comes to mind that a nurse who had worked for about 30 years told me. In the early days without all the new medicines, the new machines and all a lot a people died in the hospitals. Now days with all the new medicines,the new machines a lot of people still die, some survive and others are kept alive in body but not in mind... In 30- 40 years from now what will they be saying about us?

When I myself first hit health care the nurses I worked with had a minimum of ten years experience, most had fifteen to twenty (these were floor nurses I am talking about). Now what I am seeing for the most part the nurses on the floor have less than five years experience a few have ten and on one hand I can count those that have fifteen of more.... and to get back on topic they all wear scrubs but I now see that the colors are being dictated more and more.

I know of two hospitals that tried to dictate all white and I know they failed I also now more than several of the nurses voted with their feet by leaving

- one hospital dropped the idea completely

- one hospital changed the policy to include whites but also a set color of scrubs could be worn per floor/department.

How many nurses here remember ash trays in the nursing stations and doctors smoking while making rounds???

NurseNora, BSN, RN · Jul 18, 2009

I only had to wear a white dress and cap for a short time after graduation while I did a 6 week Med/Surg orientation before I went to L&D where I moved to scrubs and a paper hat.

I do not miss wearing a dress. When I started nurses had to wear dresses, even when I went to L&D, I had to wear a scrub dress. Only doctors and men were allowed to wear pants. A dress is just not as convenient or comfortable for some of the odd movements we must make. I didn't have trouble with the white, but then I didn't have to wash my own uniforms for very long. The first scrub dresses I had were white, but they were done by the hospital laundry. The hardest adjustment I had to make when we were allowed to wear our own scrubs and wash them ourselves was to stop writing notes on them.

When I was a young nurse, the night supervisor used to wear startched white cotton uniform dresses. You could hear her crackling as she walked down the hall. I don't know how she managed it, but she never got wrinkled, even by the end of the shift. I couldn't have managed it.

I don't usually miss wearing a cap either. Mine was always in the way. It got caught on the curtains when I pulled them around the bed and was just mostly a bother. But every once in a while, I miss it. I greaduated in the 60's and grew up equating being a nurse with that cap. Sometimes I'd wear it just for fun, usually not for the whole shift. I was proud of it, because it represented to me that I was a nurse and I was and still am proud to be a nurse.

It is hard to tell these days who is who. There was an advantage to being in white with a cap becasue everyone knew who you were and didn't mistake you for the housekeeping staff. I think that's why many places are going back to having different departments wear different colors, so you can tell the cast of characters.

My hospital has just gone back to requiring L&D to wear hospital provided and laundered scrubs. It will be nice not to have to do as much laundry, but I'll miss all the wild prints I used to favor. On the other hand, I'll probably start writing notes on my leg again.