Uniforms and dress codes

Nurses General Nursing

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I currently work in med/surg (although I will be moving to the ED in a week :up: ). The hospital I work at has a committee looking into requiring their med/surg RNs to wear "uniforms". Essentially they will tell us what color scrubs to wear, but we will be required to buy and launder our own scrubs, so my thinking is it's really a dress code and not a uniform. Their reasoning for doing this is the claim that MDs can't tell between the RNs and the Techs and the RNs don't look "professional" enough.

Personally I think it's a terrible idea, as do many of the other RNs and techs, but we're pretty much being over ruled by a handful of older RNs and bigwigs. If a MD wants to know if I am an RN they are free to ask me at any time. Additionally, while they have said they will not provide us with scrubs, nor will they give us an allowance to buy them, the currently provide our L&D and OR RNs with scrubs which seems kind of unfair.

So my questions are;

1) Does your hospital require a uniform or dress code and if so, what color, type, etc

2) Do they purchase and launder your scrubs

3) How do you feel about it

TIA

I should also mention I work at a smaller (134 bed) hospital that is NOT a teaching hospital so we have pretty much the same MDs all the time. I know who the MDs are on my shift, and most other shifts. They know who I am, most by my first name. My badge designates me as an RN, just as it designates our techs as PCAs. I don't really believe that it's an issue of the MDs not knowing who we are. As far as patients and families, we write our names on the patients white boards and introduce ourselves appropriately so I don't think that's the issue really either. I think it's more an issue of the older staff wanting a return to white scrubs for RNs because they think it looks more professional.

I'm also not really opposed to wearing a uniform. I don't like it, but that's not really my issue. My issue is being told I need to go out and buy all new scrubs on my own dime when my hospital has not given me a raise in over a year because they put our raises on hold LOL

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Specializes in ER.

Speaking as a patient: I could not tell who was who when I gave birth to my daughter and it became intensely irritating to ask a question of the person I thought was the right person to ask only to be told that the person that I was talking to would need the get the other person. Or worse, that the person was just there to empty the trash can or whatever (why do janitors and unit secretaries wear scrubs?). It was also confusing and I was 28 at the time!

To be honest, I like doing clinicals at the hospitals where the staff is color coded so to speak. It really helps to narrow down the people you are looking for and I notice that the patients have a better understanding of how is in the room with color coding. For example, a pre-surgical patient knows that a person in brown is a transporter and therefore knows that the time for surgery has arrived.

I understand how the cost of the switch would annoy you. I am sorry that the hospital is not supportive or helpful to you in this regard. I think they should offer an allowance to you. Any time a company makes a switch, they should help their employees with the cost.

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Specializes in Emergency Department.

The hospital I work at just went to a color system like this. I actually like it b/c there are people that I thought where nurses that I now realize were aides, secretaries etc.

It also helps the patients b/c if a housekeeper and a nurse both come into your room wearing similar scrubs it makes it hard to know who's who.

But our employer gave out checks/vouchers to all full time employees for at least one scrub set which helped a lot.

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Specializes in cardiothoracic surgery.

If my hospital went to color coded scrubs, I would be fine with it. However, I do think they should help employees pay for new scrubs. I am boring, I wear solid colors anyways, so switching to one color would not bother me. I do wish my hospital was more strict with their dress code. Some of the things my co workers wear are awful. I think if you show up at work wearing a tight long sleeve hot pink shirt with some stupid message printed on it or a zip up hoodie, you should be sent home.

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Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.

Can we not claim for uniforms in our taxes here in the US? So maybe they can time it around the time you put your claim forms in?

I think same uniform/same color is a great idea I get fed up with trying to work out who does what.

In my previous hospital RN's walk round with large RN'S on their badges to show who they are. But no other professional had the same identification

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Specializes in PICU, NICU, L&D, Public Health, Hospice.

Color coding scrubs by discipline is pretty common now. As a professional visiting patients in a hospital setting, I found it to be helpful in identifying staff from a distance (I could look down a hall and recognize an RN vs. tech, etc). It is nice when a system gives the staff a voucher or assist on the first set of scrubs.

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Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

I mail ordered mine from a tiny company in Alabama. Hice Uniforms. A full set top, pants and jacket in one color was under $30. You have to pay for your own clothes in any other profession, why should Nursing be different. I can see if they said you can only wear Prada shoes, or Von Furstenberg tops, but broadcloth comes in all colors so they specify one, what's the deal. 3 sets should be a gosh awful plenty.

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Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

I'm of two minds here. I like making my own scrub tops because I enjoy the different patterns, and different things for the seasons (Christmas, fall/thanksgiving, etc). I think we are adults and should be able to choose and wear professional clothing.

On the other hand we have some nurses, and techs who wear things I would be embarrassed to be seen in public in, let alone work in. Cracks showing, skin tight T-tops that are not in any way scrub type clothing. Some of the fellows wear GI type pants, which is handy for lots of pockets but fails the looking neat and pressed idea. We do have a dress code, but it doesn't seem to be enforced.

I thought the labor laws said if the hospital supplied the uniforms, they either had to clean them or give you an allowance for maintaining them. If they just require a specific style or color, I think you are stuck with it; unless you have a union that will go to bat for you.

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I currently work in med/surg (although I will be moving to the ED in a week :up: ). The hospital I work at has a committee looking into requiring their med/surg RNs to wear "uniforms". Essentially they will tell us what color scrubs to wear, but we will be required to buy and launder our own scrubs, so my thinking is it's really a dress code and not a uniform. Their reasoning for doing this is the claim that MDs can't tell between the RNs and the Techs and the RNs don't look "professional" enough.

Personally I think it's a terrible idea, as do many of the other RNs and techs, but we're pretty much being over ruled by a handful of older RNs and bigwigs. If a MD wants to know if I am an RN they are free to ask me at any time. Additionally, while they have said they will not provide us with scrubs, nor will they give us an allowance to buy them, the currently provide our L&D and OR RNs with scrubs which seems kind of unfair.

So my questions are;

1) Does your hospital require a uniform or dress code and if so, what color, type, etc

2) Do they purchase and launder your scrubs

3) How do you feel about it

TIA

Just so you know, back in the days of starched whites (with or without caps), the only nurses who got their hands on hospital provided scrubs and or scrub dresses were those working in the OR, L&D and some units. Everyone else wore white uniforms provided and often laundered on their own dime. This lead to sort of a status thing, sort of like how senior girls at school often have slightly different uniforms and or can wear make-up. When it came to nursing staff and scrubs, if you were seen in the cafeteria or elsewhere in scrubs instead of whites, it meant you worked in one of the aformentioned units, and thus "different" from floor nursing staff.

Yes, ages ago, and perhaps up until the 1960's or so in the United States some hospitals did offer laundry services for nurses and doctors as well, but as the costs of running a hospital increased many places looked for areas to cut back, and laundry services was one of them.

Consider also that until rather recently not everyone owned a washing machine and dryer, which meant taking one's laundry down to the laundromat, or sending it out. In the days of starched cotton uniforms, not everyone had the equipment at home,nor the expertise for that matter to wash, starch and iron those darned uniforms. As "easy care" cotton/poly blends began taking over, uniforms could be washed and dried at home with little to no ironing required.

More and more hospitals are moving nursing staff back into whites or some sort of standard "uniform". Apparently the powers that be feel things swung too far towards "dress casual", and or patients, staff and family members are coming into contact with a litany of persons in the hospital, and cannot tell who is what.

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Specializes in CVICU.

I actually wish my facility would do this. The only units in my hospital that are color coded are the cath lab (red) and surgery (blue). Everyone else wears whatever they want. It looks nicer and more professional to have everyone uniform. I'd be all for it, but I know that it's a huge cost to people.

My mom's hospital used to have uniforms for each unit and they would have to change at work, turning in their scrubs to the hospital for laundering and get another set when they came in. I like this, because you're not taking the nasty hospital germs home with you and it's saving you money on laundry. Unfortunately, the laundering thing didn't last long.

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Specializes in ER.
I mail ordered mine from a tiny company in Alabama. A full set top, pants and jacket in one color was under $22. You have to pay for your own clothes in any other profession, why should Nursing be different. I can see if they said you can only wear Prada shoes, or Von Furstenberg tops, but broadcloth comes in all colors so they specify one, what's the deal. 3 sets should be a gosh awful plenty.

I think that it depends on the circumstances. For instance, I had a friend who worked for Bear Stearns. A few years ago, they decided to do away with business casual and casual Fridays in favor of professional attire all of the time. Apparently, they felt too many people were abusing the business casual rules. Suits are easier to enforce. They offered their employees $2500.00 and a list of stores that would offer a discount to employees who needed to add to their professional wardrobe. The theory here is that if you accepted employment under certain circumstances and they change, the company should provide you with assistance with the switch.

The employees are Bear Stearns received notice on a Thursday of the switch and were told that they had until Monday to change their attire. My friend was racing around like crazy looking for new clothes. :lol2:

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I have to snicker at the idea of people looking more professional if everyone wears a similar color. Trust me, you can put a Prada suit or a burlap sack on some of my co-workers and they'd still look like hoochies lol

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