what do you wear on your job?

[emille]

As a school nurse, what do you wear? White pants with what kind of top?scrubs? shirt? and what color Is there a standard dress code nationwide or does it depend per school?i am a new nurse who will be on call for a per diem position for public schools in the city. Since,I'm not being hired by the DOE but will work as a contract nurse, I thought I could get some help here re: this topic.

many thanks in advance to whoever takes time to read/answer this.

[sfajctxnurse]

We can either wear business casual or scrubs. If we wear business casual we are supposed to have a lab jacket. I wear scrubs M-Th and Fridays are jeans day with school spirit shirt. Again if we were jeans, we are supposed to wear a lab jacket.

[dfs1961]

I wear business casual for a number of reasons

1. I don't think scrubs are flattering and my Principal wants us to look like a member of the educational team

2. I like my clothes! :)

3. When I get out of work at 3pm, there is a still a lot of the day left and I don't want to be running around all afternoon in my scrubs.

If I feel like looking like the nurse, I have a number of white lab coats I can put on.

[SchoolRN1]

I wear business casual as well. My clothes are all comfortable enough to move around in and cover all areas when I bend and move. I occasionally go more casual and wear a dress over leggings with boots- things like that. I love not wearing scrubs. I feel sloppy in them and I felt like I stuck out in a bad way on the few Fridays I wore them. The kids and staff looked a little confused, as though I belonged at the hospital. I work with K only,so they probably won't notice the difference had I only worn scrubs from the beginning (many kids first school nurse experience). A white coat would look totally out of place in my setting.

[JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN]

I'm the opposite - I love scrubs! Mainly for the pockets! I go to classrooms to distribute meds and the pocket space is very handy. Also I like that it separates me from the teachers. I am a part of the educational team, but my patterned scrub top lets kids know I'm the nurse. I work until 4:30, and sure I run errands after work, but don't mind that I'm in my scrubs.

I never wear sneakers - I can't in my school (it is a no-no in the teacher/staff dress code) - and dansko shoes are not my friend, so I actually wear Toms. I end up wearing a solid women's scrub pant, usually gray or black, and a slightly funky patterned scrub top. If I am cold, I layer a long cardigan on top.

[fetch, BSN, RN]

I also wear scrubs - they are so comfortable! And I know they're easy to get snot, vomit, blood, etc out of. Plus I don't have enough business casual clothes to wear daily. :)

I agree with those who say it separates us from the teachers. I'm new to an elementary school, that also has about 10 new staff members and teachers, so it really helps the kids to know who I am when they see the scrubs. I'm working on getting some patterns - only have solid blues right now, thanks previous employer. I also don't mind running errands in my scrubs. There are so many hospitals and military bases in my area, there's at least one person in some kind of uniform in any given store, so I don't really stick out.

[HisTreasure, BSN, RN]

I don't have a specific dress code per se, but usually I wear scrubs. They are comfortable, and being that I work at a preschool/early head start building I don't mind picking up the crying, slobbering, snotting, tantruming children as much as when I'm in my business casual. I also do very little in the way of first aid; I may occasionally do a breathing treatment but most of my job in-office is clerical and follow up. My job is two-fold, however, and often I have to work within the community. Again, I don't have a specific dress code but more often than not I choose to wear business casual if I am doing home visits or at the corporate offices. I love the flexibility and I appreciate being easily identifiable as the nurse when in the building. I think it helps the children feel safe around me, especially if I have to pull them for one thing or another and they've never seen me or interfaced with me before.