Wearing white

[bklynborn]

Anyone choose to wear white as a way to differentiate from NAC's? I have been off on medical leave after a surgery. While in the hospital I had a hard time telling who was who (they all looked the same and it is impossible to read the print on the name tags)

I will be returning to work this month and am seriously considering wearing at least a white top to help patients tell the difference.

Any thoughts or comments are appreciated.

[MIA-RN1, RN]

I am going to be starting my first nursing job in June and the dress code for the nurses on the floor I'm going to work (maternity) is lavendar scrub pants and a matching print top, and white shoes. Nurses on other floors wear either navy or other blues . The techs all wear dark purple thruout the hospital. I plan to wear shirts that have a white base under the design if i can find any. Our name badges have our first name next to our pic in really big letters, our last name underneath in smaller letters, and our title under that in even smaller letters! (at least mine does for Graduate Nurse)

[weirdRN, RN]

I am going to try an experiment. See how the residents react to white and Nurse's Cap. I figured out how to get the cap to stay and I am wearing mine for the first time this afternoon. And I am wearing all white too... I will post how the unifrom experiment goes after the shift tonight.

[Retired R.N.]

I am going to try an experiment. See how the residents react to white and Nurse's Cap. I figured out how to get the cap to stay and I am wearing mine for the first time this afternoon. And I am wearing all white too... I will post how the unifrom experiment goes after the shift tonight.

Wear that cap proudly! You worked very hard to earn the privilege.

Retired R.N.

[ortess1971]

I wear print scrub tops and not white for one simple reason.....I spill/dribble my coffee on the way to work. I like the look/idea of nurses wearing all white, but it is just not practical. Maybe I should consider a bib?

You read my mind-I like the white scrub idea in theory-but I am a big fan of Dunkin' Donuts iced coffee and my uniform would look horrendous by the time I got to work...

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

Another vote for white. And yeah, I spill stuff, too. I guess maybe I'll change into them in the locker room when I get there. I'd have stains on prints, too.

[weirdRN, RN]

I wore white last night and I wore my cap last night too. I got several looks from the staff, and one person made snide comments but the rest of my co-workers were very receptive. I got a lot of positive comments from family and residents alike. Mostly along the lines of. "wow, you look great. you really look like a real nurse. I know who to call now." Some of it was in jest but a good deal of it was serious. One resident said she sure was glad there was at least one nurse on the floor. lol

I have the same concerns as anyone else about wearing white. Makes me look washed out, stains easily ect. But, I have decided that I like the way I am treated and the way I feel when I wear white versus when I wear colors and no one can figure me from the wall paper. Incidentally, I wore a pair of visa pants by simply basic from wal-mart and a white princess cut scrub top with the cap. I thought the cap was going to be a problem, but it wasn't. I stuck it on my head and didn't have to fool with it again.

So... the debate goes on, but for me it is settled. I intend to wear whites and cap hence forth. I know some of my co-workers will be disgruntled, but that is their problems.

[mom2michael, MSN, RN, NP]

I just started a new job where people are supposed to wear all the same color, ie US wear blue, HK wears tan, PCS wear hunter green, nurses it depends on the floor (where I work, it's red or black). However, I think I saw 2 people wearing what they were "supposed" to be wearing. Prints are forbidden where I work, however I saw probably 10 people wearing printed jackets and tops.

[rpv_rn]

I prefer to wear solid top/bottom matching sets in a variety of colors. I get the most positive comments when I wear my white set and pink set (from staff and patients).

I also wear a "clean" name tag without all the gobbledy gook frufru that I have seen attached to them by some staff members. I also cannot stand some of the shoes that nurses wear: tennis shoes in every kind of color imaginable with logos or fluorescent colors. I can't see wearing gaudy jewelry, especialy rings on every digit of both hands. Who are you there to impress? Lastly, I can't get myself to wear the "cutesy" printed tops. If I can't take myself seriously, how can the patients? IMHO.

[Retired R.N.]

I wore white last night and I wore my cap last night too. I got several looks from the staff, and one person made snide comments but the rest of my co-workers were very receptive. I got a lot of positive comments from family and residents alike. Mostly along the lines of. "wow, you look great. you really look like a real nurse. I know who to call now." Some of it was in jest but a good deal of it was serious. One resident said she sure was glad there was at least one nurse on the floor. lol

I have the same concerns as anyone else about wearing white. Makes me look washed out, stains easily ect. But, I have decided that I like the way I am treated and the way I feel when I wear white versus when I wear colors and no one can figure me from the wall paper. Incidentally, I wore a pair of visa pants by simply basic from wal-mart and a white princess cut scrub top with the cap. I thought the cap was going to be a problem, but it wasn't. I stuck it on my head and didn't have to fool with it again.

So... the debate goes on, but for me it is settled. I intend to wear whites and cap hence forth. I know some of my co-workers will be disgruntled, but that is their problems.

I am very happy to learn that your white uniform was so well received by so many people who really matter: your patients, their families, and most of all, yourself. There's no getting around the fact that you are really treated better when you are wearing the traditional whites! Do you have a locker at work where you can keep a spare clean uniform as insurance against the occasional disastrous spill? I also hope your cap is the kind that opens out flat for laundering, so you can just dip it in a thick starch solution and "plaster" it onto a mirror or a refrigerator door to dry overnight. It will come out stiff as a board when dry with no ironing required.

Retired R.N.

[weirdRN, RN]

Retired RN, I got three of those hats that have like six little buttons you can undo for laundering. As for the starch, that won't be difficult I don't think. StayFlow liquad was my favorite when I was in the Army, that and white elmers glue.

So I just wash them in the regular laundry and then lay them flat, soaked in starch first, to dry? Then I fold them back into shape?

I don't have a locker at work, but I keep an extra set in my car. I think wearing white also will sort of help me develope some grace with eating and drinking while I have them on. I noticed last night that I was being extra careful not to spill anything.

[Retired R.N.]

Retired RN, I got three of those hats that have like six little buttons you can undo for laundering. As for the starch, that won't be difficult I don't think. StayFlow liquad was my favorite when I was in the Army, that and white elmers glue.

So I just wash them in the regular laundry and then lay them flat, soaked in starch first, to dry? Then I fold them back into shape?

I don't have a locker at work, but I keep an extra set in my car. I think wearing white also will sort of help me develope some grace with eating and drinking while I have them on. I noticed last night that I was being extra careful not to spill anything.

The caps have to be dripping wet with the starch solution, and then "pasted" onto a smooth surface like a mirror to dry. Be sure to get all the air bubbles out from between the cap and the mirror. It's not rocket science, but you may need to experiment a little to get the proper thickness of starch that you prefer.

Yes, wearing white does help one eat a little more graciously. I know that I learned to be a lot neater with my meal habits. :-)

[dvapwr]

Hi...After 30 years wearing white ....I now wear colored skirts (solid ) and print tops but I still wear white hose and shoes....when I wear pants they are white with colored or printed tops .....This helps the patient to distinguished your role especially when they see white hose....