What are the traditional uniforms worn by hospital personnel?

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I have seen many threads regarding nursing uniforms and also many comments about how when everyone wears scrubs it can be difficult to know who is who.

Once I saw a comment or two, within these discussions on uniforms and such, about not dressing in a way that is not representative of ones title. So, what is considered traditional or appropriate dress for nurses, doctors, PT, OT, RT, etc. ?

I know that traditionally, nurses wore white and that now most nurses working in bedside care wear scrubs. But what would constitute misrepresentation?

For example, I an a unit volunteer at our hospital and we have to wear a polo shirt with the hospital logo, khaki pants/slacks, and our name badge (sometimes people/patients think I'm in administration or something and ask questions that are impossible for me to answer! :rolleyes: ) Anyway, one day on a shift I met a nurse who was from another floor. She was wearing "tailored" scrubs (in that they really didn't look like scrubs at all, but I have no other way of describing her outfit) and a long white lab coat. I may be wrong, but I though only MDs (DOs), could wear a long coat? In fact, I thought she was a physician, or NP, or some other APRN, but when I saw her name badge it just said RN (as did the lab coat!)

On the other hand, once as I was passing a meal tray to a patient (who was post-op), she asked me when she could get another dose of her pain meds. I told her that I would find ner nurse for her and relay the message. I was new to the floor and say a woman outside her room charting on the computer. She was wearing regular scrubs (not OR scrubs), so I assumed she was a nurse (name badge was turned over/obscured). Turns out she was the patient's PCP. :imbar

I thought it was very interesting and wondered if anyone had any comments. What do YOU consider appropriate?

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There is not an absolute type of uniform that should be worn by any particular person/skill level.

I see two problems with the public's inability to distinguish who is who at the hospital.

First, is improper identification.

Hospitals often go to mandated dress codes and name badges that have a person's title in very small letters, or even change their title, to cover up the fact that the skill mix (licensed vs unlicensed personnel) is wrong. Hospitals don't want the public to know that they hire lots of unlicensed, untrained people to work for peanuts instead of hiring a licensed professional.

Another problem with identification is the staff themselves. They hide their credentials by turning their badge over/covering with stickers, etc. because they are afraid of a "stalker" or a lawsuit - neither of which occur very often considering the thousands of nurses that work every day.

Then you have the nurses that do not readily introduce themselves as the "RN in charge of your care today". You also have aides/unlicensed people that try to act like a nurse and do not correct the patient when they address them as "nurse" because they like being mistaken as a licensed professional. And of course, I have rarely seen a lab tech introduce themselves as "Joan, lab technician". They usually just state "I'm here to draw blood". So both hospitals and the staff are guilty of perpetuating the confusion.

Most state boards of nursing have requirements that a licensed nurse is required to be able to be readily ID'd as a nurse while on duty.

Secondly, the patients don't care to pay attention to what is told to them. A nurse can introduce herself and they don't pay attention because it doesn't matter to them. Patients do not take responsibility for asking questions and they just assume that everyone that walks into their room is a nurse.

Hospital staff can wear what ever clothing that is allowed by their employer's dress code. The only misrepresentation I have ever seen is the hiding of credentials by staff and hospitals. As long as a person dresses appropriate to the situation and doesn't show up looking like they belong at a nightclub, I don't have a problem with nurses wearing lab coats or doctors wearing scrubs. I am much more concerned about the professional behaviors of those people.

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Specializes in Public Health, TB.

The first nurses were monks wearing cassocks; Hippocrates and Galen wore togas--my point being that healthcare attire does not have a static tradition.

I do not believe that long white coats are restricted to physicians, they are after all, called lab coats. Staff who normally wear business clothes will slip on a lab coat to protect their clothes. Also staff who leave a specialty area such as surgery where hospital scrubs are required will don a lab coat when leaving the specialty area. The short white coats are traditionally worn by interns, but I see RT and PT wearing these on occasion.

"the patients don't care to pay attention to what is told to them. A nurse can introduce herself and they don't pay attention because it doesn't matter to them. Patients do not take responsibility for asking questions and they just assume that everyone that walks into their room is a nurse"

:yeahthat:

The public seems to think only doctors and nurses work in a hospital:icon_roll:nurse:. If you are a man wearing a white shirt and tie, you must be a doc, otherwise you are a nurse. It seems to me that nurses are the most consistent about wearing their name tags and identifying themselves.

At least at our facility, noone minds if you ask their title. Introduce yourself--the nurses are grateful for volunteers and you might make some new friends!

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Specializes in LTC/ rehab/ dialysis.

I remembe when I was in nursing school and doing my clinicals. At the time, at age 45, I was an older student. One of my clinical instructors was a brilliant (and very young) woman in her late 20's. I was dressed in my student attire, all white, the school patch, hair off of my collar, etc. My instructor was wearing basic nursing scrubs. My instructor followed me into my patient's room. I was to be observed doing a procedure....can't recall what exactly. I introducted myself as a student, introducted my instructor as Miss Last Name and proceded ahead. At the end, the patient smiled at me and thanked me. He then turned turned to my instructor who all the while had been standing quietly off to the side. He smile at her and said "And all the best to you young lady. You'll make a fine nurse someday". Ahhhh, when I corrected him and apologized for the confusion (smile), he said that he assumed that I was the instructor because I was dressed all in white and had patches on my uniform and "looked more like a nurse". And yes, I got an excellent grade from that instructor.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Hospitals don't want the public to know that they hire lots of unlicensed, untrained people to work for peanuts instead of hiring a licensed professional.
My mother had an extended stay at a very upscale hospital in West Hollywood about 6 years ago due to a liver transplant. Up until recently, she assumed that all of the ladies who displayed the title of "clinical partner" on their name badges were nurses. I informed her that these people were CNAs and patient care techs who were given a fancy title by the hospital to hide their identities.
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Thank you for you insights. I had the impression that the white coat was often seen as a right of passage, so to speak, for physicians. Although, NPs and Surgeons wear them too. Short coats are for Interns, PT, OT, RT, etc.

But, as I am learning, a lot would have to do with a particular facility and their dress code.

I can get very confusing to the general public, especially when employees obscure their ID badges or, worse yet, the facility administration does away professional titles and replaces them with generic ones to hide the fact that they hire more unlicensed personnel in lieu of a licensed staff.

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Specializes in Hospice / Ambulatory Clinic.

At the LTC facility where I just finished my rotation there were two nurses who dressed in the same color and same style scrubs every day (not the same color day in day out but a different color each day but coordinated to each other) but NO name badges and they looked alike. Now this was annoying for the students. Imagine what's its like for patients that are slightly disorientation...

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Specializes in ER.

HI-

I am only a nursing student but have spent enough time as a patient to offer a few observations:

First, I would agree that there a folks who are willing to misrepresent themselves and what they do to their patients. Its kind of a lying by omission thing. When you refer to them as nurse or ask about a nursing task, they don't respond with "I will ask your nurse to come and see you." They simply don't bother to correct you. Other folks seem to feel awkward about correcting you. This is wrong. It puts the MA/CNA in an awkward spot and they shouldn't feel bad about doing the job they do.

Second, its confusing. Each patient has a nurse who introduces themselves but the next time someone comes in your room and you ask about insert-name-of-your-nurse here, they tell you that they are "helping her out" because she is doing whatever right now. Who is this person? I hang around here enough to think this might be a charge nurse type.

Third, it might help if the nurse were to point out to us patients who these other folks might be and when they might and what they might do when they are there.

For instance, "Angela is your CNA and she will be taking your vitals twice a day and bringing you a snack later on." "Jane is your lactation consultant..." "Paula is the cleaning lady..." (BTW, by the time the cleaning person came around, I hadn't seen the nurse since she put her name on my whiteboard at 7 a and was so confused by all these folks visiting me by 4:30 p, I asked her for her help to get up out of bed. Little did I know...)

I figure RN1989 is right though. I think the hospital doesn't want me to even know what a CNA is.

BTW, I might be in nursing school now but it ALWAYS mattered to me who my RN was. I have always despised the presence of unlicensed personnel at the hospital or doctor's office because I feel that they have nothing invested in my confidentiality. They have no license to risk. Having said that, I have certainly had good help from them and I don't doubt that they care but if I had my choice, I prefer not to work with these folks (as a patient).

I have never known anyone who told me a story about receiving care who didn't want a nurse to provide that care.

I think as nurses, we need to protect the term nurse in every state and to educate the public about the presence of MAs and CNAs in clinical settings. There is nothing wrong with these folks doing their jobs but the public should know what the "face" of care is today.

In terms of uniforms, I would LOVE to wear one. I think everyone in the setting should wear one. I think patients should KNOW how little nursing care they are getting and who they can turn for help with specific tasks. (Jane (pink scrubs) can help me out of bed but I need Sally the RN (white scrubs) for pain meds, etc.) :twocents:

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Specializes in ED.
HI-

I figure RN1989 is right though. I think the hospital doesn't want me to even know what a CNA is.

BTW, I might be in nursing school now but it ALWAYS mattered to me who my RN was. I have always despised the presence of unlicensed personnel at the hospital or doctor's office because I feel that they have nothing invested in my confidentiality. They have no license to risk. Having said that, I have certainly had good help from them and I don't doubt that they care but if I had my choice, I prefer not to work with these folks (as a patient).

It would be great if the RN could give all care but that isn't reality. Without CNA/unlicense personel, we would be too busy to give good nursing care.

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Its kind of a lying by omission thing. When you refer to them as nurse or ask about a nursing task, they don't respond with "I will ask your nurse to come and see you." They simply don't bother to correct you.

This is a tangent, but I had an experience relating to this just last week.

My 3 1/2 year old has been on a delayed/partial vaccine schedule since birth. Before entering preschool this year, I called her pediatricians office to make an appointment to discuss various vaccines (their necessity, saftey, side effects, etc.) and possibly receiving one or more said vaccines. The Peds office has several MDs, a PNP, 1 RN, and several (Certified)MAs. Now, I LOVE my daughter's pediatrician and her and I see eye to eye on the vaccination issue, but I really wanted a nurse's perspective AND I wanted the nurse to give the injections.

When I made the appointment I asked to see the PNP and when asked what the appointment was for I was told that she generally didn't take "Nurse-Only" immunization appointments. So, I told the receptionist that I needed to have a discussion about vaccines public health and that I needed to speak with an RN. So, I was told that I would be given an appointment with the RN. Great.

So I show up the next day to my "Nurse-Only" appointment only to be greeted by a medical assistant, who kept on letting me refer to her, to my daughter, as the "Nurse." I suspected she wasn't a nurse soon enough, and told her flat out that I was told I would be seeing an RN and that I needed to have a discussion about vaccines; a service she was not qualified to provide. Long story short(er), I left and made an appointment with the PNP anyway, who, by the way, was happy to discuss vaccines and administer the shots.

I guess my point is that I was surprised that I had referred to her as a nurse several times and she didn't even bother to correct me! Had I not known enough about the health care system to know the difference who knows how long she would have gone on........at least knew when to say ,"I'm not qualified to give you that information."

:rolleyes:

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One more question: do you feel it is inappropriate for non-nurses to wear white scrubs or any other "whites"?

Thanks!

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
One more question: do you feel it is inappropriate for non-nurses to wear white scrubs or any other "whites"?

Thanks!

I feel it is inappropriate for people from non-healthcare departments (housekeeping, laundry, maintenance, business office, dietary, etc.) to wear any type of scrubs. This is simply one more issue that accomplishes nothing, except perhaps befuddling the patient even further than necessary.
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