Whites or Colored scrubs?

Nurses General Nursing

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  1. Whites or colored scrubs?

    • 180
      Whites
    • 956
      All colors including white
    • 260
      All colors except white
    • 12
      No opinion

1,408 members have participated

What do you prefer to wear at work? Please elaborate if you have a strong opinion.

This became an issue at the lat place I worked in. A VIP's wife complained that we were all wearing scrubs and she couldn't tell the nurses from the scrub ladies (the introduction wasn't enough?). They took a poll. The doctors wanted us in all starchy white Media fantasy dresses. We threatened to quit. They tried to compromise with all white scrubs. We still threatened to quit---the place was carpeted and kneeling on the floor to read Thoraclex outputs, tweak ortho setups and empty bags was out of the question in white. They finally compromised to colored scrub pants, white tops and white jackets. We hated it but we could work with it. The white became tattle tale grey after the first month, but nobody seemed to mind.

I'd always worn blue scrubs with a white lab coat, pockets crammed with nurse stuff. I always wondered just what the hell had been so wrong with that.

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As long as this is seen as an "issue", people will continue to admire us for 'making beds and emptying bedpans'.

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Specializes in Peds Critical Care, NICU, Burn.

Am working in a facility that recently forced everyone to bag their patterned scrubs, RN's now are in white and/or ceil blue, nurse tech's (aides, if you will) are in navy blue, as are the desk clerks/HUC's/unit secretaries. Other departments have now also been forced to change their dress codes to other colors and were allowed to choose which ones; the only ones NOT allowed to choose, of course, were the nursing staff. Shoes have not become an issue yet, but am sure that is coming. Guess which department still is allowed to wear the pretty colors and patterns? Yep--housekeeping. Which is what started the problem to begin with.:angryfire:down:

Frankly, I'm not convinced people know we're RN's (LPN's also wear ceil blue or white)--I get called "doctor' more than anything else because many of our surgical and medical residents and attending physicians wear blue.

Oh--no contrasting trims, no lace, no nothin'. Plain, plain, plain. We look like a bunch of smurfs. Hate it.

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I chose all colors including white but I have to say...I was on the floor and saw a nurse in scrubs that were bright and irritating in color. It looked unprofessional. We really need to remember our patients when we dress. IMHO.

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Frankly, I'm not convinced people know we're RN's (LPN's also wear ceil blue or white)--I get called "doctor' more than anything else because many of our surgical and medical residents and attending physicians wear blue.

Yeah, God forbid an important nurse be mistaken for a lesser nurse. I know, make us LPN's wear what the aides do so we don't get too big for our too-nurse-like britches.

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Specializes in Peds Critical Care, NICU, Burn.

Sorry, my mistake. I should have said nurses and left it at that. Did not intend to ruffle feathers. Now I remember why I quit visiting this forum or replying; can't seem to keep myself out of trouble.

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Specializes in ICU, telemetry, LTAC.

I really like white IF it's a top we're talking about. I will not wear white pants. Pants in any color are hard enough to find, to alter, to fit someone with a 26 inch inseam, but white? Yeek. Yer lucky I'm wearing britches with a crotch that doesn't hang down to my knees!

I alternate how I wash my whites. One week it's a tiny amount of bleach in the wash and the next week it's a good helping of baking soda added. Does NOTHING for the inkpen marks all in the pockets, but helps 'em not look all yellow. I'm still trying to get my gray socks back to some form of white since the time my husband washed 'em with the bluejeans. Poor man, he had to meet the crazy laundrysorting woman that he didn't realize existed.

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Haven't been here in simply ages... we have been dealing with this issue... seems alot of hospitals are.... we simply have to STAND together to defeat the people over us, and continue to have OUR choices!

At my hospital we have instituted bage ID's. They hang below the badge to tell RN, LPN, and TECH apart... this is on both sides, so if the badge turns backwards, you can still see the title.

The Nurse on our floor came up with the idea, though it WAS to just be on the badge, still this works!

Pts. don't have to wonder anymore!

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I'm still a newbie nurse, but our hosp has a dress code, unless you are in the ICU, CCU or ED, Rn's wear all whites. It doesn't bother me, I'm just excited I don't have to wear my ugly student uniform (white, white jacket with insignia, and heavy navy polo with insignia). The Aides wear green tops with white pants.

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Specializes in ED/ICU/TELEMETRY/LTC.

Ok, here is the deal. The hospital where I work recently went color coded. Supposedly to help the patients identify staff. Hello, I wear a name badge with my name and title on it. Nursing, and this means anyone who works on a nursing unit, nurse, tech, secretary, can wear navy and white, no prints. (DUH, they come to the ER for a mammogram, and the color of my pants is going to tell them who I am).

Well, I chose not to combine them. I wear only white. I can wash, they are not dingy. I keep my shoes clean and polished. Sometimes I wear white drawers. It doesn't bother me if they know I have on underwear. If it scares the kiddies, so be. They will live and probably need to be scared of a few things.

I find it difficult to believe that any healthcare facility has all it's problems solved to the point that the only thing they have to worry over is the color of the staff's clothing.

They should like, get a life.

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