Why Whites ?

hpyrn · Mar 4, 2002

I always said while I was in Nursing school that I would always wear my cap when I finished. I worked damn hard to wear that cap and I intended to wear it. I never wore it again. But everytime I see it in my closet it kinda makes me sad. I think maybe during nurses week we should all try wearing one day to work and see what kind of response we get-after the laughter I mean. Linda-RN

leesonlpn · Mar 4, 2002

I wear white uniforms, my nursing cap, white pantyhose, white shoes, name badge, grad pin, hosp ID. Complete package. It is how I am, it is how I nurse. ALL patients comment to me, everyday, how wonderful is is to see a nurse look like a nurse. How I wear my uniform instills in the patient a sense of security and peace of mind. They can relate to a white uniform and cap. It is none of my business what the other nurses choose to wear. This is how I wish to present myself to my patients. Housekeeping get asked for pain medication. Dietary gets asked to fetch another pillow. The TV attendant gets asked to roll up the head of the bed. And so it goes. Keeping clean is not a problem I have encountered in 22 years. I gown up for any fecal combat I am subjected to.

NicuGal, MSN, RN · Mar 4, 2002

We wear whites with print jackets or tops. I hate the white pants...we have to go for deliveries, etc, help with messy procedures, have babies spit up, poop and other nasty things on them. And the hospital doesn't launder them....I don't want to be bringing those cooties home with me! I strip down in the laundry room and have a separate basket. We have many areas that wear colored scrubs....and that color tells you which department they work in. Our previous DON wanted whites and we hate them in the NICU! And don't tell me to wear a gown...we don't get gowns unless there is an isolated kid! Cost containment ya know! LOL Whites wouldn't be so bad if people would remember what type of UNDERWEAR to wear under them! LOL

jschut, BSN, RN · Mar 4, 2002

Now~ I have to agree with that. How about RN's wear one color, LPN's another, housekeeping and dietary yet another? Pts wouldn't be as confused, and we could wear what we wanted to! That is a good idea.....

Julie

PS. (I still wanna wear my white when I graduate.....)

RoaminHankRN · Mar 4, 2002

How about using name tags(with picture), introducing yourself and for floor nursing, use the greaseboard that has who your nurse and tech are.

Or maybe we should come up with jerseys like in sports with your hospital logo on front, and your name on back with a number. (We should get the low numbers like a quarterback as we tend to run the show:)

All41 · Mar 4, 2002

Different jobs create different needs and clothing is a big one. I have worked in units where you do look like pig-pen at the end of your shift (if not the first hour). The greater importance here is the professionalism of the staff, name badge and patient rapport. Regardless of opinion, we should be allowed to raise the issues for change without being summarily dismissed. Nursing is a science and science does not improve without change.

deespoohbear · Mar 4, 2002

I live in a rural area with very hard water. Trying to keep my whites looking white is a real challenge. I have a water softner, an iron filter, use OxyClean and still my white pants turn yellow after just a few months. I hate it! The nurses on our floor wear white pants and can wear either white tops or any kind of scrub tops. I wish the hospital would provide the med/surg staff with scrubs like they provide for ER, ICU, and OB. I get into just as much yucky stuff as the ICU!! :eek: There are days I come home and look (and feel) like I have been through a war zone! If the hospital would provide us with uniforms that would be laundered on site it would cut down on a lot of potential infection control issues. I know that a snowball would have a better chance in Hades than our hospital providing scrubs for us.

I always introduce myself to my patients and their families at the beginning of the shift as the RN taking care of them. Our CNA's are pretty decent about introducing themselves as the nursing assistant. I only have one CNA on my shift that tries to overstep her boundaries and tries portray herself as a nurse. Of course, administration has done nothing about this situation even though they have been notified several times by the nursing staff and the families. :confused: Go figure.

Ekaye · Mar 5, 2002

I am an agency nurse. Since I go to different hospitals with different dress codes, I find it easier to wear white. I've walked out of a room after introducing myself, to hear someone comment on my whites. Yes they are harder to clean and show stains,but alot of patients are more comfortable with white.

I know the studies that show that people see and are calmed more by colors. After 25 years of nursing I'm still proud to know I earned the right to wear white. Of course I earned the right to wear a cap also, but lets not even think about going back to that;-}

KeniRN · Mar 5, 2002

Working in peds, many of the patients are staff-phobic, especially to those wearing white. Our staff tend to wear more colorful or cartoon prints, sometimes even street clothes (casual-not scrubs attire). In this situation I agree with the very visible ID tag (w/name and title) AND introducing oneself to all your patients. I have worked in adult institutions and each unit is "color coded" with a particular ensemble. Throughout the hospital the PCTs and PCAs (pt care techs and aides) wear green scrub tops & white pants. Then each unit's nurses all wear the same patterned top and same solid colored pants. Then not only can they be identified as nurses but also what floor they work.

I personally prefer whites. However, my pts are much more cooperative if I am sporting Blue's Clues or Winnie the Pooh.:)

live4today, RN · Mar 5, 2002

Speaking of nursing hats.... I don't know for the life of me what happened to my nursing hat! :eek:

I enjoyed dressing to the "T" in my white uniform with hat to boot during my student clinical days, and for a couple of years following graduation. Then, I started working in hospitals that allowed their nurses to wear colorful scrubs, and I started really digging that too. So, I'll just go along with the flow of each hospital's policies on the nursing dress code. Either way, I'm glad to be alive and working in my chosen field! Once I get back into it, that is! :rolleyes: :chuckle

Andy S., BSN, RN · Mar 5, 2002

I love my colors, patterns, animals, and weird prints (planets, flying pigs, rubber duckies, etc). I don't feel that my patients get confused on who their nurse is, I introduce my self at the start of shift. Not only that I am in the room all the time, how can they possibly forget that annoying nurse? :) LOL

Seriously, I got a pin at graduation. If you will, that is my badge of honor. I own one pair of white pants and I got for nursing school (they haven't been worn in over 3 years).

I always say there is a reason I was born in this generation, I do not and will not every wear white. (oooo that sounded grouchy, I probably need sleep!)

bye:devil:

Agnus · Mar 5, 2002

It's getting close to time to buy new uniforms. I am considering all white.

When I do wear white now I get a very positive reaction from EVERYONE. Many feel you get more respect.

Sure it shouldn't matter. But we all know what you wear does matter. If it didn't we'd show up for dates, job interviews, etc in our grubbies. We don't do that. We dress our best because it does matter.

Whites can all be thrown in the same wash load. Can be bleached regularly (gets rid of stains cooties etc). Are mix and match. It's a no brainer to deside what to wear at 5 a. m.

Colors and prints are great for peids. But I'm working with adults. Who seem to understand white is nurse. I wear my name badge. Do you realize how many people don't read it? I introduce myself. They forget, or just are not cognisent. White is understood even by the confused.

Gee I think I just talked myself into it.