Would you quit over white uniforms?

If your facility went back to white uniforms for licensed nursing personnel, would you quit? Just wondering as I've heard discussions about some facilities going back to all white for nursing staff.

I'm about to go into the TMI zone.

Before I got into nursing school or worked as a CNA for the hospital, I was a cashier at wal-mart. Management dictated our uniforms: light khaki pants, dark blue shirts. I've always had extremely heavy periods that are very difficult to control. You people are smart, so put 2 and 2 together; accidents happened. It was mortifying. It got so bad that if I was scheduled for a busy weekend night where I knew I would have to be on the register for 3-4 hours at a time without a bathroom break (I'd ask, manager would promise to send relief, relief wouldn't come :/), I'd call in sick.

Being forced to wear white scrub bottoms would be much like that. They make much better feminine hygiene products now than they did then, but that anxiety would always be there. I'd always be wondering if I'd leaked, if somebody would see it before I did when it happened, etc.

Guys are so lucky to not have to deal with this :(.

Specializes in SICU.

sigh... Ive been wearing white my entire nursing career (envious of those that can wear navy). its a pain in the behind especially when you bleach the cdiff off a couple of times and they become off yellow...

Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

clothing color is so ridculous when there are more important things to consider. We have RN, LVN, RT, etc., in large letters hanging under our badge. You can read it more clearly than the name. Everyone wears solid colors of your own choice. Patients can clearly identify us. It's not like they read the dress code anway and know what the colors stand for!

It further implies that nursing staff doesn't matter. Just a necessary evil required for the hospital to make profit, and they will dress that necessary evil as prettily as required for guests to give those good HCAHPS ratings! Everyone knows who has a CLUE about patient care that white scrubs are a horrible choice, as well as just common sense. Who wants to select the rest of their wardrobe around it? I'm a guy, but I can appreciate that women might not want to do that.
Thank you.
I'm trying to imagine the next job interview when they ask why you left your last job...

"It wasn't a good fit..."

Lets say the job hunt would begin. Not cause of white uniforms specifically, but because what such a decision would tell me about the management of that hospital and their mindset. I would see it as a huge step in the administration further reducing nurse's power and would be done to remind the nurses that they are under management's thumb.

Such a thing can only happen in the presence of a huge glut of nurses.

my point, previously made. I guess i was just too subtle about it.

Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.
clothing color is so ridculous when there are more important things to consider. We have RN, LVN, RT, etc., in large letters hanging under our badge. You can read it more clearly than the name. Everyone wears solid colors of your own choice. Patients can clearly identify us. It's not like they read the dress code anway and know what the colors stand for!

This is my issue w/ color coding by dept. For me, scrub color isn't my hill to die on (although white is SOOOO much more trouble than it's worth--stains, underwear, etc.; and I'd be ticked if it were only nursing with a color code). But I fail to see how it helps patients know who's who. My badge has a big "RN" in red, and a second tag with the words "Registered Nurse" in big block letters. They can't figure those out, but are supposed to remember which dept. wears which color?

Now I wouldn't quit over the whites issue alone, but it would have me looking at options. I had to wear all white in nursing school, and they are a pain to keep stain-free. I have enough trouble keeping up w/ my household laundry without worrying about whites. It also says unfavorable things about the employer--one, that they are comfortable dictating the attire of educated professionals, and two, that THIS issue is where they're focusing their time and effort. Not setting policy about staffing levels, not setting policy protecting bedside staff from violence, not setting policy for emergency staffing that does NOT involve working doubles, not setting policy that ensures all staff can take all of their allotted breaks, not setting policy that doesn't punish bedside staff for staying home when they are ill........but setting policy that nurses wear white. Go management. :sarcastic:

Would not quit but fight it. All white is impractical and revealing. Blues and grays seem appropriate. professional.

Specializes in CT ,ICU,CCU,Tele,ED,Hospice.

no not over a uniform color

Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.

My criteria for work clothes is two-fold.

One, is it clean?

Two, is it comfortable enough that I can put it on and forget about it? (No tugging or tucking or adjusting.)

If those two are met, then I'm a happy camper.

Don't much care about colors, though I would prefer not to be in all red. (Visually, it broadens an already broad beam)

You never quit a job until you have another job. If wearing white bothers you that much then sure, look for another job. But I wouldn't quit until I knew for sure I had another job lined up.

Specializes in ICU.

I wouldn't quit *only* over white scrubs, but I think I'm pretty safe from them at my current job. Our PCTs used to wear light khaki scrubs but changed to royal blue after it was discovered that the khaki was nearly as hard to keep decent-looking as white.

+ Join the Discussion