You cant be fashionable for nursing.

[lovehospital]

Ok so I was told by my instructor that one cannot be too fashionable in nursing.What she meant by it is that you cant have your hair down (I have a hair that is medium-lenght and layered so it doesnt really touch my neck,so I dont see the problem why cant I wear it down.Also she she mentioned something about the nails,they cant be too long.Ok I agree with this because the lenght provide the site for microorganism colonization,however why cant they be painted???It is not like it willrelease the odor which then can be offending to the patients.

Rules are rules but in the reality how many of you nurses put your hair up and wear no nail polish to work.Just curious...

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

I have never had an image of nurses wearing white. I always think of nurses as wearing scrub tops with animals and hearts all over them. Which annoys me. What adult wears a shirt with hearts and rainbows all over it? the only proper exception is peds.

I'm of two minds on the whole prints thing. Yes, on the one hand wearing some cartoon character print does seem to contradict the professional image of nursing, but on the other hand, think about all the demented elderly people we care for who might find such prints less threatening and maybe even somewhat comforting? Or even the ETOHers with PTSD from their tour of duty in Nam, who might just have issues with authority figures? Just a thought.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

Bortaz, don't take the bait.

[Bortaz, MSN, RN]

Bortaz, don't take the bait.

If no one ever took the bait, what on Earth would we have to talk about? :)

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

I'm of two minds on the whole prints thing. Yes, on the one hand wearing some cartoon character print does seem to contradict the professional image of nursing, but on the other hand, think about all the demented elderly people we care for who might find such prints less threatening and maybe even somewhat comforting? Or even the ETOHers with PTSD from their tour of duty in Nam, who might just have issues with authority figures? Just a thought.

Actually, when I work the floor I wear whites. Given how sick one has to be for an overnight stay these days most of my patients are elderly and many are somewhat demented.

The a&o old folks almost invariably *do* comment on my whites, and have more than once told me that I look like a "real" nurse, and the very demented, somewhere burned into their hippocampi (?), know who am I am and what my purpose is.

That said, if I worked peds I'd be decked out in Scooby Doo and Hannah Montana. If I worked ED I'd wear their nasty, can get destroyed scrubs.

It's about them, balanced with the reality of our jobs.

And ultimately, one's relationship with one's attire and one's patients is one's own to determine. Not mine, not the facility's (although they sometimes stick their noses in), not the patient's. And certainly not a bunch of anonymous people on the interwebs.

Mine.

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

And ultimately, one's relationship with one's attire and one's patients is one's own to determine. Not mine, not the facility's (although they sometimes stick their noses in), not the patient's. And certainly not a bunch of anonymous people on the interwebs.

Mine.

I wasn't implying otherwise. Just sharing a thought.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

I wasn't implying otherwise. Just sharing a thought.

Oh, I wasn't thinking of you, even though I quoted you. That led me to a jumping off point. You're secure in yourself.

[k_r_ah]

our program doesn't limit the style of scrubs as long as they're white, on the first day of clinicals the instructors recommended that a few people (whose tops were low cut) wear undershirts. everyone with long hair has to wear it up in some type of fashion. i was so nervous, stressed, and excited during my first clinical rotation that i hardly had time to worry about being stylish. it doesn't bother me so much to wear whites anymore( but i doubt i'll wear them after graduation) my only concern is trying to keep my whites white while i'm at the hospital.

[HonestRN]

No but if you shake said pt's hand and then he scratches, brushes against or bumps said wound, the stuff that is festering in your polish could wind-up in it. Or if your neutropenic pt rubs his nose after he touches the same spot on his gown or covers that you have it could have bad results for him. With regard to nails and polish and the like, it's not a rule that was made arbitrarily. It's evidence based. The studies should not be too hard to find.[/quote']

First of all I don't wear nail polish to work. Secondly I always wear gloves when dealing with my neutropenic patients. Their immune system is so compromised that I wouldn't do anything else. Polish or no polish, nails carry a load of bacteria that's why good hand washing and gloves are essential to good patient care. And good hand washing goes a heck of a lot further than not wearing nail polish.

[lovehospital]

First of all I don't wear nail polish to work. Secondly I always wear gloves when dealing with my neutropenic patients. Their immune system is so compromised that I wouldn't do anything else. Polish or no polish, nails carry a load of bacteria that's why good hand washing and gloves are essential to good patient care. And good hand washing goes a heck of a lot further than not wearing nail polish.

One more thing to be confused about.Our instructors do let us wear clear nail polish but it can chip off as well...

[NurseyBaby'05, BSN, RN]

HRN-Clean gloves really protect you from the patient rather than vice-versa. Also, do you always don them immediately when just walking in the room? Have you never pulled someone's (continent and walkie-talkie) covers up without gloves? It happens. Things fester in polish-divets where it chips.

LH-I think the reasoning behind banning colored polish is that it makes it harder to see what accumulates under your nails. Your polish is going to get beat-up regardless of color or clear. Gloves, hospital soap and the like are none too kind. Then there's the fomite factor.

I wouldn't worry so much about dress codes and inconsistencies within it and of its enforcement. These things tend to sort themselves out on their own. Ride-out your clinicals and then check the policies where you wind-up taking a job and follow them. People will always be trying to see what they can get away with. Just let them. Some things need to be put on the "Life's too short list."

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

Some things need to be put on the "Life's too short list."

Bingo.

[NeoNurseTX, RN]

I had a prof get on to me for being "too fashionable" in her words.. My shoes had a few sequins on them. The wear was professional dress. They were close toed heels and match the outfit and not tacky or anything. She was always finding something wrong with me and another younger student the whole semester and the older students never got in trouble..even for being late.