Comments on: Uniforms

By: Henry

Henry — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 13:00:45 +0000

As a paramedic going to diferent ER’s, color coding is nice in that when I need to find a Nurse to sign for a Patient I can diferentiate them from ER techs, some of whom try to make you think they are Nurses. What is strange is that at 2 hospitals who are affiliated, one ER has Nurses in Maroon and techs in Navy Blue and the other is the reverse.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 09:00:22 +0000

When I was in school I worked in a hospital as an aid where the RNs could wear (and do) whatever they wanted. Heck on Sundays they wore black scrub pants and NFL jerseys. The aids had to wear white pants and shoes and hunter green tops. People still had no idea who the aids were from the nurses. I even had Dr’s walk up to me almost every day trying to give me verbal orders or ask questions. We also had the signs on our name badge that said PCA or RN or whatever. Now I work in a hospital where the color is based on what floor you are on. I’m not sure what that has to do with anything. We have to wear white, navy, or burgundy pants and can wear whatever top we want as long as it matches. I like having at least a little freedom. Who feels pretty wearing a ugly green top every day?

By: beajerry

beajerry — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:18:23 +0000

I’m in the same boat- came from a standardized scrub hospital, now in a free-for-all one which is considering standardizing.
Based on the patient response at the prior hospital, I’d have to go with the color-coded scrubs. They really did make a difference.

By: patient

patient — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 03:53:19 +0000

As a patient on two very unpleasant occasions heart episode and neck surgery L-4-5 discectomy(sp?) where I coded in recovery, my last concern when lucid enough was how to identify my caretaker by color. I knew who cared and who didn’t by the second day even in my drug fogged state.

Several industries require color coded apparel, BUT it is for those in the know and not the general public. People such as as Auditors, big wigs from corporate etc, etc, They can walk out on the shop floor and know who is who by the color of their smock, hard hat, type shoes mandated by the company, This applies to everything from Auto plants, home depot, and the chciken slaughter house that supplies your local grocery.

By: unsinkablemb

unsinkablemb — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:09:09 +0000

Because I work in the OR, I will ALWAYS have to wear whatever scrubs the hospital provides. Recently, our hospital changed the color of our scrubs so that people would know that we were are part of Surgery/PACU/Day Surgery. Not exactly my color, but oh well. In any case, I don’t feel like my individuality is being compromised. Uniforms are one less thing that I have to wash and worry about!

As for figuring out who is and isn’t a nurse, our hospital made huge badges to attach behind our IDs with NURSE in capital letters. Needless to say, the only people who notice this are other nurses in the hospital! :)

By: angie

angie — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 03:00:32 +0000

janitors get to wear scrubs at the hospital i go to. makes me wish nurses still wore caps.

By: PJ

PJ — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 10:35:05 +0000

To walk into a hospital and not be able to workout who is who is confusing for patients. We have many uniforms for our hospital, there is a choice of tops (blue, white, red in different patterns of the hospital logo), but always navy/black pants/skirt. Agency nurses wear their uniforms, students wear theirs. But it is easy to tell who are staff and who are patents and families. I don’t see why you can’t wear scrubs of any pattern/style, as who is going to wear them down the street. However it is important that we maintain our image of a caring PROFESSIONAL workforce, and jeans with skimpy tops are not acceptable. It is not a matter of ?lookism? it is a matter of professionalism, we are the 2nd most trusted profession don’t ruin it.

If you are being sent home for not wearing the right thing, and not returning, I don’t think you are suited to this profession of caring about others, go into accounting where you can continue to think about yourself.

By: pigula

pigula — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:45:01 +0000

Gotta tell you this is really happening — how much of an issue can this be? Strict uniform policy?…
In this day and age you can’t do this to people( us — nurses I mean): enforcing and opressing you by adding another “requirement” to being evaluated and classified as valued emploee based on how you look .Believe it or not that is another form of discrimination called lookism.Make a” dress code” a policy and you add to the already opressed proffesion– more opression. Is there more to us than just the look?Hmmm…Let me think? Are we angels of mercy?Are we all virtuous?I think by wearing whites we make the public believe in stereotypes of a nurse. Wearing only whites or in the case of my unit white pants and royal blue tops– did not keep me there( I chose to wear white lap coat over white T shirt and “OR” scrub pants). It became such policy hassle– I was so harrassed about it that I left the opressing environment.
Couldn’t stand to work in that hospital ( for other reasons as well — but that is a whole other story). They really enforced the issue — supervisor sent you home to change your uniform if you were non complaiant. Some people never came back and you had to work short staffed.And ultimatley who do you think suffered?

By: may

may — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 03:34:05 +0000

i will wear whatever the hospital approves…uniform if they want me to, whatever if they don’t care. i am very boring like that.

By: i dress myself

i dress myself — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 04:47:26 +0000

I think that all it takes is for one to look professional, and to introduce yourself to your patient every time you enter their room. Many ill patients, and especially the elderly or confused cannot remember all the color codes and then get frustrated and “shut down”.
I see patients that will tell me, “I don’t remember my nurse’s name, but he/she is wearing that nice purple and blue paisley top”. That’s a much better identifier than,”my nurse is one of those people wearing blue.” As professionals, we should be able to dress ourselves and present ourselves accordingly. Anyone doing less than that is a problem for the manager. It’s too easy to always reduce solutions to the least common denominator, rather than raising expectations.