NursingLink

We (nurses) all have to wear scrubs, even the ones not working in the clinics and everyone has to wear a name tag with their full name and type of license.

We RNs must wear white and/or cobalt blue (I call it Walmart blue) and the other departments have their own colors. We all have to wear a name badge stating name and what we are---RN, LPN, CNA, etc.........
RNs used to be able to wear different colors but they squelshed that because "patients couldn't tell who was what"--what part of cobalt (Wlamart) blue says RN to ANYONE?

kayakrn7- No, we can wear any color.

When I graduated from nursing school, we all wore white caps, white hose, and startched white uniforms. Over the years I have seen the transition from units wearing all the same color scrubs to anything and everything goes. Possibly there is something in between the extremes. I recently visited a hospital where all of the nurses wore white scrubs. They were still comfortable and it was very easy to identify the nurses. I know...white is hard to keep clean. However, so many of our older patients find it comforting to see a nurse in white.

We are facing a mandate from our new DON that nurses wear white and walmart blue beginning in January 2009.  Other depts will pick their colors .  The change is being met with resistance because of the expense - some people are not able to come up with 3 or 4 sets of scrubs all at once and the feeling is that if you are going to require uniforms of a certain color then it would help if you paid for them.

May I add another comment?  The other night at work, a line formed at Pyxis (med.machine).  As I stood there in line, the RN at the machine bent down to retrieve a med from the bottom drawer.   Excuse me!!   Right smack in my face is the reason I don't like wearing white!  Terrible!  Terrible!!  I plan on wearing walmart blue scrub pants and a white top.  If they don't like it, they can fill another spot-a CCRN

 with excellent experience over 20 years who works night shift on weekends (only) .  I always wear my badge, I treat my patients with dignity and I never call out.  Seems silly to worry about scrub colors when there are so many other problems.

I prefer to wear the darker colored pants as well. I just wish that we could wear print jackets or tops....I agree that white pants are bad..so many people forget that you can just see EVERYTHING. Then there are those that actually WANT that....that, however, is ANOTHER story!!! LOL!

As a travel nurse, I can't keep up with everyone's preferences and changes--I would have to own a catalogue of uniforms!  I wear all white, all the time. Scrub dresses are the best (no bendover peek-a-boo!) and I am easily identifiable. I also wear my cap if I am working a floor or office--not in the ER, way too difficult to manage.  I look at it this way--I have earned the right to wear white--I work hard to keep my license--I DO  NOT want to be confused with housekeeping, though I do housekeeping if it is needed--My patients and co-workers know who I am on sight.  As for keeping them clean--a product called "Blu-White", found in most uniform shops, keep my whites clean and bright, it doesn't yellow the material and it takes just about any stain out including betadine!  As for the comments I get--all positive--and the physicians seem to speak to me and relate to me differently most of the time--much more respect!

Only MY opinion--for me--WHITE IS RIGHT!!

GOD BLESS AND HAPPY NURSES WEEK TO YOU ALL!!!

cdnurse, You are NOT an "old bat" and neither am I!  We are "old -school, classics" and everyone knows a "classic" NEVER GOES OUT OF STYLE!  LOL! 

I think it has become more about having honor and pride in our profession!  The medical profession "brotherhood" defends one another to the end--even if they are WRONG--our profession tends to "eat it's young".  If we are diminishing the professionalism of our culture, how can we expect anyone else to hold it in ANY regard--much less high regard!  Where does that start?  With us!!  We command less respect--because we DEMAND less respect from ourselves and each other!

Mrslamb: thank you. I wish I had said that. If I could, I would give you ten thumbs up for your post

I remember feeling so proud of who I was in my all white uniform. My LPN graduation we all looked like nurses. Tomorrow with my RN graduation we are to dress professionally for pinning, no uniform. I remeber trying my white dress on every day until graduation, as of right now I haven't bought an outfit. I think there was a change in attitude when the dress code changed to wearing anything. At the hospital in town they have white wednesdays and it looks a bit funny seeing white and nursing caps.

We can have any color of scrubs. On fridays and saturdays we have something like a dress down day. We wear scrub pants with a tshirt with the clinics logo.

RNs and LPNs wear ceil blue.  PCAs wear dark blue.  Registration wears tan.   The paramedics wear black pants with a grey top.  That is only in the ER.  Up on the floor everyone wears white or dark blue regardless of position.  We also have signs in the rooms in which the dress code is written so patients know who is taking care of them.

Gdhipp: thanks. You said it all. Stand tall and walk proud. I agree 100%

we wear whatever kind of scrubs we want when i worked at the hospital the nurses had different colors for different floors and all the na's had th were plum purple or kaki