Sanity is madness put to good use. – George Santayana
Uniform of the Day
12Apr2009 Author: Mother Jones, RN
Holy cow! I can hardly remember when nurses use to wear these types of uniforms. They were so white, so professional, so spotless. Believe me, my uniform wasn’t white and spotless when I went home after a long shift at the hospital. I spent many hours after work fussing over stains on my uniform. Barco made a ton of money off of me. I ended up throwing a lot of uniforms out because I always wanted to look professional. I wish that nurses still wore their caps. Yes, I’m just an old fashioned girl at heart.
I stopped wearing my white uniforms about 20 years when I became a psychiatric nurse. I missed my nursing uniforms and I was thrilled when I found out that I was going to get to wear them again at my new job at UGH. Hallelujah! I was going to get to look like a nurse again. I hopped into my car and sped off to the mall.
Images of Florence Nightingale danced in my head as I walked into the uniform boutique. A perky clerk who offered to show me all the latest fashions greeted me at the door. I was amused by what I saw. I’m still trying to figure out why someone would put Betty Boop and her Harley Davidson Motorcycle on a scrub top. I went for something a little more age appropriate, so I bypassed the Disney Beauty and Beast scrubs and I bought three pairs of white twill nursing pants with elastic around the waist and four flowered scrub tops. I really miss my white uniforms, my nursing cap, and my navy blue cape. You young people just don’t know what you’re missing. Maybe next year I’ll take a walk on the wild side and buy a few uniforms sporting Snoopy prints.
15 Responses to “Uniform of the Day”
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Disclaimer
There has been a lot of chatter in the blogosphere about medical bloggers and HIPAA regulations so let me make this very clear: I write composite stories about many different people that I've cared for over the years.
Reality Rounds
April 12th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
Seriously? Ugh. I can’t help but feel that nurses lose some credibility by wearing orthopedic shoes with 6 inch cork heels, and “Hello Kitty” scrub jackets. Maybe I am a fashionista (not). I am desperately trying to find my nursing graduation picture were I am wearing a nursing cap and a bad perm, so I can create an avatar. I may regret that decision however.
Kim
April 12th, 2009 at 11:40 pm
I usually only wear solid colored scrubs (when I am not in my school uniform) but I will admit to wearing a scrub top with dogs dressed in labcoats…I was a youngin’ then.
Now, my real question is, where abouts can I get a cape?
-Kim
Antigonos
April 13th, 2009 at 12:12 am
Oh yes, I really miss my cap! I worked BLOODY HARD for it!
When my mother was terminally ill, she’d put on her light, and a pretty young thing [with a full alphabet soup of initials after her name, to show that she wasn't "just" an RN] in white pants and some colored top, and no cap, would enter Mom’s room. Sweetly, Mom would say, “Oh, sorry — I rang for a nurse, not the waitress. Would you go to the nurses’ station and have them send a NURSE?”
I understand some mental hospitals have actually gone back to uniform, as it helps the patients who are having problems with distorted reality to identify staff better.
I do admit to liking trouser suits, though, as being more practical. But a well-tailored, well-pressed, professional-looking trouser suit, not a set of scrubs that look like pyjamas.
Elaine
April 13th, 2009 at 2:39 am
I graduated RN and also RM in smart white dress and cap. Oh boy, the importance of that new cap – to be worn with pride. mind you, I bet pants are much more comfortable.
Kim
April 13th, 2009 at 7:51 am
My mother was recently in the hospital for 5 days. It was impossible to figure out who was a nurse versus the techs and the janitorial staff. The building engineers, on the other hand, wore a distinctive uniform. Thank goodness, because we had a television repair emergency one night and needed help right away.
I thought that the original argument for getting rid of nursing uniforms was that they were demeaning and placed (mostly) women in a subservient role to the (mostly) male doctors. After a week of observing nurses/techs/janitors wearing cartoon-covered pajamas, I don’t think the trade worked out too well.
The best nurse my mother had was a woman who has been in nursing over twenty years. Like the earlier Kim who commented, she wore solid blue scrubs and professional shoes — and positively radiated professionalism by comparison.
little d, S.N.
April 13th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
I must admit, I kind of want the cape. I like the color-coding, as it saves all SORTS of trouble (the nurses at our clinical site wear navy blue scrubs), but I’d rather not wear a skirt. I’m clumsy at the best of times, and cannot imagine trying to climb on top of somebody to perform CPR (I’m also short) in a skirt!
Elizabeth
April 13th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
My school nurse (in the late 80′s) wore her uniform on school physical day. Everyone would say “what are you wearing”? I just thought she looked beautiful, and wanted her cape! Those uniforms are beautiful.
Sheryl
April 14th, 2009 at 1:11 am
I, too, love white uniforms…. I even prefer dresses and skirts… all of which are almost impossible to find these days. I do find the uniform shops frustrating and lacking of a sense of professionalism….. Good luck with the new job and fashion sense!
NumbersGuy
April 15th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Great post! I love the insights.
I’m helping to conduct a huge nursing salary and I was wondering what you think best distinguishes one nurse from another?
Keep up the awesome posts
Change of Shift: Vol. 3, Number 21 // Emergiblog
April 16th, 2009 at 8:23 am
[...] is appropriate for a nurse who might be just a wee too experienced for SpongeBob Squarepants in Uniform of the Day. Sistah, we are old, bold and too hot to hold! I was going to use that same ad on a future [...]
PurpleRN
April 16th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
I am grateful to have started off nursing not ever having to wear a dress. I’ve never been a skirt kinda girl, and once upon a time said “I don’t even think I could give proper nursing care in a dress.”
Well it turns out I was wrong. I was dressed up (short skirt, fishnets, heels) to go to the Rocky Horror Picture Show with some friends, including the New Grad Educator from work (I am one of his New Grads). On the drive up he became rather carsick (he’d also had a drink too many). We realized we weren’t going to make the long drive to the theatre so we headed home.
I helped him out of the car, cleaned him up, helped him sip some water, got a comfy place for him to sleep, and put a wastebasket by him in case he got sick again.
After I got him settled, he had a moment of lucidity and said “Kim, you’re gonna make such a great nurse….”
I looked down at my outrageous outfit and thought that maybe a white dress wouldn’t be so awful after all.
That all being said, I wear Koi scrubs because the pants have tons of pockets and the tops are fun but don’t have anything cartoony on them.
rojan
April 17th, 2009 at 10:13 am
I wear scrub tops and pants now. It was during my college days when I got to wear all those white nursing uniform with white caps. I love wearing them on back then. But now, with all the work load, nursing scrubs are a lot more practical and comfortable to wear.
Sydney
April 26th, 2009 at 10:33 pm
I think there should be some standard as to what nurses can wear. I just think some of the ones I’ve seen during my rotations look ridiculous. I mean, Snoopy scrub top and jeans? Come on, have some professionalism.
Lisa Miller
June 14th, 2009 at 12:35 am
I’m not going into nursing–I’m going to be an MT (one of the lab people), after 9 years in a research lab where the dress code was “wear clothes…PLEASE people!” My preference is for dark solid scrubs most days, and our program is starting a shift to solid navy blue scrubs this fall. Those of us in the program can still wear anything that meets lab safety standards, but the new class will have to wear solid navy blue. I have a few print tops (batik, fairly low-key prints) for when I want to be a little rebellious. I’d have more print tops if I could find things like prints of a wright-stained blood smear or bacteria images. But that’s a lab thing. You nurses already know we are mutants
Stephanie
August 24th, 2010 at 8:50 pm
I am just starting nursing school this week. I can’t stand the uniforms (why must all white pants be totally see through?!) that students have to wear. I simply ADORE the dress in the middle on the Barco ad and would LOVE to have a cape like the ones from the past. I also think a hat would be cute but our instructors told us they get in the way and clients can grab at them when confused. I just think it makes you look very professional and easily identifies you as a nurse. I would wear that full uniform with pride, cap and cape and all. Where can we find capes?!