Comments (38)

• The best thing to be said for requiring a certain color of scrubs is that it makes getting ready for work quick. The downside is it takes away any individuality making going to work tidious and boring. Working with children, this becomes impportant, it helps the kids relate more easily to their nurse if she has “happy” scrubs on.

  By Kathy Dunyon RN on March 22, 2010 at 10:30 am

• I’ve noticed that when I work with nursing students who wear whites, patients and family members automatically assume that the student is the RN.

  In my facility, we’re required to wear blues. I shrugged when the policy change came through; frankly, to me, a pajama set is a pajama set. Wearing whites wouldn’t bother me, either (except for the outlay on bleach).

  The big deal for me, as the commenter above noted, is in pediatrics. I’d like to see our Peds nurses able to wear fun scrub tops, just to make the kids more comfortable.

  By Jo on March 23, 2010 at 1:05 am

• As an older and retired nurse, I have always thought wearing white uniforms or at least wear a white pant and a colored top. Of course when I trained and for a number of years I wore a cap. I felt I had worked long and hard to earn that cap and R.N. degree and I wanted all to know that. I do agree the cap at times gets in the way, may not be clean, etc., but at least wear some white.

  By JoAnne Booth on March 28, 2010 at 4:54 pm

• As a nurse and also a scrub provider, i personally know the despair of being forced to wear a paticular solid or solid color uniform. My customers see the colorful and pretty designs that uniforms have evolved to and yet that are denied the right to choose those. It sets the morale to an all time low.

  By melody mattice on March 29, 2010 at 9:14 am

• I am absolutley for enhancing our professionalism, however from what I understand at the U of U there was minimal input, it was forced, and has limited support. I also had an intensivist tell me the other day of research showing that white had higher bacteria, and I am trying to get a hold of him again to verify that, and where the article was that he read. I dislike autocratic management, and cookie cutter uniforms where we all march like robots, but there has to be common ground to achieve a common desire for our great profession. White to peds is a doctor, and I do not want a child to think of me like that!

  By Ron on March 30, 2010 at 2:30 pm

• I have worked at the same facility for 27+ years all those years we were required to wear white. The administrator just retired last Friday on Wednesday we got the go ahead to wear colors! I am torn, colors are fun but I do think white looks more profesional for nursing. I plan to continue to wear white…..for awhile anyway

  By betty on April 1, 2010 at 3:51 pm

• Kinda neither fish nor fowl here…. The wife’s an adult day care aide in a decent-sized nursing home, and my daughter will be an RN in about a month if nothing else breaks. (I’m the guy who pays for the clothes )

  The wife’s employer demanded scrubs about a year ago, and she loves ‘em. NO color/pattern/whatever restrictions that I’ve ever heard of. She loves it from a cost standpoint. Previously it was “whatever you want” with a name tag. The place got busy, and visitors (and residents) had a problem deciding who was what. The couple of RN’s there seem to have been wearing scrubs for a long time with no restrictions. It would be nice for them to be a little more visible (I know ‘em by sight, but….).

  The kid’s been wearing whites since she got pinned. I agree that her “student” status isn’t obvious, but she looks even younger than she is. No problems that I’ve heard about. Her new employer, if/when, will take it from there soon….

  My own opinion: I had some surgery a few years ago wherein I found it hard to tell which were students, and which were nurses…. Not the end of the world until they sent what had to be a twelve-year-old in to pull my catheter …. About five years before that, in another hospital, all of the nurses were wearing cheery “cartoon” scrubs, and most looked like motorcycle mechanics. One claimed to have been one…. Nursing quality was fine, even so, but whites would have been nice.

  That said, the cost of upkeep has to be a downer…. It was a problem for my wife just to keep “street clothes” up before she went to scrubs. Maybe white caps over appropriate (cartoons for peds?) scrubs would do it.

  (I can’t see the bacteria thing unless the nurse isn’t properly cleaning the whites. The color shouldn’t matter at all, but there may be a temptation to “wear it again – it doesn’t look to bad” that $25 worth of scrubs wouldn’t give you.)

  (The hospital with the apparent twelve-year-old…. I was there for about four days, and once on the floor, I don’t think I saw ONE nurse that looked to be much over 21. I’m allowed to look .)

  By Stu Mulne on April 4, 2010 at 8:57 pm

• What a crock of “you know what”! To say that a Nurse is not a Nurse until HE and/or SHE dons the “Virginal White ” is lunacy at its finest. Obviously, not a decision made by Nurses but rather that of bureaucrats and those not involved in the clinical setting. Citing examples of the “Cleveland Clinic”, which is a fine institution, but it is know first hand and by reputation not to be Nurse friendly…. It is Physician run, Physician focused and Physician implemented. Having to wear white in a post surgical ICU setting is costly, and difficult to maintain. The idea that a Nurse is not a Nurse until we wear white is probably one of the blunders that perplexes our Nursing world….
  First, recognize that the success of your hospital depends not on the color that Nurses wear but the compassion that lays in their hearts and the Professionalism that gets exhibited in their daily care. Second,…. How about leaving the “decision making processes” on issues that affect Nurses up to the Nurses….. Pro self governance, now there’s a concept!!!!
  Third…. how about recognizing that what is wrong with our health care system has little to do with what color scrubs we wear but rather , our delivery models of said health care.
  Wearing virginal white is an egotistical and antiquated idea that is neither historically correct or even practical. Even “Florence Nightingale” herself saw this as the first nursing uniforms of the 19th century were blue.

  By Cesar Corzantes RN, NREMT-Paramedic on April 13, 2010 at 4:38 am

• as a critical nurse for 25 yrs i have never had a problem with patients and families knowing who their nurse was. maybe thats because i introduce myself before anything else and go to see my families during visiting hours; they know who i am! as far as wearing colors… they make me feel better about myself and enjoy when the pts. appreciate seeing cheerful uniforms! there will always be the pts. and families who will find anything to complain about; that just seems to be how some people are!

  By cheryl a murphy on April 16, 2010 at 6:53 am

• It should not matter what color or type of uniform a nurse wears…….in a perfect world. However, truth be told, first impressions have lasting effects. I do not advocate that nurses everywhere should be required to wear all white uniforms but I agree that there should be some consistent elements of uniformity and identifying features amongst RNs apart from other healthcare or non healthcare professionals. I was a pediatric nurse for many years and I never did or ever would wear all white scrubs. I did make it a point to wear white stockings and white nursing shoes with my colorful scrub dresses in order to be distinguished as the NURSE. I received many compliments on my appearance from patients, families, and co-workers. Law enforcement, military, and many government agencies have required uniforms for their employees for centuries. I believe it fosters a bond between the profession; a brotherhood/sisterhood camaraderie in the organization. The community immediately identifies the member and takes them seriously. It may also be the reason they support each other in large numbers when they lose a member of their organization. I wish nurses would support each other the way other organizations do.
  All in all, as nurses we should look our best, feel our best, know what we are doing, work together with our colleagues, help each other, be part of the team, stand up for one another, and set ourselves apart!

  By Dianna Diress Rn on April 21, 2010 at 2:20 pm

• I have never worn whites… and I don’t plan to. To me, the “angel-in-white” pinafore and dress combo reinforces an old stereotype of nurses being somewhere between a maid and what we now know to be nurses. You will know me by my specialised body of knowledge, my interpersonal skills, my skills, and my little “RN” pin right next to my name tag!

  I usually wear solid-colour scrubs, no patterns (mostly d/t personal taste) and never had a problem with someone not knowing who I was and what I’m doing there. As a CCRN noted above, it helps if you introduce yourselves to your patients and families.

  By Meredith on April 28, 2010 at 8:56 pm

• I think the important thing is the patient knowing who the nurse is. It’s a patient safety issue in a hospital. If all nurses wore one color and no one else wore that color, and the patients are made aware of this, that would solve the confusion problem. I know it’s more fun to be able to have choices in what you wear, but patients needs come first.

  By Alice on May 13, 2010 at 10:50 am

• alot of you speak for RNs. I am an LPN and have been for 22 years. By some we are not considered nurses. I trained in white and wore a cap. At the end of my 2 years I got my red stripe on that cap and have always been proud of it. I think nurses, RNs and LPNs should wear white. It identifies you as the nurse. I guess I’m old fashioned and went to a strict school.

  By donna rayburn on May 18, 2010 at 9:24 pm

• Personally I like wearing white, I can bleach it and kill all the germs. Granted we come in contact with germs daily when in the public but the medical setting lends us to more concentrations of these germs since we see mostly people that are ill. Unless you have a washing machine that has a sanitizer cycle, you will probably be passing the germs on your uniform to your other clothing. Just google washing machines and germs.

  In regards to nurses wearing white and how it reflects on health care delivery, there is a difference depending on the patient setting. In home care, doctor’s office, nursing home, etc, the patient usually knows who the aide, SW, nurse are because they see the same people. A hospital setting is different because the patient there has more acute health care problems and sees a multitude of people in a short period of time. Unless the nurses and aides verbally identify themselves each time they enter a patient room by saying I’m So and So, your aide/nurse how can I help you, then coloring coded uniforms are the best way for patients to make sure they have the correct person to address their needs. In pediatric settings, color code the scrubs and allow different “happy” jackets to distract the children.

  As a nurse who has been a patient in a hospital, I agree that staff should be color coded according to their job. I had returned from surgery, didn’t remember who my nurse was because she assessed me while I was still under pain meds. Several hours later I called for my nurse as usual the unit clerk asked what I wanted and sent an aide in. Had I known it was an aide and not a nurse like I requested I would have insisted on my nurse. The aide’s report to the nurse was that I wanted my catheter out because I said it wasn’t draining but there was urine in the tubing and I appeared groggy which the nurse determined from the aide’s report was due to the medication and she would see me later on rounds. THE TRUTH-septicemia had set in less than 6 hours from recovery room, the urine had backed up into my bladder which was really bad since I had one kidney left since I had donated the other a few years before, blood pressure 70′s/40′s, WBC went from 7,000 pre-surgery to over 21,000 and my bladder was distended. The nurse made rounds as I was calling my co-workers in the ER to tell them I had an incompetent nurse that wouldn’t listen and needed one of them.

  When did it become the responsibility of the acutely ill patient to decifer who is delivering their care each time they come in contact a health care provider? Which is more important and true health care, making health care delivery more convenient for the patient by color coding such as white for nurses OR satifying our own wants/needs to wear what we find appealing/attractive. Wearing white does NOT make you a better nurse, deliver better care or mean you are egotistical. It is about making things easier for the patient.

  In regards to comments about professional attire, wearing white is based upon public perception and equated to other professional dress which is something that is difficult to change. Let’s say you are the person in charge of the hospital and you need to find a company to handle the hospitals and employees financial investments. You have narrowed it down to three institutions that have great reputations with similar returns and competency, so you go to these institutions to talk business. Institution A reveals everyone’s dress is clean,neat and business casual, no suits, just looks like a fun place. The executive is dressed in nice casual shirt/blouse and pants. Instution B reveals people in business suits but the women are wearing trendy attire such as bright flowery print dresses and the man you meet with is wearing a cartoon character on his tie. Institution C reveals clerical wearing traditional business attire, the people you meet are wearing traditional business suits, knee length skirts and mundane stripped ties. While the dress of the employees at Institution C doesn’t make them more competent or professional than the other institutions, the public would generally perceive them as more professional due to traditional perceptions of what constitutes certain professional attire.

  Granted when going to lunch or leaving I get stopped alot more in the hallways or parking lots because someone needs help. They see a nurse and equate nurses with someone who will help them. Guess that is why I became a nurse, to serve the public. When I’m tired I just have to remember, it’s not about me, it’s about them. If I don’t like it and when I think health care is about me, that’s when I need to quit nursing.

  By Kimberly on May 19, 2010 at 7:27 pm

• I am having a problem of not feeling like a nurse when I wear scrubs. Plus they tend to look too comfortable and sloppy. I would love to be able to wear white again. Here is a solution for both people who wnat to wear white and people who want to wear colors. Wear a white uniform with a colored sweater or scrub jacket. There you go. Best of both worlds.

  By Armida on May 22, 2010 at 1:09 am

• I am nurse that has been on both sides of the coin. White looks nice if you keep it up? If it is wrinkled dingy or dirty How professional is that? The color does not make any more professional it may look nice but we’ve all seen whites with non white undergarments! Is that professional? Nurses in white is a stereotype. that needs to go .

  By Dianna on May 31, 2010 at 8:45 pm

• I have worked at hospitals and been forced to wear white and the patient STILL asks me if I am the doctor. The doctors and male nurses love the white scrubs because we can see what type of panties you are wearing. If you think white is the way to go, it is because you are old enough to retire and move on. We do not practice medicine the same as we did 20 yrs ago, so why still wear the silly white?

  By charles on June 4, 2010 at 5:14 pm

• Recent graduate here. All throughout school in clinicals we were required to wear the stiffest boxes of white known to man. However in doing my preceptorship I was allowed to wear my own scrubs. The difference in level of comfort and ease that I noticed with my patients was more than I would have ever thought. This being said though I do think that white in school is still appropriate to mark students as “in learning.”
  As for RNs go, requiring them to stand apart from hospital auxiliary staff should be taken seriously by all hospitals. At one particular local (nationally recognized) hospital, you’d be hard pressed to find any employee who did not wear scrubs (be it nurse, patient care tech, dietary, or housekeeping). I am not saying that white for RNs is the answer, but I could see a “nurse only” color being good for all. Maybe every profession should have there own color.
  My point is that I’d rather not spend my time staring down another’s name tag on an unfamiliar unit just to figure out what they do there, especially if the tag happens to hang over “you-know-whats”. I doubt that a half-conscious patient really wants to either.

  By Herchel Portella RN on June 5, 2010 at 5:35 pm

• I graduated from nursing school in 1978. I spent many years wearing white uniforms. I know that patients complain they can’t tell who the nurse is anymore. Years ago you could tell who was in the room by the color of the uniform. Nurses wore white, doctors wore white lab jackets, nursing assistants wore pale blue, dietary wore yellow, housekeeping wore brown. It might help patients identify staff if the slacks worn were a specific color. I would hate to see nursing go back to the old uniforms. It was awfully boring to wear white every day.

  By Gwen on June 7, 2010 at 3:24 pm

• As a nursing aide caring for the elderly wearing white would get expensive. Not all stains come out even with bleach so that top or pant would have to be replaced. I also have another issue as a female…dark pants for about 7 days per month is much needed!!

  By cathie on June 13, 2010 at 7:45 am

• It shouldn’t matter what color scrubs a nurse wears, a professional is a professional. White is easily stained, hard to keep white, and a nightmare for any female nurses are still menstruating. I’ve worked in facilities where they color-coded the departments because it would be easier for patients to identify which staff worked where … even with nurses wearing all white, the patients still asked the housekeepers medical questions. I see no logical reason for requiring nurses to wear white uniforms.

  By Sheryl on June 13, 2010 at 10:37 pm

• I am a strong advocate for nurses wearing the traditional white uniform. Scrubs make the nurse look sloppy and unprofessional. They need to color code the uniforms of everyone. Nurses should wear the exact same uniform separate from doc scrubs and housekeeping uniforms.

  By Cam on June 14, 2010 at 10:30 am

• I know that some hospitals require “discipline badges” that say what they are ie: RN,LPN,TECH,MD,UDC, and so on and so forth.
  Why not try something like that?

  By Joe on June 15, 2010 at 10:05 am

• Nametags with roles (LPN, RN, CNA, etc) seem the least expensive and easiest answer for this issue. After all, in medicine, isn’t it “least invasive first”?

  By Acey on June 17, 2010 at 1:23 pm

• ED nurse for 28 yrs. Wore white for years and started with cap. Ruined several expensive white uniforms with stains that would not come out . Caught cap in curtains. Just not practical at all. I now wear scrubs. I make sure they are clean and in good condition. I always introduce myself as their nurse and my techs as techs. They still ask who is who. Color does not matter nor does the large RN tag on my name tag. They are sick and in pain and/or don’t pay attention.Act professional and you will be seen as such no matter what you are wearing.

  By Brenda on June 22, 2010 at 6:26 am

• I don’t understand why nurses feel they should be able to get away with wearing any kind and assortment of scrub and/or t-shirt they want. In my region of the country, all the area EMS services require us to wear uniform shirts and duty pants, although some make exception on very hot days (>95). Colors vary, but dark blue and white are both common. In addition to the spills and splatters that nurses have to deal with, we also deal with grease from our cots and ambulances, dirt from the street, who knows what from some of the places we are called to work. The uniforms are hot and restricting; we don’t have the benefit of climate control. And most of us feel that the dress-style uniforms are appropriate attire; few complain, and mostly that is regarding color preferences, not style of uniform. I’m ashamed that the nurses, many of the resident doctors, and other clinical staff in the hospital aren’t held to similar standards. They look sloppy and unmatched; you can’t tell who from who. And oh yea, housekeeping, secuirity and even some (not all) techs all wear specific uniforms, too. It’s part of our job and culture.

  By Paramedic Dan on June 22, 2010 at 10:59 am

• By the way, I DO believe that the pediatric setting is an exception. Although there should be standards, it should be more relaxed and visually pleasing for the kids. (And before I’m accused, I’m not saying all the nurses should dress like Dixie McCall, but some uniformity and professional attire is sorely needed, not just at my hospital, but all the hosptials in our area.)

  By Paramedic Dan on June 22, 2010 at 11:05 am

• The hospital I did my clinicals for school at, dietary & cleaning staff had uniforms, and the nurses wore their own choice of scrubs, nurses in specialty areas had specific scrubs for those areas of course (OR, Cath lab, etc). There was talk about requiring CNAs to wear prints and RNs to wear solids, I don’t know if, when or how soon they will implement this, but I think it would help provide a nice balance between visual clues and individuality.

  By Nancy on June 23, 2010 at 10:09 am

• I miss wearing all those fancy scrubs I spend $$ on last year. Now when the magazines come to the house, I have to toss it in the trash. Our hospital wears colors by discipline. RN’s wear Navy, LVN, wears dark green and all others beige. Good grief.
  Yes it is nice knowing who is who by color. (did I say that?). And getting ready for work is faster, no choices. But i MISS

  By Cindie on June 23, 2010 at 6:50 pm

• sCRUB PET PEEVE IS THAT OUR CLINIC THE BILLING PERSONNEL WEAR NICER SCRUBS THAN THE OFFICE NURSES , EMPLOYER DOES NOT RECOGNIZE NURSE LEVELS…meD TECH , rN , ALL THE SAME…WHAT IS THAT CHANGE ALL ABOUT?

  By kgb on June 30, 2010 at 9:34 pm

• I never felt burdened by wearing white. My uniforms were always fresh & clean & bleach sanitized and I was happy to be “visible” as the nurse on duty & ready to assume the responsibilities that came with that title.

  I was taught to wear a clean lab coat over my uniform when I left the unit… so as not to carry germs out into other areas of the hospital or to public areas, stores, etc.

  Currently we see these “maybe they are nurses-but who knows?” out in public in their scrubs all over the place…from the septic bedside to Walmart across the land!

  By Catherine on July 3, 2010 at 6:57 am

• Something needs to be done, for the sake of the appearance of being professional, as well as being clear who is or is not a nurse.

  We are a healthcare TEAM, and I get that. However the phlebotomist, registration representative and the environmental services aid should not be confused with or assumed to the nurse because they are all wearing scrubs. The folks who work in HIM/Medical Records at my hospital wear scrubs for goodness sake!

  I wear OR scrubs at work , because I’m in PACU, but even then you can’t tell a nurse from a specialty tech or environmental services aid.

  I personally – as a patient, family member and RN – would love to see all nurses, that aren’t in an area
  that necessitates OR scrubs, wear a white uniform top/scrub top/jacket and whatever solid color pants you prefer – whether you are in a hospital setting or a doctor’s office.

  I know that we are in the real world, and not in the world of Dr. Kildare or Marcus Welby, but when you watch those shows today, there certainly isn’t any question with regard to who is or isn’t the nurse!

  If you get something on your white top, use bleach, peroxide or BriteWite when you launder, and press on!

  I do agree that peds environments should be exempt – the character tops do help with the kids, but there should still be something CLEARLY identifying the nurse as the nurse.

  We nurses are not always respected professionally, and there seems to be a lack of understanding why this is happening.

  I know I certainly don’t want to be wearing a dress and hose, muchless a hat and cape when I’m caring for patients in the ED or the ICU, but we have do something to distinguish ourselves as nurses – in our appearance – beyond that of our ID badge.

  By Leila on July 11, 2010 at 12:27 pm

• The best thing my system did was require all RNs to wear white and/or cobalt blue or combination of the 2. Other depts have their own colors too, so with brief explanation, pts. and visitors know who’s in the room. Much mor professional than prints, is unisex, looks good on all. Wearing blue pants prevents underwear showing ,if you don’t like to bleach you can wear all blue–I prefer the white traditional nursing color top and blue pants. Peds wears kiddie prints.

  By marcia on July 20, 2010 at 8:57 pm

• I graduated in 1984 and we were just starteing to not wear our caps. I remember white hose and nylon slips. What a pain! As a human being, I love the variety of clothes that you can wear. But, I must reluctantly admit that when I wear a white uniform I am perceived as being smarter and more professional. These days with all the conflict with families and malpractice, I’ll take all the help that I can get!

  By MK on July 24, 2010 at 10:59 am

• As someone who will be entering the field of nursing in the next two years, I don’t like the idea of being forced to wear white. Mainly because it, as another commenter put it, hearkens back to the days when nurses were seen as “virginal” and pure. Plus it shows dirt, grime and body fluids much more readily (a fresh urine stain on white looks like URINE- a fresh urine stain on a darker color just looks like a blotch).

  I’m all for hospitals color coding scrubs for different duties- one color for MDs, another for nurses, etc.- and requiring a uniform other than scrubs for housekeeping staff and others who are not directly involved in patient care.

  I know that people like being able to choose what to wear to work- but patient care really needs to come before nurses’ desire to choose the colors they wear- we’ve all got days off and vacation days to express ourselves with the clothes we wear. I can see how it might be very confusing for a patient in a hospital where nurses and doctors and janitors are all wearing scrubs of their choice- color-coding scrubs at a hospital would make it much easier for patients to understand the roles of the people working on their unit. Plus student nurses would stand out more, as they would be in the color assigned to them by their school (I have to wear purple, the University of Portland’s school color). As others have mentioned, I think pediatric nurses should be given more leeway in picking scrubs with patterns or cartoon characters on them, as doing so positively impacts patient care by making children feel more comfortable with them.

  By Steve on August 1, 2010 at 11:03 am

• I strongly dislike white scrubs. They are too see-through, no matter how many layers. Tops, bottoms, both are see-through and I find that unprofessional if I can see someone’s underwear. I would prefer to have a large RN on my badge, but unfortunately my hospital doesn’t do that. They write out registered nurse in small letters on the badge. It should be big and in red.

  By Jeana on August 9, 2010 at 2:04 am

• I graduated as an RN in 1977- it was automatic that the nurses wore white. What’s the big deal ??? Now after all these years I wear anything I want, and do feel sloppy and look unprofessional, but I won’t wear all white and a cap- and be the only one on the unit. The patient would think I’m the head nurse, and all of those nurses in goofy colored outfits are aides. No way !!!!!

  By Cathy on August 10, 2010 at 3:53 pm

• Well…my teachers require white uniform. They were telling us that the color shows that we are nurses and because it’s very easy to get dirt that will learn us to be really careful in our work. I like white because I look good in white But now as I work in the ER I think that this is the most unsuited color. And no matter how careful I am I can always get one or another spot on my scrubs…If I am suppose to wear white I must have at least 2 or 3 sets of scrubs. I think we must choose the colors of our uniforms but still there must be some basic requirements. And I think that the female nurses have right to wear more girlish scrubs ( as every other women at her workplace)

  By Hristina on August 16, 2010 at 5:04 pm