Image: Jen Bennett
Let’s face it: if you want to be taken seriously, you have to look the part! But sometimes it can get a bit messy out there in a nurse’s world.
Heck, we’ve been known to safety-pin the waistband of our scrubs when we’ve worn the elastic past it’s due date, so we’re certainly not pointing fingers.
What we ARE doing to heal your fashion woes is prescribing an examination with our style doctor. Some easy style fixes may help you get more respect from your patients and coworkers.
Here are 15 tips (with visuals…ahem!) to help you be mindful of fashion blunders!
(1) Watch the cleavage
(2) Steer clear of stains
(3) Too tight ain’t right
(4) No peek-a-boo, please
(5) High waters = low marks
(6) Cleanliness is next to nurse-iness
(7) Hair-y issue
(8) More hair-y issues
(9) Tattoo snafu
(10) Makeup mania
(11) Bling
(12) Old school
(13) Goth nurse
(14) Optical illusion
(15) Skin tones, please
For more Career Advice for Nurses pick up the latest issue of Scrubs magazine, available at a retail store near you!
RN
Registered Nurse
I don’t know why hospitals are going assigned uniforms now while ignoring overlooking the “This brings us to the subject of butt cracks and “whale tails.” ” not to mention the undue cleavage sightings. I find those faux pas far less professional then varied scrubs.
LPN
Licensed Practical Nurse
The hospital uniforms tend to have a “unisex cut” which doesn’t work well on a curvier shape such as mine. The size may be right but there isn’t enough room in the booty, which scares me if I bend over. I don’t want to be showing the old Plumber’s Crack. This was my worry when I was doing my clinical rotation in the O.R. I understand why they want to use their own uniforms in the O.R. but there should be some pants specifically sized for women. I can’t be the only woman out there who really can’t wear the unisex pants with any degree of comfort!
RN
Registered Nurse
#16 and 17 should be the visible thong, and the other with the low rise pants, visible underwear and butt cleavage,
LPN
Licensed Practical Nurse
I’m a big woman with long legs and it is hard for me to find pants that aren’t “flood pants” to a degree without also being too big in the waist and falling down. On an LPN salary, I certainly don’t have the money to get pants that are specially tailored! They have “petite length” pants but no tall pants in uniform stores. It’s kind of frustrating. Folks who are 3x – tall have a tough go of it. The 3x is out there but good luck finding the tall!
Anyone who chooses to make a snide remark about my size needs to eat flaming death. I am sick and tired of the sizeism that exists in our society. A nurse’s size does not determine his/her ability to do a good job. And in everyday life, a person’s size does not determine their ability and certainly not their worth as a human being.
LPN
Licensed Practical Nurse
Which brings me to this:
“It’s time to shop for scrubs that are the right fit while you work off the extra pounds. You can affectionately call them your “holiday” scrubs.”
Or how about just calling them your scrubs and working out for health if you choose rather than for weight loss? Working out for the sake of weight loss alone can be a prescription for failure for many people. I am a recovered bulimic. If I start working out for weight loss, it can lead to unhealthy obsessive behavior. I work out to GAIN certain things: strength, flexibility, endurance, lung capacity. I never work out for weight loss.
Size is not necessarily an indicator of health. There are healthy heavy people and unhealthy skinny ones. The only thing you can tell looking at a person of any given size is their size. You do not know how healthy/fit or unhealthy/unfit they are.
Fan
Because nurses deserve their own fan base
Hello therealcie. Thank you so much for your comments. We apologize if our article may have offended you. We certainly were not trying to imply that nurses should work out for any reason other than their health. We agree absolutely – a nurse should exercise with his/her health in mind.
As for tall scrubs – there are several brands that manufacture scrubs bottoms in Tall. Here are a couple:
Cherokee Authentic Workwear Flare Leg Scrub Pant
Dickies Hip Flip Cargo Flare Leg Scrub Pant
Just paste these into your browser’s search box for reviews and places to buy.
Good luck and thanks so much again for sharing your thoughts with Scrubs.
Best, Scrubs Editors