Nurses: about when you they stop wearing dresses?

[Pea-n-Me]

Never had a cap and the only dress I wore was my student nursing uniform, which was actually a culotte dress.
I had a white pantsuit, but my nursing jobs did not require a uniform. In my current job, I wear street clothes and a white lab coat.

We must be from the same era! Somehow I didn't know you were a nurse - what do you do?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

them were the days

Ha! This doesn't bother me in the least. It's so ridiculous, it's funny.

 

[crashbb]

They tried white on our floor and everyone rebelled. Hard nowadays to find good scrubs that are not see through. Some of the young ins were wearing leopard undies etc. didn't last long. Now each role wears a certain color. Patients are educated upon admission. Then again with each interaction. There are welcome packets that describe roles and colors, and we hot name-tags that say RN in huge letters. And with all of that, in exit surveys patients still don't know. The colors don't help.

In undergrad, I volunteered on the pead's ward of the local hospital. One patient I got to know quite well was named Ryan. At one point, he said "I like how they all wear name tags, so everyone knows that they are my nurse". After some questioning, it turns out that he thought that R.N. stood for "Ryan's Nurse".

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I have an incredible respect for the nursing profession, so when I say this, don't be offended.

I think that the white dress, shoes, and cap really dumb down the nursing profession. I see what nurses do, they have a very demanding job and I don't think a cute little white dress and hose allow all the tasks that nurses really do. And make them appear truly as a little helper for the Dr, which I know very well isn't the case.

I know what you mean, and tend to agree with you. But I think you have to look at the reasons of why this might be required. Such as, homes that have a large population of elderly people might do it because they tend to like seeing nurses in white - that's what they grew up with, and what they know and trust. If they're confused, it could be a fall back. ("I know I'm in a hospital".) My mother's 87 and she sometimes still mentions how nice the cap was, etc. (I have a picture of my grandmother, my mother's mother, in her cap and uniform back in the late 1910's - early 1920's.) I can't imagine it in a modern, traditional facility.

I can see today's hospitals requiring color coded scrubs because patients can be confused about who's who when there are all kinds of people running around. Where I work, nurses are not required to be color coded, but ancillary personnel are (and they don't alway comply). Nurses ARE required to wear IDs and nametags, and to introduce themselves to patients and families as soon as possible at the beginning of their shifts. People tend to think up all these brilliant strategies, but it still boils down to basic communication skills and common courtesy about talking to people or entering their rooms.

 

[DVC-Don]

The last time I was admitted to a hospital everyone was color coded, but the only one can reference now is the one who brought my food wore black.

 

[Robbi]

We wore the traditional white uniform and hat in then 70s. After I was married, I stopped working and have no idea when the practice of dresses as uniforms stopped.

 

[minkydog]

Caps are disease sponges.... how are you supposed to wash them?? As for skirts, you squat down to empty a foley while some family member is asking questions while trying to keep your knees together. Also if you can't tell the difference between someone emptying your garbage and someone giving you medication, you have more problems than you thought!!

I used to wash my cap once a week in the washing machine Then dip it in liquid starch and plaster it to the side of the fridge to dry flat (which was pre-cleaned with bleach). IMO, a cap couldn't be any more germ laden than a lab coat (which generally isn't washed daily),a doctor's tie, a stethoscope, the patient's chart, the top of your head, or the shoes you wear.

And as for wearing skirts, you act like it's just IMPOSSIBLE to do your job in a skirt...thats what nurses wore, from the beginning until about 30 years ago. It's not that hard to bend down to empty a foley or check a chest tube in a dress. I've done CPR in a dress many times. Heck, I once delivered a baby in teh back seat of a car while wearing a dress and never exposed my naughty-bits. Nurses still wear dresses in other parts of the world. I'm sure they are able to perform their jobs with competency, even when "handicapped" by wearing a dress.

And personally, I DO find all the colors confusing. When my loved one is deathly ill in CCU, I'm supposed to remember colors, too? I think the bigger problem is that NURSES often don't do enough to identify themselves--and they need to do it EVERY time they have interaction with their patient, because sick and in distress often need more reminders than you'd think. And NON-NURSES often refer to themselves as a "nurse." No wonder patients and their families are confused!

 

[Kitty 34]

them were the days

My DH would go in more often for his physicals if our doctor's nurse looked like that!!!!

 

[jaminmd]

My DH would go in more often for his physicals if our doctor's nurse looked like that!!!!

Mine, too. I am a nurse but I never looked like that when I wore dresses. LOL! I'm not offended by that one bit, either, no more than when I see calendars of hunky, shirtless fireman.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

them were the days

This was my Halloween costume 2 years ago.

Ha ha! I think its hysterical so did the people at the party when i showed up dressed like that.

Some asked is that your real uniform? Yea idiot it is. Lol

 

[manning]

them were the days

Looks like the perfect stress test.

 

[focusondisney]

I have an incredible respect for the nursing profession, so when I say this, don't be offended.

I think that the white dress, shoes, and cap really dumb down the nursing profession. I see what nurses do, they have a very demanding job and I don't think a cute little white dress and hose allow all the tasks that nurses really do. And make them appear truly as a little helper for the Dr, which I know very well isn't the case.

I used to say: when the MDs wear a little hanky on their head, I will too!


I have been an RN for 35 years. Not only did I start out wearing the cap, dress, white stockings & polished white shoes, I even had to buy the navy blue cape in nursing school!! It's still packed away in the back of my closet. And yes, back when I was young I climbed on a few beds to do CPR in that dress uniform too.

It is possible to perform the job in a dress. But you know, the whole culture has changed. Most women I know don't wear dresses to work, no matter what thier profession. I think I last wore a dress in the mid 90's. I am just getting old & more comfortable in pants.

 

[Stinkerbe11]

My last job had a color coded system and required RNs to wear navy blue scrubs. I have worked in hospitals with a more liberal dress code and wore a white dress and white hose but never wore my hat. The patients loved it, I was always getting compliments on how professional it looked.

 

[XYSRUS]

I wore a white dress up until about 1998. I loved it. It was easy to dress in the morning and was comfortable. And since I worked in the cath lab we did CPR often-unfortunately-and it was fine. I wear scrubs now on procedure days, and whites on clinic days. People love the whites. And I compleltely agree about the confusing colors and everyone calling themselves "nurses". It's a wonder anyone knows who anyone is in the hospital. I always introduce myself and my title, and repeat my name if they need to call or reference me, and invite them to stop anybody if they need help because every one of your team members should be able to assist patients and family members in some way. And that's a whole different thread.

 

[Bob NC]

Nurses: about when do they stop wearing dresses?

When they come home with me.







I'm sorry, I couldn't help it.

 

[npstudent2012]

I don't even get to wear scrubs where I nurse. I kind of miss wearing scrubs, no thought in to what I'm wearing the next day.

 

[Bob NC]

My DH would go in more often for his physicals if our doctor's nurse looked like that!!!!

Nice outfit, but when you get past 50 you choose the women doctors because they have shorter fingers.

 

[SueM in MN]

We must be from the same era! Somehow I didn't know you were a nurse - what do you do?

Yes - Infection Prevention

 

[jaminmd]

Yes - Infection Prevention

Hey, me too. It's a job you either love or hate, lol.

 

[SueM in MN]

Hey, me too. It's a job you either love or hate, lol.

Nice thing about Nursing is that there are a lot of choices.