Folks who bitch about how well the nursing staff are/aren’t dressed have obviously never really been in need of medical assistance.
If you think “rumpled” is bad you should OR staff coming out of a room after an operation.
I don’t care if their clothes are “rumpled” or “wrinkled”, if they’re wearing make-up or not, if their hair is stylish or not… all I give a damn about is that they are competant professionals who will take care of me when I can’t take care of myself.
You idiots who think fucking wrinkles are so damn important need to get your priorities straightened out.
And for the nurses in the front lines - thanks for doing a damn fine job in the trenches. You gals and guys don’t get enough credit for what you do.
i have no problem with the scrub look. i occasionally raise a “what the hell were they thinking” at some of the colour choices, who exactly thought 1980’s peach and tropical kabana bird pattern were soothing fabrics?
but in the end getting the job done in a busy public hospital is more important than looking like you’re wearing jarmies.
that said last time i was in a private hospital the nurse was wearing a white zip up dressy arrangement.
There are two kinds of uniforms: The uniform that exists primarily to indicate the status of the wearer, and the uniform that is designed to help the user do his or her job.
In whatever line of work, people in the front lines almost exclusively wear utilitarian uniforms. Symbolic uniforms are almost always worn away from the front lines by those in a supporting role. Note that the administrative and support functions performed by those wearing symbolic uniforms can be crucial to the overall effort.
The starched white frock with cap is a primarily symbolic uniform. Scrubs are utilitarian. In our local hospital, the supervising nurses wear white, while the “grunts” (a title to be proud of, by the way!) wear scrubs. Doctors in administration wear ties and white lab coats, doctors on-call wear scrubs.
When a supervisor wants to indicate symbolically that he or she is “in the trenches” with the workers, they almost always adopt the uniform of the front-line employees. (Employees are generally very good at sniffing out whether this is real or a pose.)
There’s a nursing shortage, and probably will be until the last of the baby boomers dies off. Scrubs make nursing a more attractive career. Think about it: it only costs about $250 for a year’s work clothes, there’s no need to waste time and money on makeup (unless you want to), sneakers or good sturdy comfortable shoes can be worn every day. To a teenager choosing a job, or someone looking to switch careers, the scrub look should be on the list in favor of nursing. It won’t be the only reason that they choose to be a nurse, but it is a huge savings on both money and time over a lifetime. We need more nurses, and people like the OP who still want them to be dressed in a way that only appears in porn aren’t helping to encourage young people (especially men) to become nurses.
I love the idea of a job with really comfy clothes!
Seriously, though, I’m in nursing school right now, and I’m telling you, there is no way in hell I’m getting all dolled up at 5am so I can give people bedbaths or change wound dressings. Comfort is paramount when you’re doing this kind of stuff, especially with infection control measures being what they are right now in Toronto - I have to get in and out of full isolation gear each time I walk into a patient’s room. Do you honestly think anyone can even see what I’m wearing, let alone give a crap whether I’m in business casual or not?
I know what you mean! I had surgery a while back and I was just shocked at how my surgeon was dressed. He had on these ugly green scrubs and some kind of frock, and a really stupid looking hat of some kind. It was a really ugly hat, I can’t believe a professional would choose that. I thought, he’s going to be performing my surgery? He should at least be wearing a tie!
Ok, really -
I used to work for a company that sold medical scrubs and uniforms, and there are a lot of reasons why scrubs are practical. Besides the many reasons already given, usually nurses don’t have much choice - they have to follow dress codes set by the hospital. Some local hospitals dressed the staff by color code, so people could easily tell at a glance who was housekeeping, who was pediatric, surgical, etc. Scrubs are relatively low-cost (compared to the white dress uniforms) and easy to clean and to take care of.
We did carry a few white traditional dresses, but we only sold a few of those, it was mostly newly graduating nurses that wanted one for graduation pictures or something. Same with the hats, they were mostly for show. Those dresses were not practical and quite expensive. Even wearing white dress pants is difficult and more expensive, and white looks good for about 5 minutes, until you actually come in contact with another person.
Funny how none of the people “disapproving” of nurses wearing scrubs have come back here to post.
Feeling a bit silly are we?
I would personally rather have a nurse know what the hell he/she is doing then looking pretty. I’ve been in the hospital a couple of times and have had both bitchy nurses and nice nurses, all wearing scrubs. All I cared about was how well they made me feel better, both physically and emotionally.
I dream of the day I can wear scrubs to work… (I’m not in the right profession but man, i’d be nice… )
Clothes don’t have to look like you-don’t-give-a-shit-how-you-look to be comfy.
For nurses that are doing messy work, fine. But what about the nurses in clinics where the most they are doing is taking temperatures and maybe drawing a little blood. As a patient I already feel like a non-person. (I’ve reached the point where if I make an appointment at 3:00, I know that really means 3:30, so that’s when I show.) That the nurses feel free to see me while in their pajamas just adds to that.
It’s all a part of a general trend of the last 30-40 years that if your appearance has no practical function – like impressing people as a salesman, lawyer, or politician – then your appearance doesn’t matter.
No it’s more than that. As Daffodil5 points out, scrubs help make nursing appealing to young people. That’s because young people think it is appealing to not look good – in certain ways. The whole thing is a mystery to me. I see women in public that clearly have spent a great deal of effort on their hair and make-up, and then go out dressed in sweats – or worse. They wouldn’t put on a pretty outfit no matter how comfortable it was because it would look too good and therefore be socially unacceptable.
It’s all part of a strange embrace of the ugly that’s happened slowly and subtley in the last few generations. For earlier generations standards of appearance changed over time, but in the last 60 years it is simply that standards have lowered.
And don’t tell me that skirts (of the right shape) aren’t comfortable. The Scots and Romans fought countless wars wearing skirts. I’d love to wear a kilt myself if I could get away with it socially, but the attention would be so much trouble it wouldn’t be worth it.
Why in the world do you think people are dressing down because they are afraid of looking “too good?” Did you ask the woman why she had spent time on her hair but was wearing sweats? Could it be because she got home from work and changed? No, it must be because it would be socially unacceptable to look “too good.” In what society? Seriously, I have never heard this before, that I must be careful not to look too good.
Some skirts may be comfortable but the first time a nurse has to bend or stretch it’s not practical. Plus, wearing a skirt involves hose, and that’s anything but comfortable or practical. Otherwise she could spend time shaving before each shift, but the lack of hose would probably be seen as unprofessional, too.
Nurses aren’t there to look nice for you, they are there to take care of you. If you don’t feel like you are receiving adequate care, that is a legitimate complaint. Not liking the nurses’ uniforms does not keep you from getting good care, and having happy and comfortable nurses helps you get better care.
Francis, your latest post really shows how ignorant you are of the duties and requirements of modern nursing, even in a clinic. I think a lot of the posters previous to this have covered the subject quite nicely - my wife is also a nurse who’s worked in abortion clinics, neonatal units, and hospice for the dying (and that’s just since I’ve known her) - and her experiences jibe almost completely with what’s been said here.
Your defense of your original statement boils down to nothing more than “things ain’t what they used to be”. Sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Van Winkle, but the 1930s are long gone. Pull your curmudgeonly head out of your ass and at least try to familiarize yourself with something before you yield to the compulsion to comment on it. Therein lies the fundamental element of “fighting ignorance”, which as you’ll note is the goal of this particular Message Board.
Prior to this thread, I thought this issue had more to do with lack of understanding that since almost all necessary activity requires social interaction (in this case, both staff/staff and staff/patient), personal appearance affects the way they feel about others and themselves and therefore a real impact on job performance. (I’d bet money that there are sociological studies out there that support this conclusion. It’s been known by the military for a thousand years.)
But the more I think about it with respect to our culture as whole, I think these trends are more of a overall preference in America for the “sloppy.” Recognizing that, I don’t know where my criticism goes from here because I find this preference a mystery. Thankfully, all such trends come to an end eventually.
Oops. I had forgotten that we are superior in all ways to every previous generation simply by virtue of our privileged place in history. I’m sure future generations will continue to extol the cultural superiority of 2003 to the 1930’s. It is well known that pre-TV cultures know nothing about effective social interation.
Now where did I say we were superior? I merely pointed out that your defense is extraordinarily weak, and displays an appalling lack of any sort of familiarity with the subject at hand.
You haven’t heard this before because it is so much a part of our culture now that nobody questions it, or even notices it.
People often tell me that I “always look so nice.” Why? Becaues I wear a tie and a jacket? No. Because I wear a shirt with a collar, cotton, casual trousers instead of jeans, and casual shoes instead of sneakers. These clothes are certainly not more uncomfortable, unless its too hot (when I do go to shorts). But in our present society, my clothes are “dressed up.” (I live in Kansas and standards are probably even looser here than on the coasts.)
Another instance, when I was in the Navy in the 80s, nobody wore their uniform except when they absolutely had to. I liked wearing my uniform, but I wouldn’t wear it either because I wanted to fit in with my shipmates. If I expressed how much I liked wearing my uniform I would have been regarded as some kind of freak.
But once upon a time wearing a military uniform was privilege. They wanted to wear their uniform and took pleasure in it. Attitudes have changed.
It is not that they do not look nice enough, it is that a deliberate decision has been made to not look nice. This is beyond the comfort issue. There are other comfortable uniforms that would look better. Again, see your auto mechanic for instance.
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