So you can show your own personal style with your scrubs, we are always on the look for new and upcoming trends. We want to make sure we carry what’s “hot”! Styles change often so trying to keep up with the trends is enough to make your head spin! I started thinking about different medical uniforms that have been in style for a long time and I came up with a list of a styles and prints that have become a trendy uniform staple for the fashionista at heart! Over the next few weeks I will focus on some of them, and today I want to place the spot light on one fan favorite (as well as mine), and that is animal print uniforms!

I have seen a lot of zebra & cheetah prints while shopping around town and nursing uniform manufactures seemed to have noticed this trend as well! We have been getting in super cute animal prints including  Baby Phat’s 100% Cotton Animal Instinct Mock Wrap Scrub Top, Sanita’s Professional Safari Patent Clog, and Baby Phat’s Wild Kingdom Scrub Top which has just a hint of zebra print for the not-so- bold crowd.

Check back for other posts featuring popular trends in nursing uniforms!

Receive FREE SHIPPING when you spend $99 or more this week PLUS 50% off Healing Hands Uniforms!

The Healing Hands fit is designed to maximize movement while maintaining a flattering silhouette, and the scientifically developed chief-value cotton fabric is as durable as it is comfortable. One look, one touch, one wear, one wash will convince you.

Enter code PWF99Y12 in your shopping cart or click through on the banner below to activate the sale.

*Offers are valid through 5/20/12 at midnight EST. Free shipping offer applies to standard U.S. shipping only.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

We hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day! Today only, please enjoy FREE SHIPPING on ANY size order!

Nurse's Week ends on May 12th, the birthday of Florence Nightingale. Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy on May 12, 1820. During the Crimean War, she and a team of nurses improved the unsanitary conditions at a British base hospital, reducing the death count by two-thirds. Her writings sparked worldwide health care reform. In 1860 she established St. Thomas’ Hospital and the Nightingale Training School for Nurses. She died August 13, 1910, in London (biography.com).

Florence Nightingale has left a nursing legacy that is remembered on this day each year. We express gratitude and appreciation for the professionals that provide care and healing in our world and honor the legacy of modern nursing's founder.

And as Nurse's Week comes to an end we just want to thank you again for all of your hard-work, sacrifice and care that you give!

Dickies Gen Flex Scrubs: The functionality to work your best and the style to look your best. We call it "Youtility," You just might call it "Perfect." 

The Dickies Youtility 9 Pocket Scrub Pant is perfect for the nurse on the go! This pant is a junior fit utility pant that features an all around elastic waistband with wide belt loops, drawstring waist, two back pockets, front shaped pockets with additional sectional pockets and ID bungee loop, multi-needle contrast topstitching, two cargo pockets, motion knee darts and a straight leg. Inseam: regular -30 1/2", petite - 28", tall - 32".

Here's a review from our customer StephRN79 in PA:

Comvenient AND Comfy!!

These pants are awesome! They are so comfortable and have many pockets for all of my supplies! I work 12 hour shifts at a hospital and they still feel and look good at the end of my shift! The color seems like it will stay vibrant for awhile. I am very pleased with this new line of scrubs from Dickies!

We have plenty of Dickies Uniforms options just for you! Below are the different collections available:

• Dickies Everyday Scrubs
• Dickies Generation Flex Scrubs
• Dickies Hip Flip Scrubs
• Dickies Enzyme Washed Scrubs
• Dickies Soft Works Scrubs
• Dickies New Blue Denim Scrubs
• AND more!

Now is a perfect time to try them for yourself! During Nurse's Week all Dickies Nursing Uniforms are an additional 20% off PLUS get a free Messenger Tote Bag with a $50 purchase PLUS $5 ships ANY size order! Click here or on the sale banner below to activate!

Happy Nurses Week! All over the country this week, you are probably receiving a cupcake or a coffee mug from your employer to recognize you for all the hard work you do. Nurses are the backbone of the healthcare delivery system- the last checkpoint through which medications and interventions, prescribed by physicians and dispensed by pharmacists, pass before being provided to the patient. We prevent errors. We provide compassion. We help people get better, or we help comfort those who won't get better.

I heard a commencement speech last weekend about nurses being the most trusted profession according to the yearly Gallup pole we all know about. The speaker, a nurse who is also a lawyer, felt that although nurses are the most trusted, we are the least valued. I don't want to sound ungrateful for my cupcake or my coffee mug, but I tend to agree with that statement. I know that even though we save people's lives and make a profound difference to our communities, our employers can't afford to give us multi million dollar salaries, or huge trophies or championship rings like athletes...but they can afford to throw huge parties and take out full page newspaper ads during Doctors' Week! At least where I come from...

But I am a nurse. I didn't go into this profession for all the kudos and pats on the back, and recognition for a job well done. I did it because I wanted to help people, to make their time on this earth a little better and more comfortable. And that's why I have stayed in this profession year after year. The real reward is seeing smiles on my patients' faces or on my students' when they successfully perform a skill on a real person for the first time.

I hope that this week you will know how much you ARE valued...by your patients, your co-workers, and your families and friends. You do things for others that non-nurses don't. You make a difference. And that is something to celebrate.

Take some time for yourself this week. Get a massage, or a pedicure, or enjoy a nice walk by yourself. You deserve it.

Last week Melissa posted a customer review regarding our WonderWink WinkMink line, you can read it here. This had me thinking about how hard it really is to explain the fantastic fabric WonderWink's WinkMink has, along with many other brands we carry! There are only so many ways you can explain something before you just have to say… “You need to feel these for yourself!” I wanted to share a few of those “need to feel for yourself” items:

• WonderWink's WinkMink - This sweet, feather-light and baby soft fabric is how you define luxury.
• Koi Print Tops - These 100% cotton tops are a great way to enjoy style without missing out on comfort.  
• Cherokee Luxe - This brand is a soft, lightweight fabric with a hint of spandex that makes moving around all-day comfortable and easy.
• Urbane Fleece Jacket - This ultra-soft cardigan makes you feel like you’re wrapped up in a cozy fleece blanket. 
• Cherokee Core Stretch - Cherokee Workwear with a touch of spandex added for comfort; what more could you ask for!  
• Dickies New Blue - (On sale this week!) This 100% Cotton Denim line is perfect the perfect way to look like your wearing jeans while staying relaxed and cool all day.  
• Landau Tencel - These 55% Tencel 45% recycled Rayon scrubs couldn’t possibly be any softer; it feels like your wearing your silk pajamas to work! 
• Grey's Anatomy - This one-of-a-kind fabric drapes you in comfort while still always keeping you looking stylish and pulled together.

I would love to hear what your favorite comfortable or soft scrubs are!

We started out Nurse's Week asking you to share your story about why you decided to become a nurse. One submission will be chosen at random to receive a free thank you gift! You can still submit your entires here.

Throughout the week, as a thank you for all that you do, Lydia's is offering you $5 shipping on ANY size order PLUS a free messenger tote bag for orders of $50 or more!

At LydiasUniforms.com we also have a sale on gift cards this week. Perfect as a thank you for your favorite nurse and also just in time for Mother's Day! 20% off of all gift cards is a great deal:

$25 gift card... you only pay $20!

$50 gift card... you only pay $40!

$100 gift card... you only pay $80!

Click here to shop all denominations of our gift certificate sale.

American Nurses Association: Nurses - Advocating, Leading, Caring. Often described as an art and a science, nursing is a profession that embraces dedicated people with varied interests, strengths and passions because of the many opportunities the profession offers. As nurses, we work in emergency rooms, school based clinics, and homeless shelters, to name a few. We have many roles – from staff nurse to educator to nurse practitioner and nurse researcher – and serve all of them with passion for the profession and with a strong commitment to patient safety.

Nurse's Week is May 6th - 12th, a time to celebrate all nurses and health care providers for everything you do!

We would love to hear your story of how you chose the medical field as your career. Were you inspired by someone you knew that was a nurse, have you always been interested in health, do you have generations of medical professionals in your family tree or did you just feel in your heart that your line of work was what you were meant to do?

Please share with us your story by either commenting on this post on Facebook or commenting on this blog. One submission will be randomly selected for a special thank you gift!

Check back throughout Nurse's Week for additional contests, giveaways, and recognition of the difference you make.

Receive FREE SHIPPING on ANY SIZE order today only at www.LydiasUniforms.com with keycode PWCDMF12.

Plus, freshen up your medical uniform selection with our new MID-SUMMER 2012 styles, to view them click here!
 

WonderWink - We are the past, the present and the future of scrubs. We strive to capture the fresh, fun, and exciting essence of uniforms with our perfected fit, finish, details, and colors, always moving forward to bring you the ultimate experience: scrubs that change your attitude. From the Creative Team that launched fashion into the world of uniforms, we bring you commitment, creativity, passion, exploration, and innovation; endless hours of sketching, tracing, cutting, sewing, fitting, laughing, fixing, and triumphing to create everything uniforms could and should be. 

WonderWink's ulta-soft collection is Wink Mink, and you will want to feel them for yourself! A feather-light, and baby-soft fabric that  is chic and comfy. The WonderWink Mink Fashion V-neck Scrub Top is defintily not your ordinary nursing uniform top. This  top features a fashion v-neck with yoke detail, two lower pockets including one Wink triple pocket with a hidden mesh pocket, signature ID bungee loop, invisible three part accessory loop and is 26 1/2" long, made with 55% cotton/45% polyester brushed mini twill.

Here's a review from our customer Susan in Jersey City, NJ:

Wink Mink Fashion V-Neck Scrub Top

This is one of the best scrub tops your money can buy - soft, durable, high-quality fabric, figure-flattering design, and comfortable, practical functionality with multiple deep pockets. It's brains and beauty in one.

Today marks the beginning of Lupus Awareness Month. This year, the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) is asking the public to “Put On Purple” for lupus awareness by wearing purple and telling people why they are showing their support for all people affected by this disease. May 10th is World Lupus Day and Friday, May 18th is Put On Purple Day.

Each year an estimated 16,000 people develop lupus and 90% of those are women (www.cure4lupus.org). This is a scary statistic when many have no idea what lupus even is. I was in that category up until a few years ago. Lupus Awareness Month is something that means a great deal to me because I am one of the 1.5 million Americans with lupus (www.cure4lupus.org).

I have always experienced issues with my health, like joint pain and swelling, fatigue, and fainting spells because my iron levels were too low and no one could figure out why. By the age of sixteen I had undergone many ultra sounds, stress tests, and blood tests; I was ready to give up looking for an answer. It was not until I was 18 that I was finally given an answer, so it is not hard for me to believe that 50% of lupus patients see at least 3 doctors, over at about 4 years before being diagnosed (www.cure4lupus.org). The complexity of lupus makes it difficult to diagnose and treat.

I believe there are a couple key things about lupus everyone should know; including that at this time there is no cure and it is not certain what causes lupus. There is a misconception of what lupus actually is; it is not a form of cancer. It is an autoimmune disease where the body's immune system becomes hyperactive and attacks normal, healthy tissue. This results in symptoms such as inflammation, swelling, and damage to joints, skin, kidneys, blood, the heart, and lungs (Medical News Today). One of the hardest things to understand about lupus is just how unpredictable it really is; this is actually something my doctor has had to remind me of many times; especially when I go from feeling great and feeling like I am “cured” to being bed ridden for an entire day.

Lupus Awareness Month is one way to get the word out about this disease, to raise awareness and funds for research in the hope of finding a cure. This is just a little bit of insight on lupus and Lupus Awareness Month; please feel free to find out more information with the following links:

- Lupus Foundation of America
- Lupus Awareness Month Kit 2012
- Put On Purple Day: Friday, May 18, 2012
- Put On Purple Day fact sheet
- The Road to a Lupus Cure blog
- Cure4Lupus.org
- Medical News Today: What is Lupus?
- World Lupus Day: Thursday, May 10, 2012

This week, take up to $15 OFF your order at www.LydiasUniforms.com. The more you buy, the more you save: take $5 off $30, $10 off $60 of $15 off $90. Click here to activate your coupon and start shopping now!

*Offer valid through 5/6/12 midnight EST. Cannot be combined with any other coupons or promotions.

Cherokee Flexibles equals bold, stylish, form-flattering, comfort, movement, and shape!

The colors and fit make the Cherokee Pro Flexibles V-neck Scrub Top a great staple for any nursing uniform! This top features stretch side panels providing you with comfort and a slimming style, front pockets with snap closures, front yoke, two large pockets with secure snap closure, set-in sleeves, matching soft knit spandex side panels and is 26" long, made of a brushed 65% polyester/35% cotton with soil release.

Here is a review from our customer Rose in Orange, CA:

The Panels Complimet Your Shape

Love this scrub! Cherokee is coming up with very stylish, professional-looking tops and at great prices. Even Koi doesn't compare to the variety Cherokee is putting out. Our hospital has limited RNs to wearing solid royal blue. So it's all about stylish cuts and this top is one of them. The panels are continuous with the color really complimenting your shape. A very clean-looking line with lots of style. Absolutely love it!

Like many other people, I am addicted to watching television! I have always had a huge interest in shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Boston Practice, House, and Scrubs. They are so intense and I feel like I might learn something while I watch them. Sometimes after watching House I think back to a time when I may have had a symptom his patient did and I being to wonder…. I don’t think I am the only one who has done this, at least I hope not :) and it is probably pretty frustrating for Medical staff to hear self diagnosing due an episode on television.
 
I’ve been a fan of these medical dramas for quite a long time and sometimes wonder what, if anything is close to reality. Of course when they open up someone’s chest there is often hardly any blood, they use the most random objects to replace needed equipment and seem to have all of these off the wall things happen on a daily basis, of course all of this makes for great T.V.! Just a couple weeks ago Grey’s Anatomy had two people that were mauled by a pet lion, there was hardly any blood and the wounds were practically healed before they had even had a chance to work on them.
 
Don’t get me wrong I still love watching these shows but I wonder how many of you like them as well. How much of what happens in these shows is close to reality? I would love to hear from medical professionals about this!

Speaking of Grey's Anatomy, check out our fabulous line of high quality, figure flattering items by Grey's Anatomy Scrubs. Click here to view them all!

Receive FREE SHIPPING when you spend $99 or more this week at www.LydiasUniforms.com. PLUS 20% off Cherokee Flexibles and Tooniforms! Stock up on flattering and well-fitting Flexible Medical Uniforms or order the fun and vibrant Tooniforms Uniforms print you've had your eye on. Enter code PWF99412 in your shopping cart or click through on the banners below to activate.

*Offers are valid through 4/29/12 at midnight EST. Free shipping offer applies to standard U.S. shipping only.

Today is Earth Day 2012 - 42nd anniversary. I started thinking about what type of community service I would like to do; while I was thinking it dawned on me that I should not only be planning for Earth Day, but trying to come up with ways to help clean up our environment and be a bit “Greener” on a daily basis. Things like riding my bike or walking to grocery store, turning off the light when I leave a room, picking up garbage I find on the ground and a few more commonly used ideas came to mind right away. A while later I realized these are all great things for someone who has extra time on their hands; but at the moment is not me! I did a little research and came across a couple things that no matter how busy I am, I can do to help out and I thought I would share with you.

One fantastic idea is to use reusable tote bags instead of plastic bags when grocery shopping or carrying things for your workday. Lydia's Uniforms has quite a few reusable totes including our Pink Rocks tote bag by Nurse Mates and for a more traditional tote we have our Essential Tote Bag that comes in 7 fabulous colors.

Another great idea is buying items made from recycled material. A prefect example of this would be our Tencel line by Landau, we carry two sets of scrub bottoms and the different scrub tops that are made with 45% recycled polyester. These items are not only great easy way to help our environment but they also feel like you’re wearing silk!

These are only two small ways I found that we can use to improve the amount of pollution we create on a daily basis without interrupting a busy schedule. I would love to hear more, so please feel free to leave me a comment!

Read about Lydia's Uniforms green efforts here: Lydia's Green Efforts

Happy Earth Day Everyone!

This week is National Volunteer Week! Since it was established in 1974, National Volunteer Week has grown and is receiving much more support from U.S. presidents, governors, mayors and other respected elected officials.

It’s about inspiring, encouraging and spreading the word to motivate people to seek out ways to help out in their communities. There are many ways you can help out are things like:

• At-risk youth
• Community building
• Disaster preparedness
• Environment
• Intergenerational
• Mentoring
• Out-of-school time
• Poverty and low-income needs
• Public safety
• Senior services
• Tutoring
• Veterans services
• Youth service

A great website to find a volunteer opportunity in your area is VolunteerMatch.org.  VolunteerMatch describes their service: VolunteerMatch strengthens communities by making it easier for good people and good causes to connect. The organization offers a variety of online services to support a community of nonprofit, volunteer and business leaders committed to civic engagement. Our popular service welcomes millions of visitors a year and has become the preferred internet recruiting tool for more than 82,000 nonprofit organizations. Click here to visit their site to check it out!

Another very helpful site is VolunteerSpot. I have used VolunteerSpot to organize our volunteers and their schedules for the non-profit I work with. Their tools are so helpful when working on an event because life leading up to the event can be hectic!

VolunteerSpot launched in Spring, 2009 with the mission of enabling ANYONE to quickly mobilize and coordinate volunteers in their community, congregation and social network. VolunteerSpot’s simple sign up application makes it easy for community members to participate and say YES to volunteering. No waiting for approvals and passwords, no software to install, just easy, free scheduling and sign up tools for everyday heroes making a difference. Click here to visit their site!

Do you have a favorite organization or service that you volunteer with? Please share with us, we would love to hear what an impact is being made by your actions!

WonderWink Four-Stretch Scrubs - High performance, seriously low maintenance workwear. Wear it straight out of the dryer! A mechanical stretch yarn process specially engineered to exceed the performance and durability of other fabrics. Unique washed effect texture for unbeatable softness and EASY CARE.

The Wink Four Stretch Sporty Cargo Scrub Pant is a customer favorite! This pant features a boot-cut fit, full elastic Wink drawstring waist, reinforced side seam pockets, one triple cargo pocket with bungee cord and secret mesh pocket, and one back patch pocket. With forward side seam and double knee stitch detail, side vents at hem, made with 100% easy-care polyester and a 31" regular inseam, 28" petite inseam, 33" tall inseam.

Here's a review from our customer Malinda in Gaylesville, AL:

wink 4-way stretch

I love the wink 4 way stretch pants, both the cargo and fold over waist. The fit is great and being able to take them out of the dryer (even if left in there for several hours) and put them on and go is my kind of scrubs. Wish they made lab jackets in colors to match the tops and bottoms

 Wondering what WonderWink, WonderWink Four-Stretch, WonderWink Two-Stretch,  WonderWink Origins and WonderWink Mink Wink are all about?

Try them for yourself, you won't regret it! Click here to view them all.

This week receive $5.00 Shipping on any size order at www.LydiasUniforms.com!

Great opportuninity to try some of our new Summer 2012 items for yourself! Bright and fun prints from Koi Scrubs, White Cross Scrubs, Cherokee Scrubs, Dickies Uniforms, and vibrant solid items from Carhartt Scrubs.

Click here to activate or enter code PWF5SH12 in your shopping cart.

*$5.00 Shipping valid through 4/22/12. Discounted shipping applies to standard shipping within the U.S.