• Nursing Shortage Eases with Recession’s Help
• Minorities, Poor Find Communicating With Doctors More Difficult
• RN Leader To Testify At Congressional Hearing Wednesday On Single-Payer Healthcare Reform
• Nursing Workforce Solutions For 21st Century Health Care: How Do We Get There?
• If All Doctors Had More Time to Listen

• Swine flu cases near 30000 worldwide
• FDA gives Medtronic recall its most serious score
• Poultry is No. 1 Source of Outbreaks, Study Says
• Greater Risks For Patients With Heart Attacks Posed By Crowded Emergency Departments
• Experts urge new screening for diabetes
• Tobacco Regulation Bill is Expected to Pass Senate

• What’s on Your Nurse’s Dream List?
• Nurse Jackie Revisited: Do the Cringes Outweigh the Moments of Recognition?

A few months back I wrote a post about how easy it can be to buy medical scrubs for an office or group at Lydia’s Uniforms. Since then, we’ve been busy adding more features to make it even simpler! So let me tell you about what’s been happening and how it’s going to help your group buy medical uniforms.

We still have the all the things I told you about in my previous post: knowledgeable customer service reps, custom embroidery (with the set-up fee waived for orders over $495), group discounts and custom e-stores (think personalized login, scrubs that your company chooses and even products displayed in your colors with your logo). <-- Visit my last post on group orders for even more details about any of these things.

Now here’s what’s new:

We’ve decreased the minimum order size for group discounts and the discounts are available all day every day! Get your group to order just $200 worth of medical scrubs and you’ll receive $25 off. Have an order of $350? That means $50 off. And an order of $500 or more means you’ll get $75 off! I know it wouldn’t take much for a group of my friends to spend $200-$500 on work clothes and I bet that’s the case for you as well.

Lydia’s has also added a payroll deduction feature. After a quick set up, your company can make shopping easy for employees by deducting their medical uniform purchases right from their paychecks. Employees can buy scrubs without a hassle and the result is a staff that looks professional and put together. Everybody wins!

And as always we have tons of scrubs that are great for groups. Whether you’re looking for stylish uniforms, men’s nursing scrubs or just affordable uniforms that will fit your budget there’s something for everyone. Need a recommendation? Call us at 1.800.293.7721, email us, live chat or even leave a comment and we’ll be happy to help. Or if you want my personal recommendation, click here.

Now stop reading this, go get your group together and save some money on your scrub uniforms!
 
Or if you have something to say, leave a comment here.
 

If you’re responsible for buying medical scrubs for your office, or if you want to get a group of co-workers and friends together to place your order, Lydia’s Uniforms has some options to make the job a little bit easier for you. We don’t want you to get stressed out about something as simple as buying scrubs so we’ve done everything we can to make the process as effortless as possible.

So here’s how it works: When ordering for a large office or group you’ll be speaking with someone from our team of Customer Service Representatives who will handle your order. All of our Customer Service Reps have tons of knowledge about our products and the group ordering process so they'll be very helpful and able to answer any of your questions. If you would like a custom logo embroidered onto your medical coats and apparel scrubs they’ll help you arrange that and Lydia’s will even waive the $95 set-up fee if you’re placing an order of $495 or more. I personally think logos are a great addition to a lab coat or scrub top, but some people prefer their uniform without; it’s all up to you whether you want one or not! Plus, if you’re placing an order over $500 we do offer group discounts so you’ll be able to save a little money when you order for everyone at once. If you want to order discount medical uniforms for everyone in the office it will be easy to arrange or if everyone will be picking out their own stylish medical scrubs that’s not a problem either. So in short, Lydia's will make the process simple and save you some money in the process, which sounds good to me and hopefully to you as well.

Another awesome feature that we have for large groups is that we can create a custom e-store for you. We’ll fill the store with the scrubs that you choose, in your colors. Just by logging in you’ll have access to a store that’s customized to your employees’ specific needs.

So if you’re responsible for all the ordering at your office, let us help you out a bit. If the custom e-store sounds like a good plan to you click here to sign-up! Otherwise the best way to get started with your order is by calling 1.800.293.7721. You’ll talk to a Lydia’s employee who can answer all your questions and in the future ordering for your group will be a breeze.

Have something to say? Leave a comment here.

Are you subscribed to the Lydia’s e-mail list? If not you should consider it. Not only can you save 20% on your scrubs from Lydia’s just by signing up, but you’ll also receive regular e-mail offers which will help you save money on future medical uniform purchases. I know that I personally sign up for the e-mail lists of any stores that I shop at regularly (on or offline). It’s the best way to hear about sales, contests and coupons. The e-mails always help me figure out where the best deals are and on the days when I don’t buy anything, browsing through my inbox is a little like window shopping from my computer. They way I look at it, as long as you’re working you’ll probably need to buy medical scrubs (at least on occasion), so save some money each time that you do.

If you go here to sign-up you can tell us exactly what e-mails you want to receive in your inbox. If you just want e-mails with coupons, check the coupon box and we won’t bother you with anything else. If you’re all about fashion, you have the option of just receiving news on the latest trends. There’s even a list for those of you who live near Grand Rapids, MI and shop at the local Lydia’s stores. You choose what you want us to e-mail you about and that’s what we’ll do; receive all of our e-mails or just the ones that interest you most and at any time you can change which ones you receive.

Already signed up for Lydia’s Uniforms e-mails? Then click the link at the bottom of the sign-up form to personalize your options.

Now go ahead, sign-up!


Have something to say? Leave a comment here.

Are there any men who wear medical scrubs reading today? If there are, today’s post is for you- a post entirely devoted to men’s nursing scrubs.

Now, it’s true that men’s nursing uniforms don’t come in as many styles and patterns as women’s. For some of you that’s fine, it’s actually perfect. Less variety means that when you buy medical scrubs it doesn’t require as much thought. When you’re pulling a pair out of your dresser in the morning you don’t really have to choose what to wear, they’re all fairly similar. But then there are those of you who love variety. You don’t want to look the same at work every day and you would like if your men’s nursing scrubs were a little bit different from all the other scrubs at work. So if you’re in the latter group I’ve got a few tips on how you can add a touch of style and personalization to your medical uniforms. And if you have additional tips, leave a comment.

One easy trick is to use layers and colors to accentuate your style. Back in August Rachel posted about a medical professional who wore contrasting color tees under his medical scrubs. We both loved this idea. Check out her post to see a picture of him wearing chocolate and lime green. It’s a color combination that you might not think of, but it looks great when you see it! If you want more subtle contrast try different shades of the same color, like a ceil blue scrub top with a navy tee underneath. Mix and match colors from your closet and you might discover that an unexpected combination of colors actually works well.

You can also play with colors without wearing layers. Why not wear a neutral shade of scrub pants like khaki with a maroon top? It’ll change up your look a bit, but you’ll still have a uniform style. Plus, mixing and matching means that you’ll multiply the number of looks you have.

A third way to add style is to personalize your look with embroidery. Embroidery is subtle, but it shows that you really care about your look. Add your name and an emblem that shows off your personality to your medical coat or scrub top and you’ll instantly have a one of a kind uniform. 

So how do you wear your men’s nursing scrubs? Do you keep it simple or do you mix it up with colors, layers and personalized touches? If you have more ways to add style to men’s nursing scrubs, leave a comment and share it with our readers!

I know all about how shopping for work clothes can be pricey. Even when shopping the sale racks, the cost of pants, tops and jackets can add up quickly. My personal problem with shopping (besides that I love doing it) is that I tend to find a good deal and save money on one item, but then spend that same money I saved on a pair of overpriced shoes or pants. In the end I usually spend more than I want, despite the deals. 

If you have the same problem when you buy medical uniforms I want to help. I might not be the best at saving money on my own work apparel, but I’m confident in my ability to find good deals at Lydia’s. What kind of employee would I be if I couldn’t?

So for today, my mission was to find you three affordable women’s uniforms, including tops and bottoms, that won’t break your bank. I tried to find one look under $15, one under $25 and one under $30. I think I was successful in finding diverse and affordable women’s uniforms, so here they are:

The look on the left consists of a V-Neck Unisex Scrub Top ($5.99) and a pair of Drawstring Pants ($6.99) in Wine. Both are Lydia’s Red Tag Scrubs.
The total cost of this look is $12.98.

The look in the middle consists of a White Contrast Wrap Scrub Top by Dickies ($11.99) and a pair of Ceil Blue Value Plus Reversible Scrub Pants by Lydia’s ($9.99).
The total cost of this look is $21.98.

The last look consists of a Heavenly Blue Embroidered V-Neck Scrub Top by White Cross ($17.99) and a pair of Navy Everyday Pull on Pants by Dickies ($11.99).
The total cost of this look is $29.98.


I also found this Ladies' Navy Crew Neck Warm-Up Jacket which works as an addition to all of these looks and is only $14.99.

So next time you buy medical uniforms, consider one of these looks to keep you under budget. And if you have any tips about how you save money when you buy medical scrubs at Lydia’s be sure to leave a comment and share them. 

There were lots of entries, but only one person will receive $250 worth of free medical uniforms. The winner of August’s Win Your Wishlist Contest is Christine H. from Ohio! Congratulations Christine. We hope that you enjoy all your new designer medical scrubs from Lydia's Uniforms and that they make you the best dressed employee at work. Now I wonder what you’ll do with all that extra money since you don’t have to buy medical scrubs.

If you didn’t win don’t fret because you can still enter the Editor @ Large contest. And the good news about that contest (besides that it’s another contest) is that there’s a winner every month. The good news for me is that I get to read all your interesting entries.

So once again, congratulations Christine and enjoy your new scrubs and good luck to the rest of you in the Editor @ Large Contest!

Happy Friday everyone! Below I’ve listed links to news stories and blog posts on all sorts of interesting things. In addition to the stories below, I have some good news about scrubs from Lydia’s. For the first time ever Lydia’s is featuring a clearance sale on in-stock Katherine Heigl scrubs from her Monterey Collection. If you’re anything like me you love when designer pieces go on sale. Here’s your chance to get designer medical scrubs for over 30% off! This scrub top, one of my favorites is $17.99, down from $30. If you had plans to buy medical scrubs; now’s the time! Anyway, all this talk about sales is making me want to go shopping. Back to the news!

News Stories: Doctors and Nurses in the News

• America Nurse Today Launches New e- Edition
• California Team Selected to Advance Solutions to Nursing, Faculty Shortages
• Care in the air
• Doctor Takes on Cycle Ride to Say Thanks for Research
• Nurse worked 18 years with no license
• The American Dream: Dr. Quiñones' Incredible Journey

News Stories: Health News

• Diabetes rates skyrocket among Americans, CDC says
• U.S. Panel gives O.K. to 2 new combo vaccines
• Widespread HIV testing sought in the Bronx

Blogs:

• A Day in the Life of a Family Nurse Practitioner
• Clinton calls on nurses to back Obama
• Should Doctors Unionize?

How are you going to spend your tax return and economic stimulus money? Go on a shopping spree for new shoes?! Take a vacation to somewhere far away and exotic?! Buy medical scrubs?! Or the most likely option, pay bills? L  Maybe a combination of the above would be the best choice.

Well, my tax return money has already disappeared, but my economic stimulus money is still on the way. I think that I am going to put part of it into my savings account and the other part is going to go toward new clothes for work, which I decided you can never have enough of.

Sometimes when I’m at work and browsing through all our new summer nursing scrubs, my mind wanders and I begin to think about what I would do with my tax return if I was a doctor or nurse. I think I would use at least a portion of it to buy medial scrubs. It is a work related expense after all, so I wouldn’t feel too guilty about it.

For this blog I decided to stop pondering what I would buy and actually make a list of the items that would go in my shopping cart if I needed to buy medical uniforms for work. So here’s my list; it consists of $138 worth of stylish medical scrubs, (I successfully tried to keep it under $150) which would still leave plenty of money left over for bills.

·         First, something practical: The Annie Combo Top for $23.99 in Orchid/Violet. This top is an awesome deal because it’s two separate tops for the price of one. I would also get a pair of the Marissa Pants for $24.99 in Violet to go with the top.
(Top and pants by Koi)

·         Second, a pretty print: The Le Dot Drawstring Top for $19.99. My favorite part about this print is how different it is from all the other prints I’ve seen. And it doesn’t hurt that you could pair it with hot pink, pink, chestnut, khaki, buttercup or white pants and still match! I think I’ll be practical and pair mine with the Fashion Flare Pants in khaki for $17.99, that way I’ll have a versatile pair of pants that’ll match almost any top!

(Top and pants by Los Angeles Rose)

    

·         Third, a stylish solid: The Embroidered V-Neck Top for $17.99 in heavenly blue. I picked the heavenly blue because it matches my new khaki pants so nicely.

               (Top by White Cross)

                    

·        And lastly, something to keep me warm because I’m always cold: This Zip Front Hoodie for $33.99. The easy shape that it creates is so cute that I would definitely wear this outside of work as well.  
(Hoodie by Katherine Heigl for Peaches)

              

So there it is, my list of what I would buy if my money was going towards apparel scrubs instead of just general apparel.

Now what would you (or did you) spend your money on? Will you purchase something fun, something practical or both? It would make me extremely happy to hear if other people are spending their money on clothes as well. I won’t have to feel guilty if I’m not the only one!


Technorati Profile

When I found out about this product feature I decided I had to share it with you. I’ll be honest; it’s not the most necessary feature I’ve ever seen on a pair of medical scrubs, but nevertheless, it’s really fun! And remember, there’s nothing wrong if you buy medical scrubs because they’re fun!

So here’s the feature: This apparel scrub top from Koi, the Kathryn Stardust Scrub Top, has stars on it that glow in the dark! I already loved the style and print of the top, but now that I know it has glow in the dark stars, I love it even more!

You may not spend a lot of time in the dark while you’re at work, but if the lights ever do go out and you happen to be wearing this scrub top from Lydia's; everyone will know where to find you!

Last month Rachel and Leesa decided to take our product for a test drive and wear a pair of scrubs around the office for a day. Unfortunately I didn’t work here yet; otherwise maybe I could have been the one coming to work in a pair of comfy medical scrubs! Perhaps I can convince them that we need to have scrub Monday, in addition to casual Friday. Then I could buy medical scrubs to wear to work instead of the normal office apparel. I’m not going to count on that though.

This month, instead of having Lydia’s employees do a road test of the scrubs, we decided to let a customer try it. Our customers are the ones who are working hard, moving about and putting their uniforms to the test on a daily basis, so why not hear what they have to say about their scrubs from Lydia’s.  

Our customer, Kassie, tested a pair of Katherine Heigl scrubs from her New York Collection and answered a few of our questions.

 
What are your thoughts on the fit of the scrubs?
I absolutely love them!  The tops are flattering, and have a professional look and they don't make you feel like you are wearing a box like some other tops. The pants don't quite fit perfectly, if you have wider hips, they hug that area. I love the flare bottom with the slit on the outside of the leg. I got several compliments on both the bottoms and the tops. The small details that went into making these scrubs really show.  I love the black stitching on the white, and it's even better on the black collar with the white stitching.  That is what gives these scrubs their own personality.

What are your likes/dislikes about the scrubs? What do these scrubs have that other brands do not?

These scrubs are definitely different than all the other brands out there.  You can tell that she put thought into what she was designing.

Have you received any compliments on them?
Oh my, everyone at work complimented me on them, and when I told them they were Katherine Heigl, they were floored and started calling me Grey’s Anatomy girl.  No one had seen any of her scrubs yet.

Do you have any anecdotes about your scrubs to share with us?
The only anecdote that I have is that I need to lose some weight in my hips! No scrub can help me with that!  Haha

So it sounds like Kassie is pretty happy with her Katherine Heigl scrubs, even if they did get her the nickname “Grey’s Anatomy Girl”. There’s nothing wrong with being the first person at work to have the newest designer medical scrubs. And instead of trying to make her hips smaller (because we all know that losing weight from our hips is virtually impossible) maybe she could try out a pair of Cherokee Flex-I-Bles Scrub Pants, I hear they’re quite flattering.

Does anyone else have scrubs from Katherine Heigl’s New York collection? What do you think about them? Do you agree with Kassie?

As a new employee at Lydia’s Uniforms I’ve met all sorts of people since I started just a week ago. It’s hard to remember all the new faces and especially all the new names, but I’m working on it! One thing that I noticed when visiting the different departments is that everyone at Lydia’s is involved with customer service. It seemed like there was someone from every department, whether it was the call center or the warehouse, who was trying to figure out how to best meet a customer’s needs or make a customer happy. The best part was, nobody was complaining about it! And as someone who has worked in customer service for the past seven years, it’s refreshing to see employees who are dedicated to the customer and willing to help (without complaining about it).

One particular employee that I met on my first day here, Jose Ortiz, is an expert in the field of customer service. As a Team Leader in the Customer Service Department, Jose’s job is to ensure that customer’s needs are met. Turns out, that is exactly what he was doing the first time I met him. When I approached Jose to introduce myself he was on the phone with a customer. I realized right away that Jose wasn’t trying to hurry the customer off the phone, but was instead trying to assist them with whatever they needed. I decided not to bother him and come back and introduce myself another time when he wasn’t as busy! I eventually found a time when we both had a free moment and I got the opportunity to meet him. Jose seemed extremely friendly and personable (perfect for a job in customer service).

              After meeting Jose and realizing what an important part of the Lydia’s team he was, I wanted to ask him a few questions about his job here. What better way to get to know more about the employees and the company than actually hearing what they have to say? This is what I found out from Jose:

What is your favorite thing about working for Lydia’s?

My favorite thing about working for Lydia’s is the diverse clientele we have on a daily basis.

What did you think when you saw Rachel & Leesa road-testing scrubs for the day?

I believe it is a good idea. It gives us the opportunity to try it before you buy it.

What’s your favorite scrub?

My favorite line of scrubs is the Urbane from Landau. The scrubs are trendy. I actually own a few pairs of the Urbane Boot Cut Pant 9502. It is very comfortable, and fits very loose.

(I guess you don’t have to work in the medical field to buy medical scrubs!)

He also shared his customer service philosophy with me. This is what he had to say: “As a Customer Service Specialist, I feel it is crucial that every individual receives the utmost care and dedication he/she deserves. I have worked in the Customer Service industry for over 11 years, and dealt with all types of situations. Some time ago, I had a customer who was unsure about ordering uniforms for sizing reasons. I suggested she sample the items, to make sure it was the color, style, and size she was looking for. Finally, the package was received and some of the items worked but a few didn’t. I instructed the customer to send what she didn’t like back at no charge. We shipped her requested items, and now all the items worked out perfectly.  Now the customer knows what color, size, and brand to order and we have her business for life. It’s not always about getting the customer off the phone, but getting them what they need. Our customers rely on us to get them their uniforms, and making their experience as smooth as possible.

          Working for Lydia’s Professional Uniforms has been a great experience for me, and I will continue to strive in giving the best customer service possible.”

After having many of my own terrible experiences with all kinds of customer service representatives, reading Jose’s philosophy helped me understand why he is such a valued employee. I cannot imagine Jose ever telling a customer, “that’s your problem, not mine,” which is something I personally have been told by a customer service representative of a company whose name I won’t mention. I wish every customer service representative that I spoke with had a motto like Jose’s. It would make life just a little less frustrating.