One look through a Lydia’s catalog will tell you that medical clothing uniforms come in all sorts of styles. Whether traditional hospital scrubs, lab coats and suits, a nursing dress or designer medical scrubs; the many styles of medical clothing uniforms continue to transition with the times. With so many styles of medical clothing uniforms to choose from, it seems that the line between acceptable medical clothing uniforms and unacceptable is extremely blurry. As that line continues to become more blurred, employees must abide by the policies and opinions of their employers when it comes to picking out their medical clothing uniforms or medical scrubs.
When researching dress codes at different locations around the country I discovered that there’s no uniformity when it comes to uniform dress codes. It seems that the most popular dress code is basic scrubs with a specific color for each position (green for surgeons, blue for RNs, etc.). But even this dress code isn’t uniform. Colors are different for different facilities. Sometimes patterns are acceptable and sometimes they’re not. And then there’s the whole issue of jewelry, nails, hair, etc., and it’s a complicated issue! There are other facilities that seem to be more lax, permitting any style of scrubs, having casual Fridays and some that even permit jeans to be worn with scrub tops.
As I read different forums and posts across the Internet, I discovered that employee’s opinions about dress codes are just as diverse as the dress codes themselves. Since personal care providers are often required to do strenuous and/or messy work and because more facilities are no longer providing medical uniforms, but instead requiring employees to buy medical uniforms; it’s no surprise that there are strong opinions about what can and cannot be worn. On one site I looked at, more than one individual expressed that they were actually narrowing down their job options based on dress codes. Many individuals stated a dislike for dress codes that require all white scrubs if they’re going to be performing duties that will likely be messy. And some individuals were perfectly fine with dress codes, whatever it may be, as long as they could wear comfortable medical scrubs.
I also discovered an article at American Nurse today that outlined a study on medical scrubs. The study attempted to discover what patients preferred when it came to medical scrubs. Results showed that 64% of patients thought nurses should be allowed to wear any uniform color, 39% said they would like to identify their RN by uniform color and 80% said they would like to identify their RN by a large print “RN” on a name badge. Interesting results considering the number of hospitals that use color as a way to define their employees’ positions.
In my opinion, both the more modern stylish medical scrubs and the traditional basic scrubs look professional as long as they are worn in a neat and clean matter. What's your dress code and what do you think?
And as someone who wears medical scrubs, which look do you like best? The first look is a dress by L.A. Rose. The second look consists of Barco Medical Scrubs. And the third look is a scrub top by L.A. Rose with a pair of flare scrub pants by Dickies.
