Nurses’ uniforms not black and white issue

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/09/2015 (3812 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Over the last few years there has been a growing sentiment in the health care field that nurses in Canada should be wearing standardized uniforms instead of the often multi-coloured “scrubs” that are, or have been, the norm in hospitals across the country.

Much of the discussion over the need for standardized uniforms came from a study conducted in 2012 by Lakehead University and Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Ont., which surveyed 43 patients’ families about their ability to recognize nurses when they saw them in the hospital. It also surveyed about 1,000 nurses.

The survey found that families had a very difficult time identifying who was a professional nurse, which created confusion when trying to talk about patient health care. As a result, nurses within the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre are slated to begin wearing a new standardized black and white uniform this coming January, according to a CBC report.

The two-colour uniform is reminiscent of a similar uniform — black pants or skirt with a white top — that became the norm in Nova Scotia after a majority of members of the Nova Scotia Nurses’ Union voted to adopt it in 2011. Since then, five other provinces have updated their own uniform policies — Saskatchewan, Alberta, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Global News reported last year that Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick nurses wear white on a voluntary basis and Alberta RNs have started wearing white on Wednesdays. And last year, the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses launched a “Wear White” campaign among registered nurses.

But the movement has yet to take any hold in Manitoba, which seemingly has irritated some members of the public.

In Sound Offs this week — including in today’s paper — you can read comments by readers who suggest that the current, unregulated uniforms in Brandon and the Prairie Mountain Health region look unprofessional.

“Most nurses choose to wear unprofessional smocks covered with cartoon characters and no caps,” read a comment last week that simultaneously congratulated graduating nurses from Assiniboine Community College who were pictured in the Sun wearing white uniforms and caps.

“Another unprofessional appearance is the wearing of long hair. It is not a good patient feeling to have a nurse approach with a hypodermic needle or to care for a surgical site while brushing back their hair …”

Other comments today suggest that the current standard of nurses’ uniforms in Manitoba is “haphazard” and “just not acceptable.”

There are, however, benefits to the many colours and cartoons that currently adorn the average nurse’s scrubs, which can be purchased in several clothing stores in Manitoba.

A study first published in a 2009 edition of the Journal of Clinical Nursing suggested that patients actually benefited from nurses having multi-coloured, non-conventional attire, especially children.

“Multi-coloured non-conventional attire were preferred by hospitalized children and their parents,” concluded the report. “Their introduction improved the perception children have of their nurses. Moreover, the coloured uniforms improve the parents perception about the reliability of the nurse.”

Another study published the same year found that children exposed to white nursing uniforms showed higher anxiety levels compared with kids exposed to coloured nursing clothing.

The relevance, of course, is that children in hospital can be put at ease when nurses adopt kid-friendly colours. No doubt some older patients may feel the same way.

But the debate over nursing uniforms may well spill over into Manitoba soon, if there are enough patient complaints that fall in line with comments made to our Sound Off line.

We suggest that, when and if the Manitoba Nurses Union discusses whether to adopt similar uniform guidelines, that a more nuanced approach may prove more beneficial for patients and nurses alike.

While we do believe nurses, like any profession, should conform to certain professional standards of dress, not every situation demands a black and white solution.