Dress Code 101

I know I say this at least once a month, but I love this link up.  I just can't get enough of talking about my job!  Today is no exception.




My hospital doesn't have a crazy dress code.  We're allowed to wear any kind of scrubs that we want.  Some hospitals in the area make RNs wear one color, techs wear another, etc.  I'm really glad I don't work there because I need a little variety in my life.

Did anyone watch that nursing show that was on NBC for a quick minute called Mercy?  I just loved that show but they had a funny discussion about scrubs one day and it's one that we have on a regular basis.  The new, young, excited nurse came to her first day in a cartoon scrub top and the more seasoned characters were joking about it because they all wear solids.  That entire conversation sums up my scrub wardrobe.  When I first started nursing, I had to have the cutesy scrub tops...hey...I work in Peds...why not?  Then when I started working Bone Marrow Transplant and wearing gowns, gloves, and masks every time I entered a patient room, I realized that no one was seeing my fancy scrub top anyways so I switched to solids.  This gave me the opportunity to randomly pick a scrub top and a pair of pants to wear, even if the color combo was crazy.  Now I'm stuck in the middle because I'm back to fun scrub tops but I still throw in my solids from time to time.

Now the more important question.....what's in your pockets?  When I worked on the floor, I always had my scissors, a black pen, a red pen, sometimes tape, my cell phone, my work phone, maybe a highlighter, and my report sheet (aka my brain).  Now that I'm in clinic and have a desk to call my own, I only carry a pen and my pager because I can easily get anything I need from my desk.

Now my badge is a completely different story.  I don't know how nurses (myself included) can continue to put so much strain on our necks.  I have my badge on a lanyard with the following things attached: pain scale, KRONOS clock in codes (cheat sheet), department phone numbers, the badge where the hospital spelled Hematology wrong (hemotology), my Daisy pins, as well as a Childhood Cancer Ribbon pin.

I just noticed that I have a weird mark over my picture....I guess it's time to get a new badge

Again, things were different when I was working on the unit.  I had all of the above items plus a sharpie, a calculator, a flower made out of vial caps, pens hanging from it and sometimes my work phone.  Oh and I can't forget the numerous awareness bracelets our patients pass out to us and little trinkets that they make us.  That's a lot of strain on one's neck but oh well.

Now I will say that working in a pediatric hospital lends itself to a lot of fun.  We always have a party going on and tend to dress up for the occasion.  Take yesterday for example, I wore a red/white/blue flower lei on my head all day. Why?  Because it's a festive way to celebrate July 4th.  But here are just a few pics of fun times in Pediatrics!!!

Princess Day at work. I was the Charge Nurse so I was the Queen!

Thanksgiving Pilgrim (my friends were an Indian and a  turkey)

Halloween sporting the bald cap in honor of our bald little patients

Can't wait to see what's in everyone else's closets, pockets, and badges!!!