Date: 11/5/09 7:32 PM

I think we have been around this topic before, but my recent trip to the hospital got me thinking about it again. It really appeared to me that some staff took the attitude that, since they were wearing scrubs, they really had no responsibility to be tidy or even decently groomed. One nurse looked as though she hadn't washed her hair in a week, I saw dirty, nasty, worn out crocs and running shoes and a general aura of unkemptness with a lot of the staff I saw.

Of course, there was the other extreme, with a young clerk who had perfect hair, nails and makeup (cute and blonde, too. I wasn't so sick that DH didn't notice. ), our doctor, who was tucked in, tidy and generally put together, in spite of the scrubs.

I realize hospitals are just one place where this happens. In child care we get a lot of people who think that just because we are with kids we don't have to dress decently. But I was brought up to believe that if I consider myself to be a professional (and certainly nurse used to be kind of the ultra professional for women) I should look the part. Naturally, I don't wear a 3 piece suit and heels to work, but I do make sure I am clean and decently groomed. I wonder if, in hospitals, there is an attitude of "we're saving lives here - no time for frivolous things like fashion" or something like that?

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Date: 11/5/09 8:22 PM

I worked in the IT department for a major hospital and we had a VERY strict dress code, even if you wore scrubs (which IT people wore sometimes when we had to do some nasty hardware work). If there hadn't been a strictly-enforced dress code, you can bet that many people would just slob out. Looking like a slob seems to be totally acceptable, so people do it.

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Date: 11/5/09 8:27 PM

Hmmm. Your experience is not something I have seen at either of the two hospitals near us. Nor at the retirement community where my mom was, either in assisted living or nrusing care.

Those involved in medical treatment/care typically would be wearing some type of scrubs. Admin/clerical staff were tidy. I guess that's about what I would expect/hope for. It's hard to think "fashion", just clean & tidy will do.

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"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." Anais Nin

"Attitude is the difference between an adventure and an ordeal." unknown

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Date: 11/5/09 8:27 PM

edited ~ seems this posted twice
-- Edited on 11/6/09 9:48 AM --

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"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." Anais Nin

"Attitude is the difference between an adventure and an ordeal." unknown

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Date: 11/6/09 4:58 AM

The last (only) time I was in hospital, I found it hard to take seriously the doctors with scrubs and fashionable footwear, I kept expecting them to slip! However, there is a big difference between functional and grubby, that's just nasty.

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Reading from Europe

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Date: 11/7/09 1:16 AM

I go to hospitals way too often. (I'm NOT enjoying my 40's, thank you! It is NOT the "new 30"!)

In our area, people in general tend to dress very trendily. J. Crew seems to be the 'pedestrian uniform.' My local medical facilities usually have people in cute scrubs - made from Betty Boop or other fun fabrics. Kinda cool, really!

And ... I'm such a sewing geek... I always ask if they made them. There are so many patterns for scrubs, but I can't find a single scrub-wearer who has made hers!

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Date: 11/7/09 8:33 AM

I work for an insurance company and you wouldn't believe what people wear to work. The attitude today is not to have different clothes for work, than the ones you hang out in. When someone is pretty well-dressed, they do stand out. I keep to the jacket and pant, heels, make-up look. But that's me. I firmly believe there is a time and place for everything and that even dress needs to be appropriate....but I'm old-fashioned and not about to change. ;o)

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Date: 11/7/09 8:56 AM

I work for an insurance company, too, and we have a casual attire policy and, wow, it can go so wrong, especially in the summer. I get so tired of seeing men tromping around in cargo shorts and flip flops (yikes on some of the toenails), I can't even tell you. I confess I also get tired of seeing jeans all the time, though I wear them myself, but they are usually a bit dressier.

The older I get, the more I realize that it matters how you present yourself to the world, particularly if you're a woman. So I refuse to give into schlumpy dressing at work.

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Reply to Rebecca D
Date: 11/7/09 10:13 AM

A lot of it is in the details, isn't it? I went to an ob/gyn once or twice and I really liked her. But one day she had sandals and bare feet and her feet were just plain dirty. I think they were decent enough sandals, not tevas or birks (though we get that a lot out here on the coast) but the dirt! It looked like maybe she had been out gardening before she came to work. She moved away after that so I never got the chance to find out if that was her usual mode or just one of those bad days.

I work in my own little domain and don't see the general public, so sometimes I will kick off my shoes for a variety of reasons. If someone comes into my room I always scurry to get my shoes back on. It just feels inappropriate to be running around in socks at work.

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Date: 11/7/09 5:49 PM

If people didn't dress like slobs, there would be no need for "What Not to Wear."

I'm an author, so I definitely don't need to dress up for work (and trust me: I'm absolutely a slob at home!), but when I have professional events, you better believe I dress professionally. I think it's a sign of respect for the people you're working with, that you put time and effort into how you present yourself. I'm constantly shocked by the things other authors show up in... and I was once lambasted on a writers' BB for daring to suggest that an author iron her clothes before she met with an agent! These are the same people who would agonize over every comma in a query letter, but wouldn't think twice about torn jeans or a stained Mickey Mouse T-shirt for a professional meeting. ???
-- Edited on 11/7/09 5:50 PM --

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~Gem in the prairie

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