Nurses’ uniforms have endured several changes since the beginning of nursing as a profession. How patients and visitors to a hospital view a nurse’s professionalism is based moderately on attire and appearance. The trouble with styles of uniforms is that typically everybody has an opinion. Castledine (2011), ascertains that there are individuals who would support a return to a strict uniform policy with clear guidelines and standards of dress. There are also those who are not concerned about this issue and would be content dressed in scrubs or their own street clothes. The quantity and variety of professionals that encompass a multidisciplinary healthcare team have increased, and so has confusion from patients, family members, and even staff in differentiating between …show more content…
Clients and their families are the reason the healthcare business exists and is necessary today. Hospitals around the world strive for excellence in delivery of healthcare to their customers. According to the Canadian Medical Association, patients have reported difficulty distinguishing between various tiers of clinical staff when uniforms are not colour-coded by function (Madwar, 2011). Not being able to tell health care staff apart poses a huge risk for safety and for the healthcare business. This is especially problematic when patients need to access their nurse for questions or concerns directly related to their condition, medications, or diagnosis (Brock et al, 2010). If patients are frustrated because they cannot decipher who is who, that can result in damage to the hospital’s reputation for excellence in care delivery. Timmons and East (2011) ascertain that patients who are in close proximity to the nurses’ station are at risk for frustration and confusion. When the client rings their call bell and no one in the area dressed in scrub attire responds can cause the patient frustration and misperception of events. The Ottawa Hospital in Ontario, Canada has received several complaints over the years regarding clients not being able to tell their nurses apart from other healthcare workers (Madwar, 2011). Difficulty in identifying which healthcare professional is which can pose a risk to the patient and cause frustration among