To the editor:
I was appalled to learn that qualities such as competency, efficiency, empathy and professionalism were being judged on the bases of a chosen uniform. More so I’m outraged that an organization as progressive as Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre would support such an archaic methodology.
The professionalism of a nurse should be based on their approach with their patients, the respect to their families, the collaboration with medical staff and the team work with their peers.
The gold lanyards used at the hospital do not work as presumably patients do not see the lanyards, however as a former patient at TBRHSC I can tell you that I did not ever view any material educating the public on this indicator. I also had no difficulty discovering who my nurse was as the individual would introduce themselves to me with their name, occupation and what they were going to be doing for me.
Realistically how many staff currently enter a patient’s room in scrubs? Housekeeping staff wear blue, dietary staff bring your food tray, physicians don’t wear scrubs (unless they’re surgeons), and the lab staff identify themselves pretty clearly when they enter with a few hundred vials in hand.
This step “forward” by the hospital to better identify the nursing staff by standardizing uniforms is evidently a step back to the days where nurses wore the formal white caps and gowns. I suspect the push for clearer designation in uniforms comes from our aging population and their desire to return to what is familiar to them, however as a senior member of Thunder Bay society I support the change that the modern nursing uniform has brought nurses.
The bright colours and patterns are cheerful and allow a person’s personality to be reflected in their choice of attire. It’s also very pertinent to certain patient demographics; paediatrics, oncology, dementia patients where nurses receive a very positive response to their colourful attire. I would be saddened to see all the nurses on paediatrics restricted to a single colour uniform that doesn’t allow the same interaction that the current ones littered with cartoon characters and smiley faces does. I know my daughter proudly sports hers as a nurse who works with children.
Now it’s true we haven’t yet been told what the actual uniform standardization would look like, however I’ve done some research. According to multiple online discussions amongst health care professionals in hospitals where a standardized colour uniform has been enacted staff don’t note any improvement on the ability of patients to identify nursing staff and what they did note was a decrease in the morale of staff.
The reality is that if a patient needs something they don’t differentiate between hospital staff and will ask whoever happens to be around at the time. Why not try a large pin or button with bright letters in large print indicating “NURSE”? This has apparently had some success. Instead we expect an entire nursing population to incur a large expense to replace uniforms for a concept that’s not even proven to work for the sake of satisfaction surveys?
That being said, apparently the hospital is actually taking the time to educate the public this time around and perhaps more people will be aware of how to find a nurse simply based on the amount of public information available. Not like the failed lanyard incident, but then perhaps that was the plan all along.
According to an article in the National Post, 95 per cent of more than 600 nurses at Thunder Bay Regional feel they look professional enough in their current attire. Meanwhile 30 patients and families were surveyed and 85 per cent felt nursing staff needed to look more professional.
Doesn’t this seem like grasping at straws? If administration is so concerned with patient and family satisfaction surveys, maybe it should focus on hiring more nurses to decrease patient loads and thusly improve patient care. No standardized uniform is going to do that.
Bill Shirk,
Thunder Bay
