Geisinger gives patients upper hand in deciding new nurse dress code
Study team found that Geisinger Medical Center had about 70 different dress codes, making clinicians hard to distinguish from each other.
Mark Williams, nursing operations manager, Geisinger Shamokin Area Community Hospital, wears Geisinger's uniform for registered nurses. (photo handout)
While most policy changes come from the top down, Geisinger Health System's new dress code for nurses came from an unusual source: patients.
In a recent article published in the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, Geisinger nurses and nursing leadership showed how patients perceived their professionalism in several areas related to their appearance and quality of care. 400 participants filled out surveys and looked at pictures of nurses in various types of clothing to pinpoint which look patients favored, Geisinger said.
While nurses were generally rated highly, patients voiced difficulty in distinguishing between registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and nursing assistants and said they wanted all nurses to dress the same.
[Also: Geisinger CEO David Feinberg calls 2016 the 'year of the patient']
As a result, this year Geisinger nurses are now wearing pewter gray and white scrubs, with the Geisinger logo and "Registered Nurse" clearly embroiderer on the top.
Patients also stated a preference in how they were addressed, expressing dislike for greetings such as "honey" or "sweetheart" and instead requesting to be called Mr. or Mrs. at first, and then later by a first name.
"Our goal was to increase our understanding of patient perceptions regarding the professional image of nurses at Geisinger Medical Center," said one of the authors, Crystal Muthler, RN, chief nursing officer and vice president of nursing at Geisinger Medical Center. "We continuously strive to improve the patient and family experience. When the patients and families responded, we listened."
Moreover, as the study was being implemented, the team running it found that Geisinger had about 70 different dress codes. The system said those policies have been consolidated into a single document and other changes are in store.
"Today not only nursing has made changes in dress code, but many other departments are pursuing the same," Muthler said.
Twitter: @BethJSanborn
