Wear the RN Patch! Finding a professional uniform

Wear the RN Patch! Join us in creating a professional nursing uniform

We urge all nurses to wear professional-looking uniforms to help create a public image of nurses as educated professionals deserving respect. It is important that patients be able to identify their RN, so they know the who the person is responsible for their care.

Why should you wear the RN patch? See:

"Who's the RN?: Identifying nurses simply by the patch," an editorial by Diana J. Mason PhD, RN, FAAN, AJN Editor-in-Chief and Karen Buhler-Wilkerson PhD, RN, FAAN in the April 2004 edition of the American Journal of Nursing.

Free Gift. When you join or renew your membership with the Center now, we will give you three free RN patches as a thank you for joining. Click here to become a member of the Center and get 3 patches for as little as $9. The original RN patches were designed by Mark Dion and J. Morgan Puett in collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia for the exhibition, RN: The Past, Present, and Future of the Nurses' Uniform, presented in 2003. The "RN" patch size is 45 x 55 mm or 1 3/4" x 2 3/16". We also have the following patches:

"RN, BSN"       "NP, MSN"       "LVN"
"RN, BScN"     "CNS, MSN"     "LPN"
"RN, MSN"      "RN, PhD"        "RN, DNSc"

These patches are about
1 3/8" x 3 5/8" or 35 x 92 mm. Please specify your preference or "plain." To order additional RN patches, please add $1.50 for each extra patch onto your member donation and send us an email at info@nursingadvocacy.org to let us know how many patches you would like. (For instance, if you want 7 patches, you would make at least a $31 donation (unless you are a student, then start at $9 and add on). The first $25 includes 3 patches and the additional $6 is for 4 additional patches at $1.50 each).

Bulk orders:
10-49 patches = $1.25 each;
50 patches or more = $1.00 each.

Non-member pricing:
0-9 patches: $5 each;
10-49: $3.50 each;
50 patches or more: $2.50 each.

Click here to order

Or, you may purchase plain RN patches from Lydia's Uniforms.

Also see the follow news items for further discussion on nursing uniforms:

Professional recognition and wet snowballs

October 12, 2004 -- Today the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published several substantial pieces about current issues relating to nursing uniforms and the nursing image generally. They include the very good lead article "Concerns over patient confusion spawn a small movement back to one-color uniforms" by Virginia Linn, which outlines the current debates within the nursing community about what is an appropriate uniform, at a time when many patients have trouble determining which of the many different hospital staff they see is actually a nurse. The piece describes a trend at some hospitals in Pittsburgh and elsewhere to return to a version of the traditional white uniform, and ends with a discussion of the "ideal" uniform and the RN patch that emerged from the recent uniform exhibit at the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia. The story includes quotes from University of Pittsburgh Nursing Dean Jacqueline Dunbar-Jacob, nursing executives at Pittsburgh hospitals, and Center director Sandy Summers. see the article

Is the patch right for you?

October 6, 2004 -- Today the Kansas City Star ran a good piece by Lisa Gutierrez, headed "Uniform prescription," about the long history of the nursing uniform and the ongoing debate as to what suits the profession today. The lengthy article, which included significant comment from American Journal of Nursing editor-in-chief Diana Mason, explored the pros and cons of scrubs, traditional whites, and the new "RN" patch. more...

New Attitude

July 28, 2004 -- White uniforms are making a comeback in some Atlanta hospitals, reports Patricia Guthrie in a generally fair article in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution. According to the article, Rhonda Scott, PhD, RN, CS, spearheaded the change at both the Grady Health System and the South Fulton Medical Center in Atlanta. more...

"You're the only thing between [your] patients and death, and you're covered in cartoons"

June 2004 -- In "Nursing Image = Nursing Power," a provocative and constructive piece published in this month's issue of the Sacramento Bee's "Real Life Healthcare" magazine, Virginia gastroenterologist Patricia Raymond argues that nurses could empower their profession by ditching the "cartoon jackets" and working toward uniforms that would project "a powerful classy new image to reflect the nurses of today." more...

Engaging "RN" exhibition examines nursing uniform from 19th to 23rd centuries

October 3, 2003 -- A new exhibition at Philadelphia's Fabric Workshop and Museum, RN: The Past, Present and Future of the Nurses' Uniform, offers a valuable historic overview, a glimpse of an ambitious project to design an "ideal" nurses' uniform, and intriguing projections of what nurses' uniforms might look like in the future. more...

Boston television reporter disrespects nurses

March 4, 2003 -- A gossip column in the February 12 Boston Herald entitled "Smock-clad Sara Edwards nurses her role on 'ER'" included comments by a local television reporter that showed disrespect for nurses. The column described the appearance of Sara Edwards, an "entertainment reporter" for the Boston NBC affiliate, and other television reporters as extras on the February 13 episode of NBC's "ER". According to the column, when the "ER" prop room gave Ms. Edwards a floral scrub top to wear for her role, she said: "Ugh, I look like I should be scrubbing floors in that smock." The newspaper column also quoted Ms. Edwards as stating: "I was so jealous that some reporters got to be doctors, the one from L.A. got to be a victim with blood all over her face, and I look like I should be cleaning toilets.'' more...

New Yorker article: "The White Dress: What Should Nurses Wear?"

March 18, 2002 -- This thoughtful article by John Seabrook explores the effort by Valley Hospital in New Jersey to create an ideal uniform with the help of fashion designer Yeohlee Teng. read the article

Please join our discussion board thread on nursing uniforms