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Published on: February 17, 2011
The Impact of Nurses' Uniforms on Nurse-Patient Interactions: Patients' Perspectives
Wai Yi Tam1, Deborah Li Li Ng, Yanika Kowitlawakul
1Author Affiliations: Registered Nurse (Ms Tam), Emergency Department, and Nurse Clinician (Ms Ng), Nursing Division, Sengkang General Hospital, Singapore; and Associate Professor (Dr Kowitlawakul), Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, National University of Singapore.
Objectives:
The aim of this study was to explore patients' perceptions toward the nursing uniforms used in a hospital in Singapore and how different uniforms impact nurse-patient interactions.
Background:
Nursing uniforms act as a form of nonverbal communication. However, implications of the increasing variety of nursing uniforms on patients' perceptions of nurses and nurse-patient interactions are unexplored.
Methods:
An exploratory qualitative study design using semistructured interviews was adopted for the study. Twenty-one patients agreed to be interviewed. An audio recorder was used during data collection. The thematic analysis method was used for data analysis.
Results:
Four major themes were identified: identity, subjectivity, suitability, and inconsequential. Nurses' uniform was regarded as a representation of identity. Suitability of the uniform for nurses was a main concern for patients. However, nurses' uniforms were inconsequential to nurse-patient interactions.
Conclusion:
Patients' perceptions of nurses' uniforms were highly subjective and have no substantial impact on nurse-patient interactions.
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