Policy: Dress Code, Identification Badges, and Personal
Appearance
Category
Clinical Operations
Approval Date
July 2022
Effective Date
July 2022
Supersedes
August 2021
©2022 Vanderbilt University Medical Center. All rights reserved.
Inquiries: Accreditation & Standards (615) 936-5474
Applicable to
VUMC
Team Members Performing
Faculty & staff
providing direct
patient care or contact
MD
House Staff
APRN/PA
RN
LPN
Other:
Responsible Committee
Clinical Operations Committee
Clinical Practice Committee
Quality Steering Committee
Infection Prevention Executive Committee
Pharmacy, Therapeutics, and Diagnostics Committee
Health Record Executive Committee
Information Privacy and Security Executive
Committee
Medical Center Safety Committee
Content Experts
Lead Author: Robin Steaban, Chief Nursing Officer, VUH
Avni Cirpili, Chief Nursing Officer, VPH
Clisby Hall, Senior Advisor for Health Policy
Michele Hasselblad, Vice President, Ambulatory Nursing
Rochelle Johnson, Senior Director, Employee and Labor Relations
Kathie Krause, Chief Nursing Officer, Children’s Hospital
Vicki Maddox, Infection Prevention Systems Director
Julia Morris, Managing Counsel
Alfredo Sergio, Division Counsel
Janice Smith, Vice President, Adult Ambulatory Operations
Kyla Terhune, Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education
Jaclyn Thomson, Director, Employee and Labor Relations
I. Purpose:
To convey a professional appearance to patients, visitors, and co-workers.
II. Policy:
All Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) employees are expected to
dress and present themselves in a hygienic and professional manner appropriate
for patient-facing and non-patient facing environments.
Dress Code, Identification Badges, and
Personal Appearance
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III. Specific Information:
A. General Attire Standards: Employees in all positions are expected to
wear professional attire appropriate to their work areas, including
virtual/on-camera work environments. See Appendix A for more
details. See Appendix B for details regarding Clinic Check-In areas.
B. Identification badges are worn in clear sight above the waist with name,
title, and picture clearly visible. Additional information about credentials
is included on Appendix C, VUMC Identification Badges.
C. Hair is clean and contained in such a manner that it does not come in
contact with the patient or visitors.
D. Fingernails: Follow VUMC policy, Hand Hygiene.
E. Tattoos and piercings are allowed. See Appendix A for further specificity.
F. When staff’s clothing or uniform becomes contaminated while on duty
with blood, body fluids, or hazardous chemicals, staff exchange their
soiled clothing for scrubs. Reference Handling Contaminated Clothing
(SOP).
G. Departments or entities may implement policies and/or standard operating
procedures (SOPs) to address specific job requirements and/or safety
concerns and will consult with VUMC Human Resources/Employee and
Labor Relations in connection with the development and/or
implementation of such policies and/or SOPs.
H. Reasonable accommodations may be made for medical and or
religious/spiritual/deeply held personal beliefs unless such
accommodations pose a risk to the safety or health of the individual or
others. Employees should follow the accommodation request process
accessible via https://hr.vumc.org/employee-relations/accommodations.
Questions or concerns about reasonable accommodations should be
directed to VUMC Human Resources/Employee and Labor Relations for
review.
Dress Code, Identification Badges, and
Personal Appearance
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IV. Endorsement:
Clinical Operations Policy Committee June 2022
Executive Policy Committee July 2022
V. Approval:
Marilyn Dubree, MSN, RN, NE-BC 7/28/22
Executive Chief Nursing Officer, VUMC
C. Wright Pinson, MBA, MD 7/29/22
Deputy CEO and Chief Health System Officer, VUMC
VI. References:
PSS Standard Attire Allotment Program Look Book. (2022). Retrieved via E-
Docs from https://edocs.app.vumc.org/EDocsView.aspx?EDocsId=8313.
VUMC Human Resources. (2022). Request for Accommodations Process.
Retrieved via https://hr.vumc.org/employee-relations/accommodations.
VUMC Policy Manual. (2022). Retrieved from https://vanderbilt.policytech.com.
Clinical Operations Category:
Scrub Attire: Inventory Control
Human Resources Category:
HR - Smoking, Tobacco, and e-Cigarettes
HR - Anti-Harassment, Non-Discrimination and Anti-Retaliation
Infection Prevention Category:
Hand Hygiene
Safety Category:
Handling Contaminated Clothing (SOP)
Smoking and Tobacco Use
Dress Code, Identification Badges, and
Personal Appearance
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Appendix A: General Attire Standards
“Yes” indicates permitted
“No” indicates not permitted
Attire, masks, and personal property that is visible in the work/clinical environment and
to patients, visitors and co-workers should not contain:
o Images, logos, or words that violate VUMC policies, including without limitation
VUMC policies on Anti-Harassment, Non-Discrimination, and Anti-Retaliation.
Concerns or questions about this standard should be directed to VUMC Human
Resources/Employee and Labor Relations.
o Reference to political groups, political candidates, or political parties.
Leaders and managers may ask staff to put away, cover up, or remove items that do not
meet these requirements.
Description
Clinical,
Patient-
Facing
Non-Clinical,
Patient-
Facing
Non-Clinical,
Non-Patient
Facing
On-Camera
Meetings
Clothing is well-fitting, clean, and free of holes, tears
or other signs of wear
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Clothing is not tight, sheer, or revealing
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Leggings worn with attire that is mid-thigh in length
No
No
Yes
Yes
Tops: backless, midriff, strapless, off-the-shoulder, or
spaghetti strap
No
No
No
No
Clothing that restricts proper handwashing
technique (e.g., thumb shirts/sweaters)
No
no
No
No
Shoes: required to be closed toe
Yes
Yes
No
No
Shoes are clean and in good condition
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Hats, caps, bandanas, hair bags/shower caps worn
indoors (except as required for job and/or safety
purposes or for medical condition or established
religious and/or cultural customs)
No
No
No
No
Heavy perfume, cologne, scents
No
No
No
Yes
Body piercing or jewelry that would interfere with
the employee’s ability to (i) comply with all safety
and quality care policies, procedures and
requirements of VUMC (e.g., mask fitting, PPE
donning and doffing, hair net wearing, metal near an
MRI, dangling jewelry, etc.), or (ii) perform all
reasonably assigned tasks
No
No
No
No
Visible tattoos that through their image, words, or
representation, would violate VUMC policies,
including without limitation VUMC policies on Anti-
Harassment, Non-Discrimination, and Anti-
Retaliation. Concerns or questions about tattoos
should be directed to VUMC Human
Resources/Employee and Labor Relations for review.
No
No
No
No
Dress Code, Identification Badges, and
Personal Appearance
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Blue or other color denim jeans
No
No
Yes
Yes
Shorts
No
No
No
Yes
Clothing/attire with graphics and/or verbiage that
through their image, words or representation, would
violate VUMC policies, including without limitation
VUMC policies on Anti-Harassment, Non-
Discrimination and Anti-Retaliation. Concerns or
questions about graphics and/or verbiage on
clothing should be directed to VUMC Human
Resources/Employee and Labor Relations for review
No
No
No
No
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Personal Appearance
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Appendix B: Standard Attire for Clinic Check-in Areas
1
:
The standard career apparel for the front desk staff (e.g., Patient Service Specialist
and other staff who regularly cover outpatient check-in and/or check-out functions is
listed in the PSS Standard Attire Allotment Program Look Book.
VUMC allots certain funding for the purchase of standard attire. Questions
regarding this are directed to the area manager.
1
VUMC Regional Hospitals may have separate provisions for standard attire for clinic check-in areas.
These provisions must comply with VUMC policies.
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Personal Appearance
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Appendix C: Identification Badge – Credentialing and Access Color Identification
Credential Color Stripe:
No Color (non-credentialed) Non-Clinical Staff or Non-Clinical Faculty
Light Blue Registered Nurse and Non-credentialed: Nurse Practitioner,
Physician’s Assistant, or CRNA
Titan Blue Licensed Practical Nurse
Dark Blue Nurse Practitioner, Physician’s Assistant or CRNA
Light Green Clinical Fellow, Visiting Clinical Fellow, resident Physician, or
Visiting Resident Physician
Dark Green Clinical Physicians (Instructor or Professor) (Visiting Attending
Physicians or Adjunct Faculty with MD)
Gold Respiratory Therapist
Red Paramedic
Access Color Stripe:
Pink Access to Nurseries and Infant Handler