UTHCPC Procedures - Personal Appearance and Dress Code

Personal Appearance and Dress Code

Introduction

Date of Last Review 5/7/07
SME: Director of Personnel Systems Management

This topic explains expectations in dress and personal appearance in keeping with the professionalism of this psychiatric institution.

Purpose

Administration adopted these policies to protect the employees and patients by attempting to avoid:

Safety hazards

Drawing unnecessary attention to the employee

Audience

The information in this topic applies to all UTHCPC employees and UTHCPC contracted employees.

Hospital identification badge

Affix your ID badge to your clothing above the waist with the name and photograph to the front and clearly visible while on duty. In case your ID badge is lost, a temporary ID will be issued to you until you obtain a new ID badge from UTHSC. See Identification Badges

Alterations: Do not alter your ID badge in any way. Obtain a new badge should changes occur to the information on your badge.

Personal appearance policies

This table lists UTHCPC policies concerning various aspects of an employee's personal appearance:

Personal Aspect

Policies

Personal daily hygiene

Practice good personal hygiene

Hair

Conservative in length and neatly styled

Colognes

Minimal

Finger nails

Conservative in length and neatly manicured. For direct care staff see, see Fingernail Policy for Direct Care Staff

Standard nail colors only - Colors to avoid: Black, blue, green, yellow

Solid nail colors only - Avoid: Nail jewelry and nail art, see Fingernail Policy for Direct Care Staff

Tattoos

Cover all tattoos

Jewelry

Conservative amounts and types of jewelry

Clothing

Conservative styles and colors

Coordinated clothing (uniform) attire with shirts tucked in

Reference: See Appropriate Attire and Inappropriate Attire for more specifics.

Appropriate attire

The following articles of clothing are acceptable for employees inside the hospital:

Shirts, blouses, etc.

	Slacks, khakis, etc.
	Mid-calf dress slacks or trousers (non-denim that are not reveling or provocative, no spandex or similar tight fitting fabrics)
	Open-toed dress shoes for non-clinical staff (not sandals)

Plain socks, stockings, or hosiery

Skirts at or below knee length

Shoes that are clean and in good condition

Any other clothing not described under Inappropriate Attire

Inappropriate attire

The following articles of clothing are not acceptable for employees inside the hospital:

T-shirts with advertising, or offensive language/pictures
Exception: UT or UTHCPC T-shirts on Casual Fridays

Hats

Sunglasses
Exception: When prescribed by a physician

Revealing clothing including:

See-through shirts/blouses

Inappropriately low- or high-cut clothing

Tight fitting skirts or skirts with extreme slits

The following pants:

Tight fitting slacks

Spandex

Leggings

Stirrup pants

Shorts, or shorts-like clothing, i.e. skorts (shorts that look like skirts), capri pants that stop at or right below the knee

Athletic wear and sweatsuits, i.e. jerseys, logo apparel, warmups

Jeans
Exceptions: Employees can wear jeans in the following circumstances providing the jeans are in good condition, not excessively worn, torn, ripped, or patched.

Employees of Facilities Management and Food & Nutrition staff working in the kitchen

Supervisors may authorize employees to wear jeans on certain occasions
Examples: PMC training, furniture moving and unpacking, cable pulling

UTHCPC Casual Friday

Ornamental hosiery

The following shoes:

Casual sandals including flip-flop sandals

Open-toed shoes that could create a safety hazard (staff working in patient areas are susceptible to potential infection control and safety issues such as contact with bodily fluids and needle sticks to the foot from a falling syringe)

Heels higher than two-inches

Note: If you are unsure of the appropriateness of clothing, contact your supervisor.

UTHCPC Casual Fridayand Casual Weekends

When
Friday of each week and each weekend

Who May Participate?

All employees

What is Casual Friday and Casual Weekends?

On Casual Fridays and Casual Weekends, employees have the option to wear:

Jeans

UT or UTHCPC T-shirts worn tucked-in

Employees must comply with all other aspects of the dress code on Casual Fridays (see Appropriate Attire and Inappropriate Attire for details)

Example: Employees who normally are required to wear coordinated clothing (uniforms) are not required to on Casual Fridays. Casual attire may be worn as described above.

Enforcement

The following personnel have the authority to enforce the issues addressed in this topic through appropriate disciplinary action including sending employees home without pay for non-compliance:

Administrators

Department directors

Managers

Coordinators

Supervisors

Specific enforcement responsibilities:

Medical director is responsible for the medical staff

Training directors are responsible for students in their programs

Related standards

The Joint Commission Human Resources Standards

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