Setting up uniforms for a nursing college

Every year, a nursing college welcomes a new batch, and every year someone in the office has to get that batch into uniform before the first clinical posting. Done the old way, it means size lists, cash collection, a tailor’s visit and a week of exchanges.

This guide is for principals, tutors and office staff who want to set up a cleaner system, whether the college is new or simply tired of the yearly scramble.

Decide the uniform once

Colleges set their own uniform, so the first job is to agree what students will wear. A typical set-up covers:

• Clinical uniform: scrub sets or white uniforms for ward postings.
• Lab wear: a coat for nursing foundation labs, anatomy and other practicals.
• OT dress: for students posted to theatre, if the hospital does not provide it.
• Cap: if your college uses one as part of the uniform.

From our range, colleges often choose:

Need	Item
Women students’ clinical wear	Women’s V-neck scrub set, XS to 3XL
Men students’ clinical wear	Unisex round-neck scrub set, S to 3XL
Labs and practicals	Lab coat, XS to XXL
Theatre postings	OT green scrub set, XS to 3XL
Caps	Tie-back scrub cap, free size

Use colour to mark years

Many colleges give each year, or each course, a different colour. Tutors and ward staff can see at a glance who is a first-year and who is a final-year student, which helps when supervising on busy wards.

For example: ceil blue for first year, teal for second, wine for third and navy for final year. If you run BSc, GNM and ANM courses together, you could give each course its own colour instead. Choose whatever works and keep it the same every year.

Add the college logo

The college logo embroidered on the chest makes the uniform clearly part of your institution. It is done for institution orders, so the logo is approved once and used on every set ordered through the college. See more on logo embroidery.

Let students order their own size

This is the step that saves the most time. Instead of a size list:

1. The college approves the uniform: style, colour, fabric and logo.
2. We set up a private ordering page showing only the approved items.
3. The college shares the link with the new batch, perhaps in the admission pack or the class WhatsApp group.
4. Students (or parents) measure at home, choose their size and pay online.
5. Orders close weekly and arrive together at the college’s delivery point.
6. Size exchanges are handled there on delivery day.

Students can cancel until the batch closes, so a student who changes their mind early is not a problem.

Timing for a new batch

• Share the link at admission, not after classes start.
• Set one order deadline for the whole batch so everyone is in the same delivery.
• Leave time before the first clinical posting. Students should have their uniform, and have tried it on, before they step onto a ward.
• Late admissions order from the same page and receive their sets in a later weekly batch, matching their classmates.

Guide students on sizing

Students are often ordering their first uniform and tend to guess. A short note in the admission pack helps:

• Measure chest, waist and hip over light clothing.
• Compare with the size chart.
• If between sizes, choose the larger one.
• Order at least two sets, three if possible, for daily washing.

Wrapping up

A nursing college uniform system works best when the uniform is decided once, colours mark the year, and students order their own size from a single link before postings begin. To set this up for your college, start at the for institutions page or send us a message through the contact page.