The Cherry Ames nursing cap is still out. But at hospitals nationwide, nurses are bringing back all-white uniforms, hoping to help patients figure out who gives the shots and who hands out lunch.
It was just a few decades ago that nurses tossed the cap and stockings for more comfortable scrubs. Then the scrubs covered in teddy bears, candy canes and snazzy stripes started appearing.
"Nurses were wearing a variety of things, from T-shirts to golf shirts, things that didn't always match," says Joan Massella, chief nursing officer at St. Clair Hospital in Mount Lebanon, Pa.
"Patients had a hard time telling the difference between nurses and housekeepers and lab techs."
It's unclear exactly how many hospitals have returned to uniforms. Nursing officers say there's no doubt it's happening, even though it hasn't been easy.
To begin with, most nurses don't want to wear uniforms. In a 2003 online survey by the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, 21 percent of more than 1,000 nurses said they preferred wearing a uniform, compared with 64 percent of those who wanted to wear scrubs.
Nurses worry that white shows stains more easily, is harder to clean and costs more -- about $18 for regular scrubs vs. $20-$25 for white ones or a uniform.
Some hospitals have given nurses a stipend, from $50 to $100 for the new clothes, and by making arrangements with manufacturers for cheaper costs.
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