Anyone HAVE to wear a cap?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I have been visiting a facility around here recently where the nurses MUST wear a cap. It is strange. I was told another facility around here also mandates them. I was really taken aback! The facility is beautiful. The population is elderly, and that may be okay, as that era was used to caps, but ... geez, I don't think I could do it.

Where I used to work, we had to wear caps.....I hated it!!

I felt like an throwback from my great-grandmothers era, who as a nurse HAD to wear caps....it was the thing of the day.

All of the residents didn't like them either. Besides the caps, we were required to wear whites too.

I love where I'm at now, a large hospital, where we can wear what we want. I even dressed up in a costume for Halloween...make up and all. I had a blast and the patients really got a kick out of it!

One nursing home in our area still requires their nurses to wear caps. The DON is a real hag who is about 60 y/o and acts like she is 80. She makes the nurses wear caps because she says that is how today's elderly generation recognizes nurses. Give me a break. They also recognized the doctors by the white lab coats, dress clothes, and ties they wore but I don't see any of them required to wear them.

Specializes in ED staff.

I used to have to wear a cap....15 years ago. I worked in an ICU and finally refused to wear one, the cap got caught in all the lines, not to mention they are nasty. Some nurses in our facility still wear them......whatever is all I can say.

I think if I would have to wear that "damn" cap, I would not last very long.:devil:

No, and thank GOD!!! We have one old bitty that wears one...with the white dress, white stockings, and shoes from the 50's...

K

I didn't have to wear a cap even in nursing school and I graduated 13 years ago.

Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.
Specializes in OB.

I always thought women being forced to wear caps was a form of gender discrimination, since men didn't have to. Wouldn't work for such a facility, not specifically because of the cap, but because it smacks of a very controlling administration.

I could never work at a facility requiring a cap. Graduated in'94 and we were the first class not required to wear caps, not only because the male students were not required to, but due to infection issues. I personally feel the MD's of old would be able to more easily recognize you, "Hey you with the cap".

Specializes in ER.

I think we should all plan on wearing our caps and white uniforms on April 1 2003. We would recognize each other and how far we've come in 20 years of nursing. Certainly if we look at where we were we will have greater faith that we can continue to improve nursing as a profession (not as a maid service). This should be a national demonstration/occasion/celebration for us all.

So far, no one still has to wear a cap, cept this brand spankin new beautiful facility forces it nurses to wear them now-in 2002!

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