Going Back To Wearing Whites and The Cap!

[live4today]

Yeppers......strongly thinking about it!

There's a nurse on my unit who wears her starched white nursing dress, white stockings, white shoes, and her nursing cap every tiime she works.

Everytime I see her, something in me gets "quickened"...so to speak. I start reflecting back to when I first donned my nursing attire as a nursing student all excited about my first day of clinicals. I never tired of dressing for my clinicals throughout college.

Once I graduated and landed my first job, I got to experience that thrill all over again but of course at that time the only ones NOT in whites worked in ER, L&D, and the various ICUs of the hospitals I worked in.

Then, I started seeing less and less white uniforms and nursing caps over time to the point I hardly see any anymore.......until I saw the nurse where I work. I'm impressed by the way she dresses, the way she carries herself, her assertive manner, her take no crap style, and her dedication to all she went to school for and her pride in earning her cap and uniform to this day long after finishing school. I don't know how old she is, but if I were to guess, I'd say she was mid-thirties or 40 maybe. Hope I'm not wrong......she's a great person. Maybe I'll ask her how old she is, and tell her how much I admire her "style" as a nurse.

I have loooooonnnnggggg lost my nursing cap. I cannot remember what I did with it. Probably got lost in all the moves I have made over the years. Now, I want to return to my Alma Mater's bookstore and buy me a nursing cap with full stripe and wear it again. I don't even own a white uniform anymore. Alllllllll scrubs of various colors and prints.

I'm just wondering how many nurses posting have felt the need or desire to don that cap and uniform again....if only just for a shift or two........ya know....like "dressup Friday"?????

I already can hear the millions of voices saying already "NOOOOOOOOOO WAY........those days are history"........so I respect your point of view on that, too. But, how many of you even think about wearing your cap and uniform on occasion?

Thanks for ALL replies!

[shelleybelle]

I love this thread!! My mother just had a fit when she found out the all whites & caps were a thing of the past... I did have to wear an all white uniform. It wasn't TOO bad... except a couple of my classmates wound up w/ poop on em :uhoh21: However, we had a few days when we could wear our own scrubs and I gotta tell ya... i wasn't crazy about the printed tops. They look so cute on others, but not me... I looked like a barrel... seemed to me even worse than the Michelan man's mate look (I LOVED THAT, BTW)... I love wearing a white top w/navy pants... and a white warmup or lab coat.. I like a LITTLE bit of white... gotta have some dark colors to try and mask those thunder thighs & ghetto booty:(

However, I'd love to see someone ELSE in the whites & cap.. that'd be really cool. I know of a couple nurses here who, because of their religion, are prohibited to wear pants and they ALWAYS look so crisp and clean in their scrub skirts & dresses... but I don't think i'd like to wear them..

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

Yes we have Mennonite women that work on my floor who wear a printed top and the longer white skirt with the white hose, and then they have their own white see-through cap that goes over the back of their hair (i forgot the technical term for it). They look so professional!!

I still don't wanna wear pantyhose or skirts lol

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

I can't imagine wearing a skirt or a scrub dress to work. All the bending, reaching, stooping etc. would be a lot more complicated if I had to worry about my hem creeping up too high over my size-20 butt.......not to mention the fact that wearing pantyhose every day would be hell. (I'm pretty tan, but wearing a dress w/o hose is a fashion no-no for most of us over a certain age.....)

I usually wear print tops over dark-colored solid pants, mainly because my bustline is rather generous and that's the first place any stray food or drink lands--*plop*. I stick with the small prints for the most part, because I look like a walking wallpaper sample in big flowered patterns, and my color choices depend on the season (brights and pastels in the summer, holiday patterns and lots of red and black in the winter). I confess, I have a few "cutesy" tops, which the patients love even though I occasionally ask myself how much older I've got to get before my sense of dignity takes over and I stop wearing the shirt that says "home is where the cat is".

[Edward,IL]

An interesting discussion.

A bit about the history.

White caps where worn by maids historically to keep dirt, smoke, suet, etc out of there hair. This style of cap was sometimes adopted by some nurses.

In Roman Catholic countries throughout Europe during the early reformation (1500's -1600's), many orders of women religious wore giant starched coronettes as part of their religious orders habit. ( think Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent DePaul, Sisters of Carondolet, Sisters of Bon Secor). A large, starched coronette

was part of the appropriate day-wear for all middle-class women when going out in public. The sister in the full habit could be quite intimidating to those around her- no one ever questioned who she was, what she did nor for whom she worked!

Prostestant countries developing nursing servces within hospitals often times retained the title "sister" and a veil or cap as part of the nurses uniform.

Within hospitals today, with the deprofessionalization of nurses to become low-respected hospital workers, an all-white uniform and a large starched cap may command the degree of respect

and order that nurses once enjoyed. People around you will be more respectful of you because you are a "real lady". Depending on your facility, you may want to give it a try. It will take some adjustment on the part of those that work with you, but it could have rewards in the long-run.

Just my humble opinion, Edward, IL

[jnette, ASN, EMT-I]

Originally posted by roxannekkb

However, I find the white cap and starched dress disempowering for nurses, the connection between whites and the "angel of mercy" image or the "White Angel" image too strong. Its association with nursing is also an association of the doctor's little helper, and the angel who doesn't need to get paid a decent wage, or earn real respect.

What I find MORE disempowering for today's nurses are the "cutesy" scrubtops... little bears, angels, hearts, butterflys, etc.

Now for Peds, I find them MORE than appropriate, if not necessary. But other than that, I find them to promote the image of .. well, I don't even know how to say it nicely.

And while I DO understand that it's NOT what one wears that makes a good nurse, it still (to me) gives a false, belittling impression of a PROfession..again, IMO only. I could never envision a female doc wearing such, maybe that's part of my reasoning... dunno. Anyway, like I said, that's just my own personal take on it, so no offense...

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

Ah, yes, the 'butt shelf' (where your shirt or hikes up and sits on your butt as a big wrinkle). I have that problem with shirts.

And let us not forget getting it tucked up in the pantyhose when you find that spare 15 seconds to go the bathroom.......

[lynndale316]

ABOUT A MONTH AGO I WORE ALL WHITE AND MY CAP TO WORK. FIRST TIME I HAVE WORN IT IN PROBABLY 10 YEARS. I GOT MORE COMPLIMENTS THAN I COULD HAVE THOUGHT POSSIBLE. THE PATIENTS LOVED IT BECAUSE THEIR NURSE "ACTUALLY LOOKED LIKE A NURSE." IT IS QUITE PROFESSIONAL. WHEN YOU STOP TO THINK ABOUT IT, IT VERY WELL COULD BE THAT LACK OF PROFESSIONALISM IS WHERE HEALTHCARE, RESPECT AND APPRECIATION FOR NURSES HAS WENT DOWN THE TUBES. TAKE THE ISSUE OF NURSE ABUSE... I LIKE THE IDEA OF GETTING BACK TO THE GOOD STUFF! LIKE CAPS AND WHITES AND PROFESSIONALISM. WHEN I WENT TO SCHOOL THE CAP WAS SOMETHING YOU EARNED. YOU WORKED HARD TO EARN IT AND AT THE CAPPING AND PINNING CEREMONY NOTHING COULD COMPARE! THAT CAP SHOULD BE A DISTINCTION OF A WONDERFULLY CARING, INTELLIGENT, HARD WORKING, PROFFESSIONAL THAT DESERVES RESPECT AND IS LOOKED UP TO. IT REALLY BOTHERS ME TO HEAR PEOPLE TALKING SMAK ABOUT IT. I UNDERSTAND THAT NOT EVERYONE LIKES TO WEAR HATS, BUT GIVE IT THE RESPECT IT DESERVES. YOU WORKED FOR IT JUST LIKE YOU DID YOUR LICENSE!! PROTECT IT.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

Did that one waaaaaaay back in high school, when I was actually thin and cute and we wore miniskirts. I was late getting out of PE and had thrown on my clothes (does anyone else remember having to shower, dress, AND put pantyhose back on over damp legs in 5 minutes?) without stopping to check the mirror on the way out. I was wondering why everyone was staring at me and had actually gotten halfway across campus when my best friend caught up with me and said, "Your dress is stuck in your pantyhose!!". I'd been flashing the whole school!!:imbar

I wouldn't be 16 again for all the money in the US Treasury.......but that's a subject for another day.

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

ppssssst Lindale ALL CAPS on the net means SHOUTING!

[KatznKidz]

If wearing a cap and whites is what you want to do, go for it! As for me I think that would scare my patients. I work in a children's hospital. The children like the colorful scrubs that we wear! Some of the tops with characters on them (Scooby, Bugs Bunny, Clifford, Sponge Bob) help to start conversations with the younger ones! :)

[lynndale316]

P_RN Thanks for the info. I usually do that just so I don't have to push the shift etc all the time. (lazy) On the other hand, when I whisper you can hear me in the next roomm. People think I am shouting most of the time anyway. No offense please. I'm tippin' my hat to ya now. lynndale316

[roxannekkb]

Originally posted by Edward,IL

Within hospitals today, with the deprofessionalization of nurses to become low-respected hospital workers, an all-white uniform and a large starched cap may command the degree of respect

and order that nurses once enjoyed. People around you will be more respectful of you because you are a "real lady". Depending on your facility, you may want to give it a try. It will take some adjustment on the part of those that work with you, but it could have rewards in the long-run.

Just my humble opinion, Edward, IL

Umm, in those good old days when nurses were "real ladies" and dressed in starched whites, they also scrubbed floors, washed linens, sterilized needles and syringes, rolled their own bandages, and laundered and bleached linens. In addition to caring for 30 patients or so.

As far as garnering respect, they stood when the doctor entered the room, gave the doctor their chair, were invisible politically, were at the complete mercy of their hospitals because unions and negotiating contracts were almost unheard of, worked long hours for a pittance. In the 1960s, secretaries and female factory workers made more money than nurses.

And for all that respect, there have been chronic nursing shortages since the 1950s.

So I don't know where this comes from, that back in the good old days of white uniforms and caps, nurses garnered some high degree of respect that is since lost. Nurses have more clout now than ever before, are paid better, have better working conditions, are developing political muscle, and are treated a helluva lot better by doctors than they were in those golden days you speak of.

If you disagree, I suggest that you read a little more history, about what life was like for a nurse, circa 1932. And then tell me how much better it was back then, as compared to now.