Forced wearing of nursing cap.

Nursing Students General Students

Published

  1. Is this sexist or gender bias?

    • 95
      yes
    • 101
      no

196 members have participated

I'm a senior registered nursing student and our school has a pinning ceremony to mark the completion of our program.

Our class contains about 20% men, equal split of black and white in both genders. I am approaching 50 and this is not my first career.

The director of the nursing program gave the class the "option to vote" on the wearing of a nurses cap for the pinning ceremony and our class photo. The majority of the class voted to wear the cap, men excluded from wear.

I do not wish to wear the cap and have been told by program director that "the class voted to wear it and you have to or you will not be able to participate". I understand the cap is traditional, but I feel it calls specific attention to my gender and not my success in passing nursing school. I've worked very hard to get where I'm at and I wish to celebrate my success with a pinning ceremony.

I truly feel that being "forced" to wear the cap is discriminatory based on my gender alone. Period. The guys are not made to wear them because they are considered "feminine or female dress", and I don't wish to be "forced" to dress as such either (we are all wearing pant-scrubs by unanimous vote).

I respect the choice of anyone else that wishes to wear the nursing cap. I don't and won't presume to force my opinion on them.

Has anyone else had this experience?

Does anyone know of any precedence against forced wearing of nursing caps to participate in school activities, etc? Any input on how else to proceed in approaching my school administration would be appreciated.

I welcome the input from both genders, seasoned and new nurses, students and educators, and anyone else on here that wants to chime in.

I ask only, that you be nice to me and each other. This is very serious for me.

Specializes in geriatrics.

We share different opinions on this issue, clearly. No one is right or wrong. For some (including myself), although the cap is a respected symbol, I'm still not in favour of wearing one. I've always been more of a tomboy, so that is part of my reason. The other is this: in principle, I should have the right to say no to the cap. In fact, had it been mandatory at my grad, I wouldn't have attended. I would have requested the school mail my degree. Thankfully, no one wears the cap anymore for grad where I live, and they haven't for years, so I don't give it a thought.

Specializes in Emergency.

Jeez...what year are we living in? The last time it seemed nurses wore caps was Florence Nightingale days??? Oh...I remeber they wore them in "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest."

I'm still not in favour of wearing one. I've always been more of a tomboy, so that is part of my reason. .

I look terrrible in hats! That's my real reason. :nurse:

More than 1/2 in my class wanted to wear the hat. We weren't given an option. We didnt wear hats :(. So I went online and bought one for myself!! I'm going to get pro pics taken with it on.

Traditions are a way to tie the past to the present. In the field of nursing the pinning ceremony and caps are an acknowledgement of the generations who founded and grew the profession. If I were female, I would go along with the desire of the majority. It's a small thing, it does no harm, and it's a bit of a salute to those who created the job you're embarking on.[/quote']

I like this answer the best.

Everybody's personal choices should be respected no matter what, you should not be excluded from celebrating your success because you choose not to wear a cap that the majority agree on. It seems very appalling for this to happen, and I hope they agree to allow you to attend without wearing it. personally I love the idea of wearing it, and I would be so proud to wear it, but it's only fair that individuals can choose!

Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
Everybody's personal choices should be respected no matter what you should not be excluded from celebrating your success because you choose not to wear a cap that the majority agree on. It seems very appalling for this to happen, and I hope they agree to allow you to attend without wearing it. personally I love the idea of wearing it, and I would be so proud to wear it, but it's only fair that individuals can choose![/quote']

What if your personal choice is that you would rather not wear appropriate clothing to clinical? Should you be allowed to attend?

In my opinion:

Sometimes it is not possible to respect everyone's personal choices. And to claim sexism because you were simply in the minority isn't appropriate.

What if your personal choice is that you would rather not wear appropriate clothing to clinical? Should you be allowed to attend?

In my opinion:

Sometimes it is not possible to respect everyone's personal choices. And to claim sexism because you were simply in the minority isn't appropriate.

Well obviously its not possible for really important things like uniform for clinical, but it's not that important for a ceremony if guys don't have to wear them

Specializes in Nursing Education, CVICU, Float Pool.

Well obviously its not possible for really important things like uniform for clinical, but it's not that important for a ceremony if guys don't have to wear them

Most Men don't wear stockings and dresses either, so is it sexist if we aren't required to a dress and stockings for pinning?

Everybody's personal choices should be respected no matter what, you should not be excluded from celebrating your success because you choose not to wear a cap that the majority agree on. It seems very appalling for this to happen, and I hope they agree to allow you to attend without wearing it. personally I love the idea of wearing it, and I would be so proud to wear it, but it's only fair that individuals can choose!

With all due respect one disagrees. No everyone does not have the right to have their *personal* choices respected all of the time. Indeed IMHO that is what is wrong with this modern age. We now have one, two or more generations raised to believe that everything must be their way or the highway.

Case in point know several mothers for who meal times resemble something out of a cafeteria or restaurant. They do not plan meals but take polls and then make dish "X" for that child, dish "Y" for this and "Z" for husband all because their personal wishes must be respected. My mother made dinner, you ate what was served or went without.

Yes, everyone may have some sort of rights to have their opinions and or wishes heard, but part of any great society or democracy means sucking it up when things do go your way and move with the majority for the greater good.

I am floored at how many people continue to say "just wear the thing". The bottom line to all of this is the OP felt strongly enough about her belief system, her gender identification, her thought process in the history of the hat for female nurses in a "chaste" role, to ask if it was disctiminatory. As noted above, it not only is the epitome of discrimination, but allowed at a school that accepts federal funding. A nursing hat is not a reflection of anything other than a tradition that is not reflective of most nurses practice. Remember, this is an older student in her second career, so perhaps her thought process is far different than that of a younger student fresh out of high school, or a nurse from "back in the day" that did not have life experience to realize for some, this is a female outward sign of what some could consider subsurvient. We need to support each other in the right to be able to have a choice.

We all understand that but as mother would say "not everything is always about *you*".

No one forced the OP to attend nursing school and by joining a group by nature one has to give and take. The school upon application by it's students held a vote, and the majority won. Again what is the bloody point of that whole exercise if persons are going to whinge six ways from Sunday to wiggle out of the democratic outcome.

Today the OP has a problem wearing a cap for graduation, tomorrow it will be not wanting to wear whatever colour scrubs or uniform nurses in her department/unit/facility votes to wear.

Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.

So if the class voted that all black people in the class had to stand in the back, would we just tell a black person, "Your class voted, you lost."

Wow. This is such gross misrepresentation of the situation that part of me hopes it was a sarcastic remark made to draw attention to the ludicrous comparison between wearing a hat and sexism.

Now let me fix it for you:

So if the class voted that all people in the class WEARING BLACK had to stand in the back, would we just tell a person WEARING BLACK, "Your class voted, you lost."

An FYI, myself and the two other guys in my graduating grad school class were asked to stand in the back corner of the ceremony. None of us claimed sexism.

+ Add a Comment