Forced wearing of nursing cap.

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  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 Adult Internal Medicine.

As for the OP, I hope she didn't make a huge deal of this and/or skip her pinning.

Skipping the pinning is something you would regret down the road as it is a milestone.

Making a big deal out of it really burns bridges with admin and faculty that you may need for references down the road.

Specializes in Cardiac Care.
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.

This is what I did as well. We were not offered the option of caps, and were told specifically that we were not allowed caps at pinning.

However, I did purchase one and after the pinning ceremony my family and I took pictures with the cap on.

It meant a lot to my mother and also my kids got a kick out of it.

Don't be ludicrous. Segregation is a belittling and illegal force that went on for Years. It put one person above another, and deemed the slave as an unintelligent Living thing. So that comparison was in NO WAY justifiable. Also the OP and get other classmates had a voice in the matter, many times oppressed people NEVER did. Under the name of democracy, the class voted, and the OP lost. End if story. She can fight it, that's her right. However I doubt the the program director would budge unless half the class or more had an issue with it. My program voted on it and came to that conclusion.

Firstly, the wearing cap, especially now-a-days at pinnings, was never meant as a negative sign or derogatory action. It signified that you were a special person. It is meant to be an honor, not a tribulation. Women wear them at pinning for a brief time because of the many of the intelligent people that helped structure the current nursing practice wore those caps, which signified they were trusted healers.

So women have only been oppressed for a few months, thus it's ok?

If wearing the cap is such an "honor," it's not fair to not allow the men to be equally honored.

Specializes in Nursing Education, CVICU, Float Pool.

So women have only been oppressed for a few months, thus it's ok?

If wearing the cap is such an "honor," it's not fair to not allow the men to be equally honored.

Because its part of the females uniform. Duh!

Plus the OP had a clear choice. She doesn't have to wear the thing, just if she doesn't she can't participate, it's simple.

Personally if I was director of her program it wouldn't matter to me, but whatever was decided would have to be uniform across the board. The only way to ensure uniformity is via a majority vote or executive decision. The school reserves the power to dictate what it's uniform policy will be for clinical, special ceremonies, and graduations.

Unfortunately democracy has its flaws in some cases, it doesn't cater to the wants of the minority.

Wow. This is such gross misrepresentation of the situation

How is it a gross misrepresentation? One class of people is forced to do something that another class of people is not.

If you don't like the, "Stand in the back" then change it to black people have to wear a hat, white people in the class can't wear a hat. Discrimination? Maybe unimportant (to you) discrimination, but is that discrimination? Would you tell a black man to just go along and wear the hat?

Specializes in HIV, Psych, GI, Hepatology, Research.

We voted also and we wore the cap and a white nursing dress with white hose and white nursing shoes. There were some women in the white pants and men had a different white scrub top. It's tradition and although I didn't like the hat I felt like part of a family of nurses and wore it proudly. I viewed it as more of a symbol than anything else. I hope you don't miss your pinning because of the cap. Best of luck.

How is it a gross misrepresentation? One class of people is forced to do something that another class of people is not.

If you don't like the, "Stand in the back" then change it to black people have to wear a hat, white people in the class can't wear a hat. Discrimination? Maybe unimportant (to you) discrimination, but is that discrimination? Would you tell a black man to just go along and wear the hat?

One had no idea a square meter or less of fabric could make so many women feel "threatened" and or some how diminished.

As for the discrimination thing, it always amazes one how so many females pick and choose that battle. Wedding veils, high heels, Spanx, girdles, control top panty hose and a whole lot of other assorted items have their roots in the subjugations of females yet that does not seem to bother scores of American women. Indeed the inventor of Spanx is a billionare from her invention so that speaks to a quite large demand.

On another matter of "discrimination" it is also a wonder how so many Amercian women will jump to claim such things when it works in their favor. Social Security and certain other tax/federal benefits are all skewed and or were designed for the *ahem* protection of women,wives and mothers. It is mainly out of equality laws they apply both ways, but by and large their purpose was to benefit the fair sex. That somehow does not bother many women so much.

More and more employers of all sorts and that includes hospitals when seeking nurses are looking for team players and or those who are willing to put certain personal quibbles aside for the greater good. If the OP and others are going to nail their colours over wearing a cap for the

So OP should be a "team player." If OP was a black person being forced to wear a hat because of her skin color rather than her genitalia, would you be telling OP to be a team player?

Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.

How is it a gross misrepresentation? One class of people is forced to do something that another class of people is not.

If you don't like the, "Stand in the back" then change it to black people have to wear a hat, white people in the class can't wear a hat. Discrimination? Maybe unimportant (to you) discrimination, but is that discrimination? Would you tell a black man to just go along and wear the hat?

You can continue to change the scenario in attempt to make a case for discrimination, but in the end, it is not applicable to the original scenario or the OP.

Perhaps you are defining discrimination as simple differentiation, in that case it's true, I would be able to discriminate/differentiate who was male or female by their hat. The problems when you make the leap to arguing that by wearing said hat (or by nature of their gender) they are being subjected to some form of preferential or detrimental treatment, which is simply not the case.

So how much can they force on women but not on men before it's "discrimination" if this isn't it? Where's the line for you? Can they require women to wear headscarves to class? To clinical as part of the women's clinical uniform? Can they require translady partsl ultrasounds for the school physical? Can they give men and women different exams? Where is the line? Because obviously it's in a much different place for me (who thinks there shouldn't be a different requirement on any of this between the men and women.)

I think the topic has gone somewhere over to the left. The original issue is about GENDER discrimination related to acceptable attire for females and males, Specifically having to wear a cap because the majority voted and whether that is right or wrong.

For me I wouldn't want to wear it because I think it looks ridiculous, not because of any feminist issues I have. If it were me, I don't know what I would actually do because I'm not in that position, and I don't feel that's strongly as you and some others do.

They gave you a choice, wear the cap or don't go. If you feel that strongly that you feel you can't put it aside to participate in your own ceremony then don't. I know if I felt that strongly about the whole thing as you do, I just wouldn't go.

To bring anything else, like whether they should receive funding, calling a state rep over it, and some of the other things being brought up, seem to be a bit extra to me. By the time anything would get worked out, the ceremony will be long over and you will be long gone.

So how much can they force on women but not on men before it's "discrimination" if this isn't it? Where's the line for you? Can they require women to wear headscarves to class? To clinical as part of the women's clinical uniform? Can they require translady partsl ultrasounds for the school physical? Can they give men and women different exams? Where is the line? Because obviously it's in a much different place for me (who thinks there shouldn't be a different requirement on any of this between the men and women.)

For your late night reading material:

Tailoring a dress code: How to write the rules - amednews.com

Equality, Diversity and Discrimination: How to Comply with the Law, Promote ... - Lynda A. C. Mac Donald - Google Books

Dress Codes and Employee Appearance | HR Topics for human resources#

Clarke Silverglate, P.A.

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