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 ED, Telemetry,Hospice, ICU, Supervisor.
the program doesn't base it's dress code decisions on one individual or the minority out of a group.

Typically males in most RN programs are the minority of the group. Dress codes are adjusted to accommodate them. Hence the reason why males do not wear the cap. I would find it very insulting if males were to be required to wear the cap for graduation ceremony regardless of tradition.

Specializes in Pediatrics.

I can relate. For our graduation, we were required to wear a dress and cap in order to attend the ceremony, and if we did not attend, our nursing director would not submit our documents to the state for NCLEX application approval. We had to wait a month, then get the documents and file everything on our own if we chose otherwise. We also had a capping ceremony that I didn't want to attend, and the rest of the class did. I asked the director if it was okay for me to wear the male uniform, which was a more gender-neutral pair of white scrubs (zip up top and pants), but she said I would not be permitted to attend and would be delayed in taking my NCLEX. I didn't protest or bring it up again.

I have never been able to adequately explain why, but dresses make me feel incredibly uncomfortable and humiliated (I cried several times over it). I didn't blame my instructor or anyone else, because no one is responsible for my feelings but me. I just gritted my teeth and got through the ceremony, ducked away from pictures and left immediately thereafter. The only thing more painfully awkward than wearing a dress is trying to justify why I hate it. So, I just got through it, and now it's a distant memory.

Specializes in Nursing Education, CVICU, Float Pool.

Typically males in most RN programs are the minority of the group. Dress codes are adjusted to accommodate them. Hence the reason why males do not wear the cap. I would find it very insulting if males were to be required to wear the cap for graduation ceremony regardless of tradition.

I meant my above statement in regards to the OPs situation, where voting was implemented. I agree with you that it would be insulting for the makes to have to wear the cap, as it is not a part of a male uniform.

Specializes in ED, Telemetry,Hospice, ICU, Supervisor.
I can relate. For our graduation, we were required to wear a dress and cap in order to attend the ceremony, and if we did not attend, our nursing director would not submit our documents to the state for NCLEX application approval. We had to wait a month, then get the documents and file everything on our own if we chose otherwise. We also had a capping ceremony that I didn't want to attend, and the rest of the class did. I asked the director if it was okay for me to wear the male uniform, which was a more gender-neutral pair of white scrubs (zip up top and pants), but she said I would not be permitted to attend and would be delayed in taking my NCLEX. I didn't protest or bring it up again.

I have never been able to adequately explain why, but dresses make me feel incredibly uncomfortable and humiliated (I cried several times over it). I didn't blame my instructor or anyone else, because no one is responsible for my feelings but me. I just gritted my teeth and got through the ceremony, ducked away from pictures and left immediately thereafter. The only thing more painfully awkward than wearing a dress is trying to justify why I hate it. So, I just got through it, and now it's a distant memory.

In my opinion some traditions need to stop. Wearing a foolish cap should not impede your chances of taking the NCLEX. I wonder what her rationale is for delaying paper work. Absolutely asinine for the nursing director to hold your future employment opportunities hostage because she wants women to wear an outdated, archaic, and irrelevant piece of kit.

Specializes in Nursing Education, CVICU, Float Pool.

In my opinion some traditions need to stop. Wearing a foolish cap should not impede your chances of taking the NCLEX. I wonder what her rationale is for delaying paper work. Absolutely asinine for the nursing director to hold your future employment opportunities hostage because she wants women to wear an outdated, archaic, and irrelevant piece of kit.

It's the same war at my school. All students are required to attend the pinning ceremony in the specified pinning uniform or you will be delayed in taking NCLEX.

If someone wants to wear a cap to graduation, fine, great. Go for it. But telling all the girl students they MUST wear one is clearly absurd. In the case of the OP, the other female classmates got mad because she "violated" their vote and "ruined" the ceremony. People implied that the cap was some sort of sacred tradition. Oh, please. How can it be a tradition for modern students when 99.9999999% will never, ever wear a cap in their careers? Let's be honest. For these students, it wasn't about the OP "breaking tradition". It was about her ruining their "I'm a princess" group photo moment. And women who care about such things are setting their gender back two generations or so....

Specializes in geriatrics.

From 1920-1935 my grandma was a nurse. In those days, many nurses wore a cloak, which was part of their uniform issue (outside the hospital). Her uniform also consisted of an apron to be worn over the dress. In those days, nurses were educated by the hospital and many of them lived and worked on the campus. We don't do that anymore either. Traditions evolve, just like everything else.

Specializes in Nursing Education, CVICU, Float Pool.

All if the comments about traditions and how they beef to be changed. To be honest graduation are traditional! Wearing Academic Gowns ave caps etc.... Think how long that has been going on, but no one gripes about having to west that ridiculous and hot regalia for 2pr 3 hours, because its what most colleges and universities, even online ones, do to honor their graduates in general.

Some schools have graduation ceremonies where graduates just wear business attire or business casual attire, no gowns, no hoods, no caps. I like that better, personally.

However I will rock my cap and gown with pride at the cummlative graduation at my school. I only have riveter it for a short time. I am not complaining, at least it means I'm done.

Traditions are our connection to history and the past, thus why they are traditions. If we don't like certain traditions we live in this magical place called the USA that allows us to decide if we want to do certain. Things or not, despite the repercussions.

Cried over wear a dress???

Specializes in Pediatrics.
Cried over wear a dress???

Yep. Bawled like a four year old, and thanks to the relative anonymity of the internet, I can admit this freely. I didn't advertise my issues with dresses to my classmates, nor did I attempt to change the policy; I simply wanted to not attend the graduation ceremony. But because doing so would delay the start of my career, I elected to suck it up and go.

Meh, having to do crap you don't enjoy is part of life, and I made it through. But I absolutely support the right of others to object to something they find demeaning, humiliating, etc, especially when it is regard to something that is supposed to celebrate personal achievement.

Specializes in ED, Telemetry,Hospice, ICU, Supervisor.
From 1920-1935 my grandma was a nurse. In those days, many nurses wore a cloak, which was part of their uniform issue (outside the hospital). Her uniform also consisted of an apron to be worn over the dress. In those days, nurses were educated by the hospital and many of them lived and worked on the campus. We don't do that anymore either. Traditions evolve, just like everything else.

I think a cloak would look hilarious for graduation. Women wear caps and males wear cloaks! But I would have mine with eh super man S logo on it. Welcome to the costume party.

Specializes in Adult ICU/PICU/NICU.

They were not cloaks, they were wool capes that came down to your fingertips.( when I think of cloaks I think of druids chanting..or a group of witches dancing around a fire....no disrespect to my pagan friends...who DO wear cloaks). You wore it to and from the hospital to the dorm or your home. If you were a traveling nurse or worked with a doctor who made house calls (yes,nurses did that back in the day), you wore it when you visited the home. I remember as a little girl seeing a nurse in a poster add calling for nurses to serve during World War II. I thought she was beautiful....like a hero ready to fly into action. Sadly, my cape is long gone. My children and grandchildren used to play with it pretty rough..and the clasp broke...and then it started to look pretty ratty and I couldn't have worn it again even if I wanted to. In my day, your uniform had to look crisp and clean. My cap, on the other hand, is a different story. I worked hard for my cap and I still wear my cap whenever I work. To me, its a symbol of my accomplishment. Young people may think its sexist or out dated or impractical....that's fine...it may mean that to you...but it doesn't mean that to me. As long as I'm a practicing nurse I shall continue to wear my cap with the same pride as the day I earned it.

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