Nurse Stereotypes and the White Cap...

I have nothing but the deepest respect for nurses. They have attended to my wife on the times she has been in the hospital with real compassion and care. My wife and I have developed good friendships with quite a few. I am now starting classes in nursing this August because of their influence. I don't care if you wear the hat or not it is what you are as a person that counts. You dear nurses are what I call real heros and I hope to join your ranks.

THANK YOU!

I have never ever come across anyone making a crack or rude remark at the fact that I am a nurse. In fact almost all of the time I hear "It takes a special person to be a nurse!" Further more if nurses are so looked down upon then why is it that as nurses we are the top ranked profession every year except for during 9/11 when fire fighters took number one which I kind of think is understandable but since then we back on top and will continue to be. My patient know they can trust me and be vulnerable around me that in its self tells me that not everyone buys into the idea of nurses being giant sex crazed individuals. As far as the new show Nurse Jackie does I've seen one episode and I for one will never promote it's rating again by watching another one. It's one thing to dramatize a tv show and display people in the medical field always being intimate with someone and it's an entirely different circumstance to portray nurses taking drugs while on the job. While I wish neither would be displayed with the image of nurses attached to it, to me it's worse to show the shows nurse taking drugs. All the medical shows display hospital staff copulating in closets yet ive only seen this particular show portray a nurse as a drug user. Sorry for the rant but thats what tees me off, lol!

Thank you for your response and more significantly, the example of *Nurse Jackie* which I understood to be a TV series? I have not personally viewed any episodes, but subject matter appears to be a prime example of substandard writing for TV sitcoms with limited intellect and a desperate need to fill gaps in TV viewing, using a not so subtle example of a nurse/addict/sexually unihibted/mediocre intelligence. These are examples of gender bias where the lack of knowledge about the nursing profession allows media (writers of the programme, the viewing channel and TV critics) to create a slanderous profile of nursing and present it as entertainment.
It is not enough to say that one is angry, teed off or that one finds it misrepresenting the nursing cadre as an inidividual. I will repeat what I have stated previously which is that WE need a collective statement from nursing
boards, educators and all nurses condemning the show and requesting an accurate, professional picture of nurses and nursing in the present health system, inclusive of the enormous challenges we face. I think one example would be the clash between poor management and abuse of nurses. That could become a nail biter if accurate and well written!!!

Put me in the "no big deal" category, but I have to ask: is there a male version of the cap? Skullcap, beanie, boonie hat?

I think the old school white male uniforms were kinda cool in there own way, makes me think of a mad scientist. Wouldn't wear it, of course.

To be honest, I'm a little over scrubs for non-surgical healthcare workers. A few nurses where I work wear polo's and slacks, and I think it looks quite professional. Honestly, if I'm in a position where I'm at risk to get body fluids on me, I'm wearing a gown/ppe anyway.

Oops, gone OT as usual...

When I graduated from a Diploma program in 1982, we had a long talk amongst ourselves about whether our one male classmate should wear a hat, because all the "girls(ages 19-60) had to go out and buy a brand new hat, new shoes and a horribly ugly not flattering to anyone white dress, and he didn't have to do anything other than buy a white top. There were only 25 of us graduating from the original class, and I was lucky enough to have been in this man's clinical group. After we all did our walking across the stage, got our diplomas and the handshake, his clinical group turned to him and said, "We have a very special gift for you." He opened the box, started grinning and blushing, and put his hat on his head.
Did any of us wear our hats afterwards? Only a few. We'd all just read an article which indicated that wearing that same cap every day was a bad idea; hats were cultured and it was shown that they were massive germ carriers.

I don't miss the hat. I could never get through a clinical without the thing falling off, no matter what I stuffed the back of my hat with; tape, kleenex, as many bobby pins as you could shake a stick at. For me, that last ritual wearing of the new(wasteful) hat was IT! Now I work in the OR and wear a blue hat and a mask. Now my biggest hat plague is my hair peeping out from whatever angle it can escape from. I have very short hair, too!

Recently, a study was done. It was a small study that discussed how medical residents regarded nurse/resident communication, whether it goes both ways, whether the reports that nurses the residents was helpful. Sadly, most of the residents were not involved with nurses as colleage to colleage, but in the heirarchy of DOCTOR to nurses. One resident was quoted as saying that nurses didn't tend to give the kind of reports that the resident found helpful, that it was easier to get report from resident from resident cos the nurses couldn't stay on point.....etc.

So much for our trying to work more closely on more of an equal level with docs, and FAILING-----and we're all worried about a lousy hat?

What can I say?

Umm...I am a helper. In fact, I work in an ICU. I guess that makes me an ICU helper. I help the patient, other nurses, the unit clerks, and the families. Often I help the cleaning staff, and yes, often I help the physicians. So yeah, I am a helper. And it really bugs me when people get offended, even uproarious about such things. I have just as much self esteem issues as the next guy, but mostly my self worth comes from what I do. What I am, and again, I am a helper. Sometimes, I even give that help autonomously, although...there was one day last week when a physician ordered me to do something, and gasp, I did it. The nerve of that physician, and how weak and subservient of me.

Here we are on the brink of who-knows-what, considering health care, economy, war, poverty, etc and there are people (so called nurse "leaders") who are upset because someone called them a helper? I work with patients (neonates, infants, and children) and their families who have been devastated by illness or trauma. Devastated. Should I go to them and complain that someone called me a helper?

I tell you, nursing deserves whatever it gets.

Little Bit of Useless Information! *LOL*

White caps grew out of two traditions: Florence Nightingale, and the head gear of various female religous orders.

In the first instance it was because of fashion all women wore some sort of head covering both indoors and out. Gradually as fashions and times changed, only older women and female servants wore caps indoors. The original purpose, besides fashion was to keep all the dust and dirt off women's hair in an era when women had very long hair that was difficult to wash (no modern shampoos, only soap and water). Finally the only women wearing any sort of head gear indoors was servants, and they did their best to get out of them because they felt it was some sort of badge of their lot.

For nurses the cap became part of the uniform and took on an almost mythical place in nursing. Nothing else then or probably now says "nurse" like a cap. So much so that some schools kept theirs on very tight lock down. One could only purchase a new cap from these schools directly, and worse you had to send it back to them for laundering and starching sometimes regardless if that could be done locally or at home. Even today Kay's caps has the patterns for hundreds of caps from nursing schools all over the United States, many no longer exist and or have long since stopped issuing caps at graduation, but the only way one can obtain these certian caps is by providing one's name and graduation date. Rather like how some sororities feel about their rings.

The various colours and numbers of stripes indicated the level of education a nurse received. Stripes later also became whatever the school's colours were.

As one who worked in hospital during the 1980's and attended NS, you really wouldn't want to know the sanitary state of most of them. Once hospitals stopped providing free laundry service for nuses uniforms, the things were rarely laundered, especially by younger generation nurses who mainly wore the things because it was required. Any peek inside a nurse's locker room would find caps on the floors, under lockers, chucked on top of lockers and god only knows where else.

As for male nurses wearing caps, who knows what the SCOTUS would make of a hospital that required only female nurses to wear them, but not only exempted the men, but wouldn't let them either. Do know some places did use the rationale that since men weren't required to wear caps forcing women to could lead to court action.

Today the only place one really sees caps, and starched whites for that matter is when one travels. Japan, China, South American countries, and Mexico still have quite a bit of it going on. Ironically the place where things all began, Britain for the most part has followed the same pattern as the USA. Scrubs and the standard NHS uniform prevail, but caps have pretty much vanished there as well. Some private hosptials that cater to the wealthy still put their female nurses in full uniform with caps, but that is because they (and their clients) like things to be just so and for nurses to look like nurses.

As for the "Nurse Jackie" adverts, has anyone noticed how she is holding that syringe? *LOL*

Hello Georgia Nurses,

Myself and two classmates are working on a "Image of Nursing" Project. We are working together on trying to improve the publics' image of nursing. For our project we have decided to organize a campaign to show our displeasure with the show Nurse Jackie. During our research we have discovered that the NYSNA (New York State Nurses Association) is working to have a disclaimer added at the beginning of Nurse Jackie. We are going to join their fight and are asking that you assist us. Below is a sample letter that we have sent. Our ultimate goal of course would be to have a disclaimer placed on Nurse Jackie or even better yet have someone work on developing a show that actually depicted the true exciting work that we do as nurses. We are asking for others to also write Showtime and to share with us any response you may get.

Thank you for your assistance,
3 RN-BSN students from University of West Georgia.


Sample letter:
Stuart Zakim
Vice President, Corporate Public Relations
Showtime Networks, Inc.
1633 Broadway
New York, NY10019


To Whom It May Concern:

We have watched several episodes of "Nurse Jackie" and find that her character is not only intriguing to the viewers but horrifying to the nursing profession. Her actions make the viewers feel sympathetic, especially when she is defiant in her ethical decisions. Her drug addiction and adulteress behavior may have viewers relating to her on a personal level due to the viewers own personal experiences. However, "Nurse Jackie" does not depict a true representation of the nursing profession. In fact, very few nurses act this way in real life.
As a nurse graduates from an accredited nursing school, he/she is required to recite the Nurses Creed as part of the graduating ceremony. The last line states "Oh Lord, let your healing light shine through my hands." There was no healing light that came through Nurse Jackie's hands as she threw away the ear of a patient or stole money. As amusing as it was to watch, we could only think about how patients were going to view nurses today.
The media has claimed that people are more informed than ever before due to the internet and the television. Society counts on the television and media to be correct and deliver information as factual as possible. However, "Nurse Jackie" is neither factual or honoring towards nurses. Again, the nursing profession finds it's self being humiliated and undervalued due to "Nurse Jackie" and HawthoRNe. Nurses are the Hidden Hero's in the medical profession. We are the true promoters of wellness and healing in our communities and deserve a true representation of our profession.
We are supporting the NYSNA organization in requesting that a disclaimer be added to the beginning of every episode of "Nurse Jackie" stating that the show does not depict the true profession of nursing. We employ you to reconsider your decision and help project a positive image of nursing.

Thank You,

I love Nurse Jackie. LOVE her, and the show.

I am never treated with disrespect by anyone, except on occasion by other nurses.

I wear white. Clean, non-shabby whites.

The hats and ribbons used to symbolize one's school and rank.