Do nursing students still wear caps?

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I found out yesterday that we wear caps. I thought those were obsolete. I thought they carried germs in and out of the hospital so nurses stopped wearing. Any other schools wear caps?

Wow, I didnt know anyone wore caps anymore--we just wear them for our grad picture--not even for actual graduation/pinning!

Yes, some people still do: there's a couple of nurses where I work who still wear them every shift.

I support their right and desire to do so; it's every bit as much their choice to wear it as mine is to wear a colored scrub instead of all whites.

However, I don't support any schools' insisting in this day and age that a female student must wear a stereotypical accessory when the male students are exempt from the rule. My alma mater had the exact same, identical student uniforms for males and females, and it worked just fine. Men looked like men, women looked like women, we all had a look screaming "student nurse" .....and no one had a little cap perched on their heads.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, ICU, ER, Peds ER-CPEN.
I disagree. It's no more discriminatory than in certain professions, some companies require women to wear skirts and men to wear pants...and the military has been doing it for Y-E-A-R-S.

Women in the military have the option of wearing slacks with their dress greens/blues/whites but most the time if you are in your Class A's it's a very professional setting so most opt to wear the skirt, I did everytime I had to wear the greens, not to mention it was GA in August so polyester blend pants with nylons was not an appealing fashion for the time lol

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Specializes in Peds HH, LTC.

No caps for us EXCEPT for grad pics. Then there were two that 26 of us had to share

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I'm curious: what companies in what professions would require women to wear skirts? Obviously men ARE required to wear pants, as this is our culture's custom. I suppose an argument could be made for wearing traditional kilts, but let's not go there. What business REQUIRES women to wear a skirt nowadays?

Are you speaking of military dress uniforms? Where both the men and women have caps/hats?

Not quite the same as requiring ONLY females of a certain profession--and a private sector one at that--to wear an unnecessary accessory. As a modern cap obviously is: it's decorative only in this time, serving no functional purpose.

I don't think we can look to the military, either, as a model of what is and is not discriminatory.

Again, I disagree. Formal military dress is a skirt for women and pants for men. Yes, women have pants as part of their military uniforms but the most formal version of the uniform, requires a skirt.

As far as the hats, the military follows traditional etiquette. Both men and women wear hats, however, during the Pledge of Alliagence and the National Anthem, women keep their hats on, men remove theirs. I think that there is an exception to this rule if they are at certain types of ceremonies at attention. Same goes for entering a building, women are not required to remove their hats, men are. Again, same thing at military funerals. If you have ever been to England, they follow this same practice.

Until very, very recently, most major banks and major companies like IBM required women to wear skirts. They didn't stop requiring it for discriminatory purposes...these companies stopped requiring it because they gave a clothing allowance every year, and wanted to stop the practice.

The nursing school that I am attending, it was only 6 years ago that they stopped requiring female nursing students to wear either a dress or a skirt. Again, no discriminatory reasons, other than they just dropped the practice. They are threatening to bring it back with the class starting 2008 because since they switched to scrubs, they are having major issues with too many students showing up like they just crawled out of bed.

A company, can legally require any dress code that they wish, as long as they are consistent, skirts or not.

The only exception is the reverse...if women wish to wear a skirt for religious reasons, then a company is required to do so.

As far as the nursing caps go, I agree with the OP...I thought that they were done away with for infection control reasons. My school does them for pinning and other photos, but it's a token decoration. I can't imagine having to work in one of those things.

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Specializes in Urgent Care.

I don't think we even get them for gradauation.

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No caps for use but Iam shock to hear that anyone still has to wear caps. I would just die having to worry about keep my cap on all day....... Sound to hot for me....

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We have them. We wear them in clinicals. We have pictures tomorrow for graduation and we are wearing the cap for that.

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Specializes in Acute Care.

Does anyone want to share these pictures? (I just want to see what the freaking caps look like).

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Specializes in LTC, Medical Day Care.

Hi everyone!!

Im new to the board... I decided to post because I really like topics discussed here and everyone has alot of knowledge to impart!!

Anyway, finally going for Pre-Nursing after years of being in the field..:nuke:

when the day actually comes (I will be wearing the cap) if they do not issue them, ill get one myself!

Seeing first hand what happens when everyone shows up in scrubs..its alarming at times. Nurses being mistaken for (other very non-medical positions on the floors) and vice versa. To me, the esteem and the payoff for all the hard work is in the pride of donning the "cap". The cap is the symbol and comes with a high price. I usually dress very modern, but in this instance...i will get the bobby pins and pin it on...I want to be set apart and not blend in...ive done that already!!:(

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Specializes in Med/Surg, ICU, ER, Peds ER-CPEN.

I'll take one for the team lol www.myspace.com/zookeeper247 in my pictures is one of me in my uniform after capping ceremony

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The only cap in our dept. is a yellowed old relic atop the cranium of our model anatomy class skeleton in the nursing lab. I was under the impression this accessory was over and out. I'm wrong, apparently! I definitely won't wear one. I have no clue how people keep (kept) them fastened securely! I don't even use hairspray, just a comb on my short locks. It's difficult to imagine one staying put all day without some serious engineering.

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Specializes in LTC, Medical Day Care.
I'll take one for the team lol www.myspace.com/zookeeper247 in my pictures is one of me in my uniform after capping ceremony

You look great!! I think its a matter of preference and personal choice...for me the cap is to nurse as the badge is to police officer..it just depends on how you feel about it. Trust me, those scrubs are mighty comfy and easy to care for..they do have a purpose!!!

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