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Where I used to work, we had to wear caps.....I hated it!!
I felt like an throwback from my great-grandmothers era, who as a nurse HAD to wear caps....it was the thing of the day.
All of the residents didn't like them either. Besides the caps, we were required to wear whites too.
I love where I'm at now, a large hospital, where we can wear what we want. I even dressed up in a costume for Halloween...make up and all. I had a blast and the patients really got a kick out of it!
One nursing home in our area still requires their nurses to wear caps. The DON is a real hag who is about 60 y/o and acts like she is 80. She makes the nurses wear caps because she says that is how today's elderly generation recognizes nurses. Give me a break. They also recognized the doctors by the white lab coats, dress clothes, and ties they wore but I don't see any of them required to wear them.
I could never work at a facility requiring a cap. Graduated in'94 and we were the first class not required to wear caps, not only because the male students were not required to, but due to infection issues. I personally feel the MD's of old would be able to more easily recognize you, "Hey you with the cap".
I think we should all plan on wearing our caps and white uniforms on April 1 2003. We would recognize each other and how far we've come in 20 years of nursing. Certainly if we look at where we were we will have greater faith that we can continue to improve nursing as a profession (not as a maid service). This should be a national demonstration/occasion/celebration for us all.
cargal
411 Posts
I have been visiting a facility around here recently where the nurses MUST wear a cap. It is strange. I was told another facility around here also mandates them. I was really taken aback! The facility is beautiful. The population is elderly, and that may be okay, as that era was used to caps, but ... geez, I don't think I could do it.