Going Back To Wearing Whites and The Cap!

[live4today]

Yeppers......strongly thinking about it!

There's a nurse on my unit who wears her starched white nursing dress, white stockings, white shoes, and her nursing cap every tiime she works.

Everytime I see her, something in me gets "quickened"...so to speak. I start reflecting back to when I first donned my nursing attire as a nursing student all excited about my first day of clinicals. I never tired of dressing for my clinicals throughout college.

Once I graduated and landed my first job, I got to experience that thrill all over again but of course at that time the only ones NOT in whites worked in ER, L&D, and the various ICUs of the hospitals I worked in.

Then, I started seeing less and less white uniforms and nursing caps over time to the point I hardly see any anymore.......until I saw the nurse where I work. I'm impressed by the way she dresses, the way she carries herself, her assertive manner, her take no crap style, and her dedication to all she went to school for and her pride in earning her cap and uniform to this day long after finishing school. I don't know how old she is, but if I were to guess, I'd say she was mid-thirties or 40 maybe. Hope I'm not wrong......she's a great person. Maybe I'll ask her how old she is, and tell her how much I admire her "style" as a nurse.

I have loooooonnnnggggg lost my nursing cap. I cannot remember what I did with it. Probably got lost in all the moves I have made over the years. Now, I want to return to my Alma Mater's bookstore and buy me a nursing cap with full stripe and wear it again. I don't even own a white uniform anymore. Alllllllll scrubs of various colors and prints.

I'm just wondering how many nurses posting have felt the need or desire to don that cap and uniform again....if only just for a shift or two........ya know....like "dressup Friday"?????

I already can hear the millions of voices saying already "NOOOOOOOOOO WAY........those days are history"........so I respect your point of view on that, too. But, how many of you even think about wearing your cap and uniform on occasion?

Thanks for ALL replies!

[jnette, ASN, EMT-I]

Originally posted by cheerfuldoer

Men in "white".......have you seen up close and personal those fine Navy men in their very white starched uniforms and caps? If not, you've got to see one............you'll never see a man "in white" as a cook again honey. Promise you that! :kiss

Oh yes ! I have, inDEED !

But they look far different than the medics in their whites ! Truly, these poor joes looked no different than the cooks ! :chuckle

I'm sure I was no sight to behold myself in my starchy white dress.. even tho' my hem was just a weeeee tad higher than was

"military code"... Guys didn't have that option... heh.

[live4today, RN]

Hi jnette

(clearing my throat here) Uh...my husband IS a nurse who trains medics and all the military nurses (men and women) still wear white and clean shoes. I've worked in several military hospitals as a DOD Clinical GS nurse for many years, and I never tired of seeing those men in white. :kiss

BTW...they can also wear their fatigues to work in, but I still prefer seeing them in those whites. Ahhhhhhh....

[bedpan]

Originally posted by cheerfuldoer

bedpan...you rock buddy! You can work with me anytime at any hospital! Thumbs up to ya! :)

Awwww thank ya kindly!

(now where is that blushing emoticon?):imbar

[jnette, ASN, EMT-I]

Hey, Renee ! Don't get me wrong ! I do LIKE whites !!! Wear mostly whites myself. I was just remembering the fellas back then, and I can't help but think THEIR uniforms made them look like the kitchen help... the women looked rather sharp, actually.

I think now military does get to wear solid scrubs now, too, tho'??? Or they have a choice? I believe I've seen them in the recruiting materials... correct me if I'm wrong. No, don't like fatigues in a hospital setting at ALL.. for the field, fine, and appopriate. Still like whites in-hospital.

[Ariko]

Uniforms are one of my favorite subjects.

If I were to see a nurse in full sail with a dress and cap, I would tell her that she looks great. Does anybody still make nice DRESSES white?? Sometimes I look at old issues of nursing magazines to recall what they really looked like. I mourn daily the loss of professional appearance that used to be a part of nursing.

Now comes the more interesting question of what would the male nurses wear. Cheerfuldoer s comment that men wearing white look like cooks, just mean that she has had narrow exposure. See any Navy men in dress whites, and Navy women too for that matter, and it will change your views. Actually that is a good point. The Navy women I have seen dressed in white, with a white SKIRT AND CAP look fabulous. >>Sigh

I have attached an old photo of both make and female nurses in whites, and I like it. I could be persuaded to dress like that if I were not the only one.

Cheers.

[live4today, RN]

Originally posted by Ariko

Cheerfuldoer's comment that men wearing white look like cooks, just mean that she has had narrow exposure. >>Sigh

Cheers.

Ummmmmmm...ARIKO????????.....JNETTE......NOT me said that men wearing white looked like cooks. Just getting the usernames right for ya!

[roxannekkb]

Originally posted by jnette

I think now military does get to wear solid scrubs now, too, tho'??? Or they have a choice? I believe I've seen them in the recruiting materials... correct me if I'm wrong. No, don't like fatigues in a hospital setting at ALL.. for the field, fine, and appopriate. Still like whites in-hospital.

I worked at both a naval and at an air force hospital, and the military wore regular blue or green hospital scrubs like everyone else. There was no distinction in the scrubs from any other that I've seen in any other hospital. Civilians and military wore the same. This was in the NICU. The rest of the staff wore their uniforms on the regular wards.

Have to admit, I'm prejudiced against white. Especially caps. It reminds me too much of the old movies and TV shows, where the nurses waltz around carrying tiny trays with one bottle sitting on it, and their vocabulary consists of "yes doctor," "of course, doctor," "right away doctor."

I never wore cutesy scrubs, always just hospital regulation. I loved the idea of being able to dump my scrubs into the hospital laundry at the end of a shift, and forget about them. Or be able to change right then and there if a baby puked on me.

So surely, there must be a compromise in dress--somewhere between cutesy cute scrubs and the starched look.

[autumn-moon]

In nursing school, our uniform was white pants, white lab jacket, burgundy (school color) polo shirt, white hose and white shoes (no sneakers). I always felt like a glow-in-th-dark version of the Pillsbury Doughboy!! :chuckle

Now, it's the opposite extreme. As a psych nurse, we are required to wear professional-looking street cothes. Even lab coats are frowned upon.....I guess someone might *mistake* us for actual nurses.....HELLLL-OOOO!!! We ARE nurses!!!! Yeesh.

I never thought I would, but I actually *miss* my lab coat...or rather, it's pockets. I never have a place to put my pen, a note pad, my keys, etc. I have to try to find cardigans with pockets or dresses with pockets, etc. Not the easiest of tasks. And although it's nice to be able to wear stylish (yet conservative) clothing...sometimes it would be sooo much easier to roll outta bed in the morning and not have to think about what to wear that day..... Plus, I'd rather have a patient rip off a hospital uniform rather than one of my nice outfits (the key here is to dress in *layers*!!) :imbar

I don't think I could get into the starched white dress and cap myself, but I do think that they are very classy and professional look for someone who feels comfortable enough to pull it off.

Melissa

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

Originally posted by cheerfuldoer

Men in "white".......have you seen up close and personal those fine Navy men in their very white starched uniforms and caps? If not, you've got to see one............you'll never see a man "in white" as a cook again honey. Promise you that! :kiss

Nighty night!

Oh yeah :stone There are advantages to living an hour or so away from the port .

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

Originally posted by bedpan

Since I am bald in addition to being male I would either have to superglue or staple the cap to keep it on -

Thinking I would wear the starched dress before choosing either of those options!

:roll

[dianah, ASN]

I wore whites ("pantsuits" ca. 1975) and cap when I first graduated from nursing school. Pts. loved the look, I got positive feedback all the time. Wear scrubs now, like most nurses, -- working in Angio and Cath Lab, prefer scrubs provided by the hospital.

I do have questions about the caps. I had trouble w/them getting swept off/out of position by privacy curtains, especially in the SICU I trained in. Later, I wondered about the potential for transmission of microorganisms, as I didn't tend to wash the cap the way I did/could the clothes. (I have the same questions about people wearing neckties from pt to pt, too)

Also, re: wearing white exclusively: I am personally trying to greatly reduce my routine use of bleach, considering it an environmental problem, so bleaching the whites all the time -- just don't wanna do it. I use borax and/or washing soda, and vinegar, and don't wear a lot of white.

Just my thoughts, appreciate all the other (level-headed and considerate) comments in this thread. -- D

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

Or the hat being askew, and no one telling you. :imbar