Going Back To Wearing Whites and The Cap!

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in Community Health Nurse.

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! :nurse:

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Specializes in Hospice.

Interesting thought. One question though, how in the world do you keep everything white? I am just getting ready to start school and we have to wear white everything. Thankfully we don't have to wear scrubs, but just white everything. I think there's a professional image that does go hand-in-hand with the white attire that the scrubs don't quite achieve.

Cheryl

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Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

I wish you well. And yes I have been of the mind to do the same thing. At least I USED to be. If you can't find your original style cap you can go to Kays Caps on the web and they have a catalog of many standard types. I think you will look really well. You do stand taller when you are feeling good, don't you?

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I think if you can do and you are comfortable with wearing a cap...Go for it!

For me, the cap may be a bit of trouble getting in and out of a car all day.

As for the whites, I went to whites when the NM kept changing the color which we could wear on the floor.

dosamigos76, I keep my whites with the use of the new laundry "magnets" Keeps them from getting gray and if my hubby sneaks a shop rag into the washer, it keeps the color from fading onto the whites. Manufactures have really improved the material which uniforms are made of. They also are using materials which are no see through.

I think it is wonderful if you can wear the cap and it doesn't drive you crazy. I know we all say we would never wear the cap, but perhaps this is the trend needed so the patient can REALLY see how many nurses are really taking care of them. Then let the upper dogs figure out how to explain to the public why there are so few taking care of so many on a floor.

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we are considering going into scrubs after splitting from a combined intensive care / coronary care upon our move to a newly built hospital,

We always wore a uniform common to the rest of the hospital, but now some of us think that scrubs would be better now that we are purely icu.

Problem is that my manager wants us to back up our arguments with studies if possible, but I would be grateful forany opinions at all.............research would be a bonus but experience is ok.

Thanks.

Looking forward to replies to this my first enquiry as a new member.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Sorry, I don't share your enthusiam for wearing whites and/or a cap. I personally think wearing a cap is demeaning to the profession. White just is not practical either; it reminds me of being a student and therefore when I see white uniforms I think inexperienced. I am more impressed with a compassionate and knowledgeble nurse than what he/she is wearing.

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NO WAY would I wear the cap again! I enjoy the WHITE CAPS on the ocean only!

I do wear white uniforms tho. The place I work changes dress codes faster than I can shop! Always safe buying whites!

And I think the pt's like to be able to identify nurses from all the other tech's they come across.

But the best reason to wear white is BLEACH ! I try to kill off all those nasty bugs in the washer with a heavy dose of bleach! Can't do that with colors.

(p.s. cheerfuldoer.... I finally changed my avatar... you had it first!)

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I just graduated and never had a cap or a white anything....I wore Navy blue pants and top.

My mother wore the starch white dress and cap and she says all the time she was glad to see it go. I never had the experience.

Renee, wear what you like. Get the cap and dress and have your pictures taken professionally. It would be great for your grandchildrens scrapbook. Grandma: then and now. I wish my mom would do it! (only now in her colorful scrubs)

Gator

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Our school no longer offers their nursing caps. Stopped making them a looooong time ago. They look nothing like the "modern" startched white caps.

Don't know what I'd do if I ever wanted to wear one.

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Specializes in Hospice.

Whitecaps, love you new avatar!

Cheryl

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I would never wear them. Just reminds me of a time when nurses had even less power than today. I also think they are so impractical that it's ridiculous. I don't wear anything if it doesn't work, seems midevil to me.

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I don't know where you guys work but I get DIRTY at work. White would be HIGHLY impractical and disgusting for pts and visitors to see. It's not unusual for me to have to change scrubs during a shift. The hospital provides the scrubs, thank God.

Those caps remind me of what maids wear. I would never wear one....ew.

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