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!

[gwenith, BSN, RN]

There was some VERY convincing research done a few years ago showing a link between wearing dresses and back injury. You BEND differently when you wear a dress.

The one "tradition" I will NOT be returning to is the veil - yes we wore them. They were the worst things I have ever tried to manage. They were paper and perched on top of your head to become entangled in lines, cords curtains, doorframes and in extreme cases your colleagues hair do!!

[live4today, RN]

Dresses are an option. There is nothing wrong with wearing pants and tops that are white. Add the cap if you wish, but it should still be an acceptable uniform preference for those nurses who care to wear white. I plan to dress in full uniform whites...not a dress, but pants, top, scrubjacket, and nurse cap...in a few short weeks when I celebrate my sixteen years as a nurse. The occasion will be a momentous one for me and I don't care who likes it or doesn't like it. I could be naked, and I won't take crap so I don't associate wearing white with being trampled on. :)

[roxannekkb]

Originally posted by justjenn

roxannekkb

Thats fine if you do not want to wear whites, it's your own opinion. BUT, as far as the white uniform is concerned, it IS what people of the 20th century relate to a nursing uniform. PRAISE THE GOODNESS OF THE TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY Nurses who worked HARD, put up w/ lots of crap & did things that were not always nice. The last century's traditional nurse uniforms are a statement.

Bottom line, IN MY OPINION, WHITE IS ALL RIGHT:D

justjenn

My nursing class wants to eliminate our cap (we haven't even started classes yet). I, for one, will not take this lying down. Since I was little, I wanted to be a nurse & wear a white cap. I came to far & worked TOO HARD to have people vote out my cap!

Well it may be what people of the 20th century relate to as a nursing uniform, but we are now in the 21st century. As I said, wearing white is fine if that's what a nurse wants to do, but life moves on. White uniforms and especially caps do not seem to be popular with the bulk of nurses--otherwise, they would not be switching to scrubs. And removing their caps.

The people of the 19th century related to nurses in their floor length dresses and white bibs. The 20th century had the white uniforms. And now the 21st century will have something else, and undoubtedly, the public will adjust to it. One reason that the white dress and cap live on is because of old TV shows and movies, and other assorted paraphernalia, which still depict nurses this way.

And as far as your cap goes, just as you would like the right to wear a cap, your classmates should also have the right not to be forced to wear one. Just because you want to keep that tradition, it should not be pushed on everyone else. I would say the best bet would be to make the caps optional, since it seems clear that many of your classmates would like to get rid of it.

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

Originally posted by roxannekkb

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One reason that the white dress and cap live on is because of old TV shows and movies, and other assorted paraphernalia, which still depict nurses this way.

Not to mention the silicone/saline breasts spilling out the top and the 3 inch high heels. Aside from the tv commercials, i saw this little uh THING on an advertisement for a certain male-entertainment oriented TV show on late nights on the FX channel that had a supposed woman dressed up in this little white dress that looked like it needed to be painted on, which barely covered her rear, and was evidently too binding at the top, and spike heels. AND THE CAP OF COURSE to complete this "nurses" outfit!!! Ticks me off when i am channel grazing and see s**t like that.

[Dixen81]

My husband would like for me to get a nurse "uniform" like that one... :)

[Mito]

I think the sexist white cap and uniform is right where they belong in the past. I can think of nothing sillier than going back to this WWII? version of a uniform. Peggy if your husband really likes it, by all means get him a cap and white uniform and he can wear it at home.

Mito

[live4today, RN]

I find nothing sexist about wearing a white cap and white uniform anymore than a female construction worker does when she dons those blue jeans, top hat, and dirty work boots not to mention the man-size tan gloves they wear to hold on to those tools. :)

As a matter of fact, when I see those (male) construction workers looking all dirty and grimy in their "uniform and tophat", it does wonders for my female imagination.

The police officer, the firemen, the S.W.A.T. team, the men and women in military uniform.....they all wear uniforms and caps and nobody tells them how stupid they look or demeaning their uniforms are to their profession, so why should nurses be made to feel any differently if they choose to wear the nursing whites and cap?

The sexiest thing about the men in white (the Navy) are the way they look in their white uniforms and caps. Have you seen one lately? Whew! Fan me honey! :rotfl:

I'm wearing my white uniform and nursing regulated cap in a couple of weeks, and will stand proud and take no crap...I take none now, didn't take any when I graduated and initially became a nurse, and won't take any as long as I work in nursing. It's my PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDE that let's them know no matter WHAT I'm wearing....I TAKE NO NURSE ABUSE!!!

Let's get real here nurses! Have a great day...gotta get ready for the JOB!

[Mito]

No ofcourse not, if I was female I wouldn't have a problem with it either. Give the nurse abuse thing a rest please, this is an arugment based on the sexes not nurses in general. I will however comment on the fact that while the uniform is not really to my liking the paycheck and the other nurses I work with are great.

I find that men in nursing don't seem to have as many problems with their co-workers or doctors for that matter (after all medicine is still an old boys club) so ultimately we men are still in charge which is kind of nice lol

Have a wonderful day

Mito RN

[Meds Queen]

I think the only reason I would wear a white cap again is for the recognition factor. We all (housekeeping, STNA's, dietary) all seem to flow together. I wear white pants occasionally with a printed top. But wearing all white is just a memory now.

My nursing school still supplies caps and if all else fails you can legally wear just a plain white cap. Interesting idea.