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?
Hmmm...cleaning of the cap (thinking thinking thinking)....yessss...never thought of that one, dianah. Thanks for mentioning the cleaning of the cap. I never wore mine long enough to need cleaning since the cap was quickly discarded shortly after becoming a nurse by most hospitals where I ended up working. I have no idea where my old nursing cap is now. :)
Specializes in RETIRED Cath Lab/Cardiology/Radiology.
I remember taking it apart, scrubbing it (while being careful not to get the velvet stripe wet), then letting it dry (hoping it wouldn't wrinkle somehow), and putting it back together with just the right amount of fold in the front . . . No matter how hard I scrubbed, or with what, that cap always seemed to have a stain at the front from "the sweat of my brow" ! ! !
As students, one stripe on the side corner of the cap meant first year clinical student. The second stripe meant second year clinical student. The third stripe meant graduating and headed for boards as we worked our three full time nonpaid clinical days a week on a unit of our choosing or whatever unit was left over after the pickings.
Then came the ultimate stripe......graduated to a full stripe across the entire top of the hat! What a tearfully happy day that was for me!
Yes we have Mennonite women that work on my floor who wear a printed top and the longer white skirt with the white hose, and then they have their own white see-through cap that goes over the back of their hair (i forgot the technical term for it). They look so professional!!
I still don't wanna wear pantyhose or skirts lol
It's called a "covering" in my area...and, of course, they wear it all the time, not just at work; it's a part of their worship.
The cap is demeaning to nursing. It brings back the images of the doctor's handmaiden, which is tough for us guys to deal with :)
Whites, OK. Not anything to get excited about in my opinion. I believe the clothing should have some sort of protective purpose about it. Just trying to recall what other true, autonomous, profession wears a uniform?????!!!!! And especially a cap.
But, I would love to wear one if I could. I work in dialysis and we get a lot of blood and chemicals on our clothes. It would really show in all white.
While I was proud of being capped, then receiving my Junior and Senior Stripes, followed by the removal of the stripe which signified graduation, I was glad when I didn't have to wear it anymore. It was a heavy, starched cap, which was constantly being knocked askew, every time I worked with a patient who had multiple IV's, etc. I haven't worn mine, since 1983, when I left hospital nursing and went into Home Health. I still have it, though...tucked away in the back of my dresser drawer, in an old Leggs Nurse White pantyhose box :)
Caps are SUCH an infection control problem. Also symbols of subservience. And as far as the whites go, well, you paint a room white to make it look bigger...you can imagine what it does for my imperfect rear view! My cap sits on the head of a teddy bear these days.
I keep hearing the word classy...what you wear has NOTHING to do with how "classy" you are, or how good you are as a nurse. You can put a pig in a dress, but it's still a pig. Everyone assumes that patients care what we wear, a cap or all white. I don't think they really do. They know I am their nurse because I introduce myself as such, and the trust me based on my performance and attentiveness to their needs. I think the white dress, cap and hose is a little dated, and maybe a scream for attention?
Specializes in RETIRED Cath Lab/Cardiology/Radiology.
(I actually have worn mine - dress, white nylons, cap, pins, etc - on Halloween a few times. Got many double-takes!! The phrase "scream for attention" reminded me . . . that was in another facility where dressing up for Halloween was OK)
live4today, RN
5,099 Posts
Hmmm...cleaning of the cap (thinking thinking thinking)....yessss...never thought of that one, dianah. Thanks for mentioning the cleaning of the cap. I never wore mine long enough to need cleaning since the cap was quickly discarded shortly after becoming a nurse by most hospitals where I ended up working. I have no idea where my old nursing cap is now. :)