When did you last see a nurse wearing the old school garb?

[DesiDani]

Cap, white stockings, and all. Do you have one?

[NutmeggeRN, BSN]

I saw someone the other day walking to work, she has always worn her whites since she became an RN about 15 years ago.

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

During my CNA clinicals and first LTC jobs, all of the nurses wore white. This was in the late 1990s/early 2000s. Of those, one younger (early 30s maybe?) RN wore the dress and hose; and an older (nearing retirement) one still wore her white dress/hose and cap.

One med-surg RN where I worked as a CNA would sometimes wear a colored top but always wore white pants and jacket. She just felt strongly about wearing white since it was traditionally associated with nursing.

We wore whites to our pinning ceremony in 2003, and one girl decided she wanted to look nice since it was a big deal so bought a white nursing dress. She did look really pretty! :)

[Medic/Nurse, BSN, RN]

This isn't the same thing, but ...

I worked at a hospital where all nurse staff had to wear all white (I wore Dansko's, but some would wear athletic shoes & maybe they could slip by, but no colors on them). I was a traveller and thought "what fresh hell is this?" — but, by the end of my journey there I actually kinda liked the dress code ((yes, my blood and guts ER nurse liked the white — I even had a couple cute white scrub dresses & I'd wear sheer white support hose — big deal! But, in fairness I always liked colored, cute scrub dresses and support hose can be your friends, so no prob on those. I also believed in pressing scrubs, t-shirts and even flight suits if they needed it. No need to look rumpled regardless, pride in your appearance does matter!!)) -and- even if I hadn't liked them, white uniforms were so far down on my list of reasons to "run" out of there ASAP, it was meaningless.

But, make no mistake if anyone what seen me leaving my last day at that facility, they would have been convinced I was trying to outrun the proverbial bomb squad. Never have I wanted out of somewhere so badly in my life.

But, it's been around early 2000's since I last witnessed the a nurse in the full measure (with sweater/cape) and I was just awe struck. Pure goddess of healing, I tell ya!

:angel:

[ComeTogether, LPN]

Every May for nurses' day ..

The cap is mine. The Cape vintage.

Yay! I was hoping you'd post this!! Loved seeing you wearing this xoxo

[ComeTogether, LPN]

We wear all white at my facility, it does look nice and the older folks always know I"m a nurse.

[sallyrnrrt, ADN, RN]

Yeah, I'm a 1972 diploma grad, and if I want to, I go all vintage, never had a complaint, cause "I still have game". Especially in critical care...

[pluckyduck, MSN, NP]

I remember in school during clinical an older staff nurse who wore scrub dresses, white stockings and white shoes. I thought the concept of a scrub dress was kind of neat

[greenerpastures]

Last week at work

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

I have a cap, although the only time I wore it was to my pinning ceremony. I wore the white polyester dress (itchy and difficult to keep the dress under control while crawling under a bed to locate the plug, the codiene tablet I just dropped and now need to waste or the miraculous bouncing stool [another story]) white hose and white NurseMates or Famolare nursing oxfords with white ties. Those ties were impossible to keep clean! I polished my shoes and washed the laces in a lingerie bag once a week.

Last time I wore that get-up -- the polyester dresses went in 1980 or 1981 when they started making uniform skirts. I wore regular Lands' End oxford shirts with the white skirts. The white hose and oxfords continued until we won the right to wear scrubs . . . 1986 or 1987.

Last time I saw someone dressed in the whole get-up was probably 1990. One of the nursing supervisors used to dress that way. She was a real special gal -- gruff and direct, but had a heart as big as could be and everyone knew she'd defend "her" night shift nurses with everything she had. (Although if you were wrong, she'd definitely let you know about it later.)

[bevtag]

Spring, 2011. She was young and wore a cap. I liked it. It definitely set her apart. I have a cap but don't have the courage to wear it.

[traumaholic, BSN, RN]

There is a nurse from one of the hospitals that I regularly transport to and she still wear the cap, white stocking, and skirt (dress?). The skirt is in the blue color all nurses wear in that particular hospital. Shes a young nurse, too, maybe early 20s.

[KarenMS]

Because you look like a professional who takes herself seriously and needs to be taken seriously by others, not someone who came to work in her pajamas.

It's so interesting how different perceptions can be! To me, the whites look like a costume, while well fitting scrubs look like something to really get down to work in. I emphasize "well fitting," because that's key to looking like a professional to me.