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

[DesiDani]

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

[elikat02, ADN, LPN]

I'm a recent LPN grad and we wore caps and whites to our clinicals. We also wore them to our pinning ceremony. We usually got stared at in the hospital but some of the older patients had smiles on their faces and some said, "Now there's a nurse!" The new class coming in last year was the first class that did not have to wear caps. I'm kind of glad that they don't have to wear them now because of the germ factor, but I was always proud to wear it.

[OCNRN63, RN]

There was a nurse on the IV team where I worked who wore her cap, white dress, white stockings, white Clinic shoes. I have to tell you, her appearance commanded respect. The patients loved seeing her in her whites. Once in a great while she would wear pants, but it was rare.

She always looked very crisp, clean, and professional. I'm not saying that can't be achieved with scrubs; I'm just relating my personal experience.

[VegGal, BSN, RN]

Some UK hospitals still have nurses in the "traditional" nursing outfits, i.e. dress, cap, stockings, etc. We were in the UK several years ago and saw some nurses still dressed that way, but I heard that many have left out the cap, but still wear a dress.

Then about 3 years ago I was at clinical at a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee and another group of students were there as well, all dressed in that traditional nurse outfit, complete with a hat!

[nurseinthezoo]

Last saw nurse wearing cap, white uniform dress and shoes around 1990.

[lemur00, BSN, RN]

I've never seen it. Even when I was a kid nurses wore pastels.

[Steffy44]

From a purely patient perspective - I miss the days where nurses wore white uniforms and a cap. A patient knew immediately who was a nurse. They knew from the cap whether the person was an RN or an LPN. If you were knowledgeable, you could even tell where they went to school just from their cap.

Now the patient has no idea whether the person who just came into their room wearing scrubs is a Dr, nurse, CNA, housekeeping, dietary, transporter, phlebotomist, student, etc. That white uniform and cap proclaimed that the person wearing it was a trained, licensed, medical professional.

You do at my hospital. All scrubs are color coded. Nurses in navy, CNAs in maroon, resp in black, lab in teal, housekeeping has a woodland top, X-ray in light blue, docs are the only ones in white coats. It's posted throughout the hospital and each patients room.

[Dohardthings]

Monday. Old school nurse who works on the step down unit. Not for me though, not my thing.

[lavenderskies, BSN]

I wore a cap in nursing school in 88-89. It was horrible because only we student nurses had to wear them. Once I graduated I wore whites until I went into L&D....we always wear scrubs there.

[jenpinkrn]

We have retro weekend about once a year!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=4412434708680&l=90ce2353d8

[applesxoranges, BSN, RN]

I actually kind of want to order a cap to put on a shelf. I wore a cap in my nursing picture. I would never wear a cap but maybe it would make my unruly hair that seems to fall out of my ponytail and clip stay in place better.

We can wear white but no one does. Sometimes one or two nurses will wear the white top. I only had a white top because I was doing agency for awhile. I prefer my navy blue scrubs but one hospital allows us to wear hospital provided ceil blue scrubs that don't fit me. I am glad we don't wear white uniforms. First, it would show dirt more easily and I would be horrified to see what I brush up against or even dirt from dragging people out of cars.

I wear "compression" stockings but they have weird designs on them. I guess I am one of the few who wear those.

I guess the last time was at halloween although I think are "zombie-fied." I know one year I dressed up as a medic with a real out of state medic shirt that had corn syrup blood on it.

[Oedgar]

We wore white scrubs in school, 1992. For graduation we wore whites (skirts and hose). The staff nurses then wore colored scrubs, as did I from my first job on.

[Khaan]

From a purely patient perspective - I miss the days where nurses wore white uniforms and a cap. A patient knew immediately who was a nurse. They knew from the cap whether the person was an RN or an LPN. If you were knowledgeable, you could even tell where they went to school just from their cap.

Now the patient has no idea whether the person who just came into their room wearing scrubs is a Dr, nurse, CNA, housekeeping, dietary, transporter, phlebotomist, student, etc. That white uniform and cap proclaimed that the person wearing it was a trained, licensed, medical professional.

I introduce myself. "Hi, I'm Khaan, the student nurse who will be caring for you today...."