Who wears a nursing cap?

Dalzac, LPN, LVN, RN · Jun 9, 2011

I wore a cap once...when I walked across a stage and picked up my diploma. They have many issues, germ carrier, get tangled up in iv's and monitorcords. Nothing like having your hair ripped out when a patient grabs at it

Bettyboopicu · Jun 9, 2011

I have often thought about doing just that same thing.

One year when i worked on halloween i did the full white dress, stockings and shoes for an entire 12 hr shift. I can tell you that the "whites" would go a long way to bringing respect back that we so deserve.

applewhitern, BSN, RN · Jun 9, 2011

If you choose to do this, at least learn "nursing cap etiquette." You are to never wear the nurse cap outside or while riding in an automobile; it is to be worn indoors only. Never wear it with "scrubs" but only with "nurse whites." I wore one for 20 years, but my hospital now does not wear them. It is important for the nursing profession to not "cheapen" the image, however, so if you do wear one, please follow the etiquette rules.

applewhitern, BSN, RN · Jun 9, 2011

Oh, almost forgot: only RN's wear the stripe (usually black) on their caps, LPNs wear solid white. You wear the official cap of your school, but I understand your school did not have an official cap.

rumwynnieRN · Jun 9, 2011

There was an article about this topic.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/741581?src=top10

There's another related article about a hospital in Alabama or Georgia (I forget -- it was some hospital in the South) doing an experiment to see how patients felt about the cap. I should mention that the patients who mentioned feeling "positive" were older and remembered a time when nurses wore the hat.

Then I thought about my dad (an RN in IMU) and my male teachers and classmates. If they wore the closest thing to "nurse whites" (white scrubs) for guys with the hat, I wonder who would take them seriously =D

Added: I honestly think now they're a bit silly as are the white hose, but to each his/her own.

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Jun 9, 2011

I wore my hat during the first year of my nurse training it had one thin blue stripe on the top and each year you were a student you got your second and third stripe. When you were an RN it was one thick blue stripe.

The powers that be got rid of the hats just as I was getting my second stripe I was most upset LOL

Jeanne M P · Jun 9, 2011

I loved my nursing cap. While in school my entire class looked forward to getting/wearing their caps. Caps represented so much to us. They were a symbol of accomplishment, of achieving a goal. We didnt do the stripe but there was a pin for the cap that you could place on it when you were a senior nursing student. Yes, there are many issues associated with caps (bacteria, etc.) however, I think it would be great to have a "Wear Your Cap To Work Day" every so often. Maybe every 3 or 6 months. Yes, I was very proud of my accomplishment and very, very proud of my cap. :nurse:

elkpark · Jun 9, 2011

I've worked in psych most of my career, so I've mostly been in street clothes, but on the occasions when I do wear "whites," I (still) wear real "whites," not scrubs, and my cap.

Whispera, MSN, RN · Jun 9, 2011

My school did away with caps before I was in it. We had one male in our class and tried to get a cap for him, just for the smiles it would bring, but they weren't available.

I remember a capping ceremony I went to, for a friend who became a nurse long before I did. It was quite solemn, spiritual, and lovely. It's too bad there's not something like that for after the first part of nursing school, as a stepping-stone recognition of work done.

RNperdiem, RN · Jun 9, 2011

I wore a cap for the first year of nursing school.

I looked cute in the cap and the patients loved it.

Chin up · Jun 9, 2011

Oh, almost forgot: only RN's wear the stripe (usually black) on their caps, LPNs wear solid white. You wear the official cap of your school, but I understand your school did not have an official cap.

Not true, as an LPN I wore a green stripe on my cap. Peace!