i have to say.. i really want to wear a nurses cap! maybe not all the time, and of course i would have to acquire one first (sadly not part of my schools tradition).
not that i get mistaken for other people who wear scrubs: house keeping, the desk clerks, dietary workers, veterinarians, transporters, nurses assistants, hair dressers or walmart employees, pharmacy techs, prisoners, dental techs, receptionists... (i mean, i do have a stethoscope around my neck )
anyone out there wear a nurses cap? would you like to?
i think i'm going to order one online, strap it down with hair pins, and hope it's not too windy out!
Let me tell you about "caps" They were worn by maids years ago. One reason we wanted to stop wearing them.
also, I worked in a very ritzy hospital in Manhattan and if you forgot your cap they made you get a white piece of paper and fold it to look like a cap and fasten it with bobby pins to your head! There are some traditions best left in the past.
I don't like the idea of wearing a cap so much that I think it would actually be a deal breaker if they "came back"
My husband already can wait until I get into nursing school so he can see me in my "shrubs" (as he calls them) I would hate to see how giddy he would be if I had to wear whites, hose, and a cap!
However, they might be an interesting match with the sleeves of tats and numerous facial piercings many nurses have these days!!!!
(no offense meant on your post, I respect people that can find pride in tradition. It just makes my smartass come out)
thanks applewhitern for some tips on cap etiquette!
i adore how classy and professional a nursing cap looks, i don't think i should be forced to wear one, but i think i shall exercise my right to do so.
i see that some lower profile, perma-starch caps can be purchased online. i think pairing one with a structured white top (greys anatomy make some nice ones) and a pair of dark colored, more structured bottoms would be both modern and professional.
although an admitted germaphobe and ideal candidate for an infection control post, i am not worried about caps being vectors for bacteria. they can't possibly be worse than my shoes or a residents white coat or tie. additionally, i keep my face and head pretty far away from the funky stuff, and don't lean over sterile fields.
i am a modern nurse: covered in tattoos (which you can't see while i'm working), multiple facial piercings (they of course come out for work), i can computer chart like blazes (i have the unfair advantage of being the of first generation of computer born kids).
i'm probably older than you're guessing, address the mds as: sir, mam, or doctor, and love being a professional nurse. since these days the "maids" (housekeeping) are the wearing scrubs, i'm putting on a cap! i'm going to blend the modern with the classic, i think it can be done!
next step: get the darn cap.
which will be followed by "how do i get this to stay on my head?!"
wish me luck! i'll keep you posted!
anymore great stories to share? etiquette? ideas? obviously they didn't teach me any of this in school.... will you, allnurses, be my teachers?
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I wear the cap. I wear the skirt and white leggings too.
And I'll bet you're a real cutie!!!!!!!
I had a love hate relationship with my cap. I loved what it stood for, I loved the respect it demanded. I hated the bald spots it caused when some drunk jerk would grab it off my head and I hated how it got tangled in EVERYTHING! Curtains, IV's bedside lamps, cords.
We had no stripe as freshmen, one black as sophomores, one black one yellow as juniors, one black one yellow and one black as seniors. When we graduated we got our pins. White uniforms, white panty hose, white shoes NO sneakers. White or blue sweater ONLY! and those caps were EXPENSIVE to clean. NEVER wear your cap outside on top of your head, hair off the collar, nails clean, short and well manicured, clear polish IF you HAD too......one ring.... plain and a necklace if short.
To hold it all together? bobby pins.....lots and lots of boby pins.....:)
Specializes in Plastics. General Surgery. ITU. Oncology.
I was heartily glad to see the back of caps. Stupid useless things forever coming askew and as noted above tangling with everything.
Not allowed to wear one in the UK even if we wanted to nowadays. It's all tunics and trousers and never a dress in sight.
When I trained we wore a lilac dress with a starched white apron over it, white collar and cuffs and a cap which had fabric (like a veil) hanging down at the back. Horrible.
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.
Maybe in your area. LPNs wear the cap with the ribbons here. You can tell which province an LPN was educated by the colours of her ribbons. That is any that choose to wear it. The few RNs who wear their caps in usually wear plain white one in my hospital. I've seen a few LPNs wear theirs during Nurses Week.
About the bacteria and infection control issues. Has anyone ever done a study on the issue? I mean via the news we see nurses in India and China wear the cap, Hijabs in the Middle East. I wonder how these countries infection rates compre to ours?
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.
Nope that is not true. Graduated as an LPN in 1986 and proudly earned my red stripe that went across my cap (it was a plain white cap all thru clinicals. Only graduates got a stripe). One local RN program gave a gold stripe after graduation and another had a black and gold stripe. All colors were representative of the school colors.
We do wear nursing cap in Dominica, it is mandatory. It is part of the uniform. We do wear the white uniform to go along with it too. Looks real professional. And no we do not get our hair tangled up, there is a standard that should be kept in regards to hair being let down, it is totally not allowed.
About the bacteria and infection control issues. Has anyone ever done a study on the issue? I mean via the news we see nurses in India and China wear the cap, Hijabs in the Middle East. I wonder how these countries infection rates compre to ours?
What is going to be on the cap that isn't on the hair or the scrubs or anywhere else for that matter?
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slackula
49 Posts
Let me tell you about "caps" They were worn by maids years ago. One reason we wanted to stop wearing them.
also, I worked in a very ritzy hospital in Manhattan and if you forgot your cap they made you get a white piece of paper and fold it to look like a cap and fasten it with bobby pins to your head! There are some traditions best left in the past.