In a previous post, we looked at some interesting tidbits regarding nursing uniforms.

This ad looks as though it comes from the 1960s.

It was the last time you would see a nurse in head to toe white.

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Society was undergoing massive changes in the ’60s and ’70s and so was the nursing profession.

Nursing education was moving into the academic arena. Women were looking at their place and role in society.

The white dress that had symbolized the nursing profession was seen by some as a sign of oppression, the sign of a quiet, humble female instead of a professional woman.

They started questioning the use of the cap. While some saw it as unique, others questioned its purpose. Finally it was dropped altogether when the cap was shown to harbor bacteria. (Ed. note: why do they always seem to find bacteria on things I can’t live without? First the cap, then acrylic nails. Come on, folks!)

Up until the 1970s, it was not unusual for the hospitals to purchase and launder nursing uniforms. This gave the hospitals authority over the nursing uniforms, and therefore the nurses themselves. The cost-cutting era hit health care and the onus for purchasing and maintaining uniforms moved to the nurses themselves.

And they were tired.

Tired of all white uniforms that weren’t practical.

Tired of only dresses and skirts. It actually took anti-discrimination laws to make some hospitals allow female RNs to wear pants. Men were entering nursing in greater numbers and I don’t remember any of them wearing skirts!

Tired of uniforms that were not comfortable and made it hard to do their jobs.

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The nursing uniform was indeed changing, but the status attached to nursing attire did not change. Nurses with advanced degrees switched to street clothes with a lab coat, midwives wore scrubs and nurse managers started wearing business suits to distance themselves from the bedside.

The status divide was even evident with nurses who stayed in patient care. The 1980s found nurses in ICUs and ERs wearing scrubs while their colleagues on the floors wore regular white uniforms/pantsuits. Later, scrubs were adopted by the entire nursing staff of hospitals.

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With all the individuality of dress seen in the nursing profession today comes a new problem. How do you tell a nurse from the housekeeper, the dietician, the lab technician or the doctor? If a hospital uses fewer RNs for their patient care, how can you see that?

Our uniforms used to distinguish and elevate our profession, now we are hidden and our roles obscured by scrubs worn by the entire hospital staff.

From non-regulation to uber regulation to no regulation at all, the nursing uniform continues to change.

The question is, how are we to distinguish ourselves from other health care providers unless we come back to some easily recognized symbol of our profession.

With all due respect to my male nursing colleagues, I have a suggestion that would work for the women.

I vote for a return to the cap.

I can’t help it. I love my cap.

Throw in a cape while you are at it!

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Resource: Houweling, L. (2003). A history of the nursing uniform. (pp. 15-20).