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August 21, 2004
Nurse Uniforms, What Happened?
What happened to nurse’s uniforms? You know the one I'm talking about... the pristine white dress, with clean lines and a kind of angelic ness that gave the nurse both professionalism and power, in a non-threatening way to the patient. From what I’ve seen and read, it has completely disappeared from existence.
My last article on nursing focused on ways that the nursing community needs to change to obtain the level of professionalism that nurses deserve. But one thing I didn’t consider was the fact that nurses today have no standard uniform. When you enter the hospital, it's impossible to distinguish nurses from assistants or housekeepers, for they all wear scrubs. The scrubs themselves look more like pajamas than anything a professional should wear and do little to help nurses garnish the respect or authority.
From researching this subject, I’ve learned that hospitals made the switch to scrubs for many reasons. One of those reasons was because of the nursing shortage. By sticking everyone in scrubs, it gave the impression that there were more licensed, trained professionals on the floor, but in reality, those people are just there to answer the phones, stock the closets, or mop the floor. Another reason was a push from the feminist’s movement, who viewed the white dresses as a sign of docile women, as opposed to proud professionals.
Whatever the reason, I think it stinks. And I think it hurts nurses as a profession. The old uniforms, in all their white glory, were proud, traditional, and they distinguished nurses amongst their colleagues. It takes time and effort to get up every morning, prepare for work by putting on your uniform, pulling your hair back, topping it off with the cap. Your mindset changes as you prepare for your job, your duty. You feel important because you look important. You hold yourself with a new sort of dignity. Unfortunately, a nurse today just has to throw on some scrubs, sometimes looking worse than the pajamas they slept in, and go to work with countless other people wearing the exact same thing.
I long for the days of the old uniforms. I’ve searched for anything similar, and while I’ve found some professional looking tunics, they still lack the magic and dignity that those old uniforms had. Wearing the old uniforms, the public knew who you were. They saw you -- maybe you were out walking on the street, your cape covering your dress -- and they knew you were a nurse. They knew you played an important duty in our society and they respected and valued you more. And that’s something I think is very sad that we’ve lost.
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See, look at this uniform. She looks clean, distinguished, and modern, while remaining true to the traditional nursing uniforms. |
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And here's the cape I love so very much! Nurses were required to wear the cape (or cloak, if you wish) when they were out in public, on the hospital grounds. I think it looks cool! This nurse happens to be a Navy nurse, thus her black hat. |
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And now enter the scrubs. What a difference! Not only are they not flattering or professional looking in anyway, they're just plain UGLY! Not to mention some nurses (LPN's, ADN's, and even BSN's) will wear sneakers with their scrubs. I guess it just completes the bum-off-the-street look that nurses have adopted. |
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This is as professional as it gets for scrubs. It still just looks like you showed up to work in a large pajama t-shirt with sleepy pants, though. The hideous patterns you can get with the scrubs doesn't help. |
That's not to say that some nurses don't try... The nurse that gave me my tetanus shot wore a very nice white lab coat, and she looked very nice. She was an older nurse, though, and probably remembers the good old days of nurse fasion, which is why she held herself up to a higher standard.
I'll be very disappointed when I graduate if I don't get my nurses cap. I can't find any resources on the internet to see if my (hopeful) nursing university still does the ceremony, but I know many do. I want my nurse's cap! I want my white nurse's dress! And, yes, I want my nurse's cloak!
Posted by December at August 21, 2004 06:46 PM
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