8.13.2004
2:10AM
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!
Comments? Check out our Nurse
Uniform thread here!
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