NURSING HISTORY: THE NURSE’S CAP
When people think of the history of nurses, many still visualize a white uniform, white stockings, thick white shoes and of course the often heavily starched white cap. History buffs may remember pictures of nursing caps while many older nurses may very well still own theirs.
Being capped symbolized accruing the knowledge and ability needed to truly serve as a nurse. Capping ceremonies were often emotional affairs with guest speakers testifying to the value of nurses within their communities. As one speaker at a 1938 graduation powerfully expressed, “the nurse’s cap means to you what the soldier’s uniform means to him. When this cap is pinned on your head, it means you have become a member of one of the noblest professions and have subscribed to its ideals of service. You are no longer merely an individual responsible for her own acts; you are part of the nursing profession.”
Nurses’ caps had both practical purposes and symbolic significance. Though it’s difficult to pin down an exact time period when wearing caps became standard practice, there is a consensus that they became prevalent in the mid-1800s. The nurse’s cap originated from a group of women in the early Christian era, called Deaconesses, an order of nuns. These women were separated from other women during this time by their white covering worn on their head. This particular head covering was worn to show that this group of women worked in the service of caring for the sick. Originally, the head covering was more of a veil, but it later evolved into a white cap during the Victorian era. It was during this era that “proper” women were required to keep their heads covered. The cap worn was hood-shaped with a ruffle around the face and tied under the chin. Long hair was fashionable during the Victorian era, so the cap kept the nurse’s hair up and out of their face.
The nurse's cap was derived from the nun's habit and developed over time into two types: A long cap, that covers much of the nurse's hair, and a short cap, that sits atop the nurse's hair. Different styles of caps were used to depict the seniority of the nurse, the frillier and longer the more senior the nurse.
Since nuns were among the first women to be trained as nurses, and to train nurses in turn, the original caps were akin to habits. Social mores of the time also necessitated the caps, since women were expected to keep their heads covered, yes even indoors. These longer caps served more than just the dictates of fashion; they also helped to keep a nurse’s hair out of her face as she worked, which facilitated more sanitary conditions.
For Florence Nightingale the cap was inextricable from the profession itself. When she organized a mission of mercy to Scutari during the Crimean War, Nightingale required her nurses to wear a special uniform and nurse’s cap. After the war,she set up the Nightingale Training School at St. Thomas’ Hospital; there, the longer, more bonnet-like caps were shunned, and students wore shorter caps with their uniforms.
In many ways, the history of the nursing cap correlates to the history of women’s social advances. As time passed and long hair was no longer required by fashion, etiquette, or custom, the caps served as signifiers for a particular nurse’s educational background and level of expertise. Different nursing programs and hospitals offered their own caps: some caps were ruffled and frilled, others were starched stiff and box-like; some were Dutch-styled,winged caps, others looked like knotted kerchiefs. For instance, if you were a patient in the early 1900s, and the woman checking your pulse was wearing a cap delicately fluted with lace, you knew that you were in the capable hands of a graduate from the University of Maryland School of Nursing. This cap was called “the Flossie” in honor of Florence Nightingale.
Though caps were beautiful to behold, they were cumbersome to care for. Great care was taken in washing, starching of some and maintaining its original appearance. Some caps had to be continually replaced, at expense to the nurse herself. Still, the cap was symbolic, a sign of great achievement and status and eagerly desired by generations of nurses to come. Caps also provided a sense of community and belonging. No matter where a nurse worked, seeing a cap from ones’ own school provided a sense of familiarity and ease.
Caps were bestowed in various rituals. Student nurses were usually expected to wear a simple cap, no stripe or pin, as part of their uniform. It was not until the student achieved post-probationary status or senior level status or graduated (dependent upon the school) that they earned the rite of passage known as a capping ceremony. Capping ceremonies were often held in churches, where, before the students’ friends, peers and families, they’d be “capped” by an instructor or by a mentor usually referred to as a “big sister.”
But as women in general become more enfranchised and empowered in the workplace, the nursing profession expanded into administrative areas and caps became relics . Caps, once thought of as the epitome of nursing achievement, quality and sanitary care gradually disappeared, now seen as harbingers for bacteria and other harmful contaminants.
Although the nursing cap is no longer required as a part of a nurse’s uniform, it still holds the same significance that it did during the time of Florence Nightingale. The nursing cap symbolizes the goal of nurse, which is to provide “service to those in need.” Furthermore, the cap is a sign of the industry’s ageless values of dedication, honesty, wisdom, and faith. (Catalano, Joseph T).
"Today one is more likely to find nursing caps in hospital and nursing historical societies but, one should remember that for many it is still a powerful reminder of hard work and achievements as well as dedication to our patients and our chosen profession and although I may no longer wear my cap I most certainly earned it and am proud to have done so." (dcs)
References:
Image, Function, and Style:A history of the nursing uniform. AJN, 104(4):40-48, April 2004.
Catalano, Joseph T. NursingNow: Today's Issues, Tomorrow's Trends. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis,2012.
Being capped symbolized accruing the knowledge and ability needed to truly serve as a nurse. Capping ceremonies were often emotional affairs with guest speakers testifying to the value of nurses within their communities. As one speaker at a 1938 graduation powerfully expressed, “the nurse’s cap means to you what the soldier’s uniform means to him. When this cap is pinned on your head, it means you have become a member of one of the noblest professions and have subscribed to its ideals of service. You are no longer merely an individual responsible for her own acts; you are part of the nursing profession.”
Nurses’ caps had both practical purposes and symbolic significance. Though it’s difficult to pin down an exact time period when wearing caps became standard practice, there is a consensus that they became prevalent in the mid-1800s. The nurse’s cap originated from a group of women in the early Christian era, called Deaconesses, an order of nuns. These women were separated from other women during this time by their white covering worn on their head. This particular head covering was worn to show that this group of women worked in the service of caring for the sick. Originally, the head covering was more of a veil, but it later evolved into a white cap during the Victorian era. It was during this era that “proper” women were required to keep their heads covered. The cap worn was hood-shaped with a ruffle around the face and tied under the chin. Long hair was fashionable during the Victorian era, so the cap kept the nurse’s hair up and out of their face.
The nurse's cap was derived from the nun's habit and developed over time into two types: A long cap, that covers much of the nurse's hair, and a short cap, that sits atop the nurse's hair. Different styles of caps were used to depict the seniority of the nurse, the frillier and longer the more senior the nurse.
Since nuns were among the first women to be trained as nurses, and to train nurses in turn, the original caps were akin to habits. Social mores of the time also necessitated the caps, since women were expected to keep their heads covered, yes even indoors. These longer caps served more than just the dictates of fashion; they also helped to keep a nurse’s hair out of her face as she worked, which facilitated more sanitary conditions.
For Florence Nightingale the cap was inextricable from the profession itself. When she organized a mission of mercy to Scutari during the Crimean War, Nightingale required her nurses to wear a special uniform and nurse’s cap. After the war,she set up the Nightingale Training School at St. Thomas’ Hospital; there, the longer, more bonnet-like caps were shunned, and students wore shorter caps with their uniforms.
In many ways, the history of the nursing cap correlates to the history of women’s social advances. As time passed and long hair was no longer required by fashion, etiquette, or custom, the caps served as signifiers for a particular nurse’s educational background and level of expertise. Different nursing programs and hospitals offered their own caps: some caps were ruffled and frilled, others were starched stiff and box-like; some were Dutch-styled,winged caps, others looked like knotted kerchiefs. For instance, if you were a patient in the early 1900s, and the woman checking your pulse was wearing a cap delicately fluted with lace, you knew that you were in the capable hands of a graduate from the University of Maryland School of Nursing. This cap was called “the Flossie” in honor of Florence Nightingale.
Though caps were beautiful to behold, they were cumbersome to care for. Great care was taken in washing, starching of some and maintaining its original appearance. Some caps had to be continually replaced, at expense to the nurse herself. Still, the cap was symbolic, a sign of great achievement and status and eagerly desired by generations of nurses to come. Caps also provided a sense of community and belonging. No matter where a nurse worked, seeing a cap from ones’ own school provided a sense of familiarity and ease.
Caps were bestowed in various rituals. Student nurses were usually expected to wear a simple cap, no stripe or pin, as part of their uniform. It was not until the student achieved post-probationary status or senior level status or graduated (dependent upon the school) that they earned the rite of passage known as a capping ceremony. Capping ceremonies were often held in churches, where, before the students’ friends, peers and families, they’d be “capped” by an instructor or by a mentor usually referred to as a “big sister.”
But as women in general become more enfranchised and empowered in the workplace, the nursing profession expanded into administrative areas and caps became relics . Caps, once thought of as the epitome of nursing achievement, quality and sanitary care gradually disappeared, now seen as harbingers for bacteria and other harmful contaminants.
Although the nursing cap is no longer required as a part of a nurse’s uniform, it still holds the same significance that it did during the time of Florence Nightingale. The nursing cap symbolizes the goal of nurse, which is to provide “service to those in need.” Furthermore, the cap is a sign of the industry’s ageless values of dedication, honesty, wisdom, and faith. (Catalano, Joseph T).
"Today one is more likely to find nursing caps in hospital and nursing historical societies but, one should remember that for many it is still a powerful reminder of hard work and achievements as well as dedication to our patients and our chosen profession and although I may no longer wear my cap I most certainly earned it and am proud to have done so." (dcs)
References:
Image, Function, and Style:A history of the nursing uniform. AJN, 104(4):40-48, April 2004.
Catalano, Joseph T. NursingNow: Today's Issues, Tomorrow's Trends. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis,2012.
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