Ever wondered how nurses looked like in the early days and how their “habits” or shall we say “uniforms” changed over time? What happened to the nursing cap that looked so cute by the time we have seen them portrayed in the television but now long gone by the coming of the modern medical scrubs? How do these caps look like some centuries ago when the nursing profession was just as young as a toddler? With these questions in mind we are about to dealt with some of the most interesting facts about the nursing uniforms, how it survived two major world wars, and several deadly epidemics.
Topping up the story behind the
nursing scrubs is the plain history of the profession. We all know that nursing begun when the very first human was born from a mother. However, the nursing profession proliferates just some centuries ago. Even before Florence Nightingale, the most celebrated and notable nurse, nursing profession has been around already. It was started by the nuns and the military. Yes, the nuns. With we have now a clear picture where the nursing uniforms were patterned from. During the wars all over the world, there are personnel who took the duties of a nurse and they were dressed accordingly so they can easily be seen and identified.
The “Fever-Proof” Gowns (1800-late 1800’s)
So we already have a picture in mind when we say that the profession was started out by the early nuns. Simply, we can imagine that before 1800’s, when camera was not yet invented, nurses may look like just a typical nun. So let us start from the 1800’s. The nursing uniforms during this era consist of long gowns and aprons that the early practitioners consider as “fever-proof” gowns. The hats that they wore were not really intended for hygienic or protection purposes but for mere identification. Most of the pictured nurses during these times were not wearing masks and medical gloves were not yet invented.
World War I
White has become the accepted color of the uniforms as patterned from the old versions. During this time the full length gowns are still widely used and the identifier caps are still in place. However, despite the intensive and ground-breaking study made by Nightingale, nurses during this time still are not able to use masks and medical gloves for protection. The only distinction during this time is the Red Cross armband that nurses wore around their left arm. Several nurses around the world also use similar uniforms except for the Finnish nurses who wore the long habit that covers the entire head but the face and often used by nuns that time.
World War II
In between the two wars, training of nurses has been done. It was in the WWI when the US Navy employed nurses. So the nurses’ performance did really advanced and so with their uniforms. Though some colors are pictured to be used by nurses already, the white uniforms or aprons are still in utility. Plus their gowns were no longer as bulky as before.
Present
From then on the white uniform has become the official and universally accepted uniform of nurses. But because of the demands from nurses, many shifted to more comfortable apparels now known as the scrubs suits or commonly the medical scrubs.
