Editing Nurse uniform

{{Short description|Traditional professional nursing uniform}}
{{Globalize|article|United Kingdom|2name=the United Kingdom|date=December 2010}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
[[Image:POL chelm Liceum med.jpg|thumb|200px|Nurses wearing a traditional uniform consisting of a [[dress]], [[apron]] and [[nursing cap|cap]].]]
[[File:Staff Nurse Andrea writing up her notes.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A British [[staff nurse]] in a type of uniform dress that has been common since the 1980s.]]
A '''nurse uniform''' is attire worn by [[nurse]]s for hygiene and identification. The traditional nurse uniform consists of a [[dress]], [[apron]] and [[nursing cap|cap]]. It has existed in many variants, but the basic style has remained recognizable.

==History==
[[File:Student Nurse- Life at St Helier Hospital, Carshalton, Surrey, 1943 D12809.jpg|right|thumb|This nurse's uniform consists of a "spotless apron and a practical but attractive mob cap, made simply from a plain triangle of linen". 1943.]]
[[File:Nurse uniform from WWI, Serbia.jpg|thumb|A nurse uniform in Serbia during World War I]]
The first nurse uniforms were derived from the nun's habit. Before the 19th century, nuns took care of sick and injured people so it was obvious that trained lay nurses might copy the nun's habit as they have adopted ranks like "Sister". One of [[Florence Nightingale]]'s first students (Miss van Rensselaer) designed the original uniform for the students at Miss Nightingale's school of nursing. Before the 1940s minor changes occurred in the uniform. The clothing consisted of a mainly blue outfit. Hospitals were free to determine the style of the nurse uniform, including the nurse's cap which exists in many variants.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cheddletonmemories.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080614021701/http://www.cheddletonmemories.com/|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 June 2008|title=History of Cheddleton (St. Edwards) Mental Hospital since 1900|access-date=6 December 2009}}</ref><ref>Hardy, Susan and Corones, Anthony, "The Nurse's Uniform as Ethopoietic Fashion", ''Fashion Theory'', Vol.21, No.5. (2015), pp. 523-552. [https://doi.org/10.1080/1362704X.2016.1203090 doi=10.1080/1362704X.2016.1203090]</ref>

In [[United Kingdom|Britain]], the national uniform (or simply "national") was designed with the advent of the [[National Health Service]] (NHS) in 1948, and the Newcastle dress.{{Clarify|date=December 2009}} From the 1960s open necks began to appear. In the 1970s, white disposable paper caps replaced cotton ones; in the 1980s, plastic aprons displaced the traditional ones and outerwear began to disappear. From the 1990s, scrubs became popular in Britain, having first appeared in the USA; however, some nurses in Britain continue to wear dresses, although some NHS trusts have removed them in favour of [[scrubs (clothing)|scrubs]] as in many other countries.

==Standard nurse's uniform==
Historically, a typical nurse uniform consisted of a dress, [[pinafore apron]] and [[nurse's cap]]. In some hospitals, however, student nurses also wore a [[nursing pin]], or the pinafore apron may have been replaced by a [[cobbler apron|cobbler]] style apron. This type of nurse's dress continues to be worn in many countries.

Traditional uniforms remain common in many countries, but in Western Europe and North America, the so-called "[[scrubs (clothing)|scrubs]]" or tunics have become more popular. "Scrub dress" is a simpler type of uniform, and is almost always worn in [[operating theatre|operating rooms]] and [[emergency room]]s.

Nurses have a variety of roles in the 21st century and therefore have a variety of "uniforms". Nurse scientists may wear a lab coat, while nurse executives may wear a suit. The "uniform" will vary by country and role.

==Alternative nurse uniforms==
[[File:US Navy 040708-N-8977L-007 Arnold Zigman (center in green scrubs) of New York, a Registered Nurse and Clinical administrator for the Los Angeles County, University of Southern California.jpg|thumb|240px|A group of medical students wearing scrubs practice surgical techniques on pigs' feet.]]
Since the late 1980s, there has been a move towards alternative designs of nursing uniforms in some countries. Newer style nurse's uniform in the [[United Kingdom]] consists of either:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pauldiamond.com/|title=Paul Diamond - L.L.M (University of Cambridge)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxfordradcliffe.nhs.uk/forpatients/inpatients/people.aspx|title=Oxford University Hospitals|first=Copyright (c) 2016 Oxford University Hospitals NHS|last=Trust}}</ref>

# A tunic-style top and dark blue trousers that are optimally designed to prevent cross-infection, the colour of which depends upon the grade (or, more recently, band) and gender of the nurse – the colour varies between NHS Trusts. The tunics often feature piping around the edges of the uniform.
# A dress in the same colour as the tunic-style top.

===Male nursing uniform===
In some countries the nurse's uniform is now gender neutral. When this is not the case, male nurses wear a different uniform to their female counterparts. In the UK, male nurses often wear a white [[tunic]] with [[epaulettes]] in a color or quantity that represents their year of training or grade. However, in many trusts the white uniform is now obsolete and uniforms are non-gender specific.


'''No Uniform'''

In some settings, for example in psychiatric inpatient units in the UK, it is common for mental health and learning disorder nurses to not wear a formal uniform.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Mental health nurses in non-uniform: Facilitator of recovery process? |year=2020 |doi=10.1111/jpm.12599 |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jpm.12599 |access-date=|last1=Chu |first1=Lok Yan |last2=Chang |first2=Tin Wai |last3=Dai |first3=Tsz Yuet |last4=Hui |first4=Lok |last5=Ip |first5=Hei Tung |last6=Kwok |first6=San Yuet |last7=Ying |first7=Kin Long |last8=Chan |first8=Fung Man |last9=Bressington |first9=Daniel |journal=Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing |volume=27 |issue=5 |pages=509–520 |pmid=31958205 |s2cid=210831305 }}</ref>

==Nurse uniforms versus scrubs==
[[File:Krankenschwester doku1.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A [[Germans|German]] nurse in scrubs.]]
Beginning in the 1990s, and until the present time, the traditional nurse uniforms have been replaced with the "new" scrub dress in some countries. Most hospitals in the US and Europe argue that the scrub uniform is easier to clean than the old nurse uniforms.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Vikke HS, Giebner M | title = UniStatus - a cross-sectional study on the contamination of uniforms in the Danish ambulance service | journal = BMC Research Notes | volume = 8 | pages = 95 | date = March 2015 | pmid = 25889860 | pmc = 4376367 | doi = 10.1186/s13104-015-1057-4 | doi-access = free }}</ref> The nurses who wear the uniforms are divided into two camps:

* Those who prefer the new scrubs; disliked the old white nurse dress uniforms.
* The nurses who liked the old white nurse dress uniforms; they argue that nurses who wear scrubs are seen by the patients as cleaners or surgeons {{Citation needed|date=September 2007}} and cannot be identified as nurses.

In many parts of the world, nurses continue to wear a uniform consisting of a dress, pinafore and cap. The traditional white uniform for male nursing staff is now going out of fashion, except for student nurses. A tunic of either the dental surgeon style or a V-neck with a collar is very often used. The colours vary with grade, area of work, and hospital; however, the male equivalent of a sister (that is, charge nurse) tend to be shades of blue or dark green: often, this is the only colour to be recognised by the public as signifying a person in authority.

===Nursing jewellery===
[[Image:Nurses Fob Watch.svg|thumb|right|Nurses' watch]]
Nurses were actively discouraged from wearing jewellery which might distract from their purpose and get caught on patient skin during care activity. A '''fob''' watch or ''pendant'' watch is considered synonymous with nursing. The fob watch frees the nurses' hands for client care and prevents the wrist watch becoming a vector for disease. Watches are sometimes given as a token [[Rites of passage|rite-of-passage]] gift from parents to young nurses, who are making the transition into nurses' quarters and live away from home for the first time.

==See also==

* [[Hospital volunteer]]
* [[Scrubs (clothing)]]
* [[Uniform]]

==References==
{{Commons category}}
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Uniforms]]
[[Category:Nursing]]