Why a cap?

     I, of course, have an interest in nurses' caps and the history behind these long standing symbols of the nursing profession.  Many propose that the nurse's cap is a morphed version of the head covering traditionally worn by nuns.  True, many women were "trained" in nursing within religious affiliated institutions but not all of them were under the auspices of Catholicism.  Many different religious institutions provided care for the ill and infirm and "trained" nurses.  The nun influence theory may account for some nurses' caps but certainly not all.
     A more practical theory is that once nursing preparation moved from religious institutions to secular programs the nurse's cap served as a functional part of the nurse's uniform, to keep long hair tidy and contained.  This trend was part of the "modern" era of nursing heralded by the work of Florence Nightingale.  http://tinyurl.com/5tjzfjw and http://tinyurl.com/ykjp4bl  
Additionally, throughout history in many, many cultures head coverings of some type were worn by women when in public and during domestic work (for example the "dust cap").  Head coverings for women were not unique.  So, the plot thickens.  Why did the head coverings worn by nurses become unique to each nursing program and become such a universally recognized symbol of a single profession worldwide?  Stay tuned.

                                   Obviously the nun's head covering influenced this cap.