Little Company of Mary: Example of a school of nursing with real history.

     How exciting to find a nursing school website that not only dedicates space to their history but has specifics about their cap and pin design.  I want to quote from their website and give you the link for further reading.  Personally, I was very touched with the thought and specificity that went into the design of their cap and pin.

                                                                              Our Cap and its Origin              

The cap was designed by a student nurse, Marilyn Therese (Jordan) Hickey class of 1954, and first was worn by the graduating class of 1953.  The four soft pleats in the crown are held together by a gold bar signifying unity. The pleats represent faith, hope, charity and prudence.  The two side wings mean that actions and thoughts of the wearer are directed toward God.  The two buttons in the back represent wisdom and fortitude.

http://tinyurl.com/4xqpsgz

A Nurse, A Cap, an Era

     I honestly believe that this photo of a young nurse exemplifies all that nursing is and can be, fresh to the challenge, eager to serve, and learn, and care. Professional appearance with attention to hair up under an elegant and stately cap with the black band of the graduate, the school pin displayed proudly on her uniform...Oh wait, that's me back in the day.

Why such variety in nurses' caps?

     Anyone can easily see how the bonnet shaped cap or the upside down muffin shaped cap has a historic genesis.  They obviously evolved from keeping long hair up and tidy but what explains those double fills, mortar boards, and Cadillac-shaped fins?  One of my favorites is the shield-shaped cap from the University of New Hampshire's Nursing program.  When a school of nursing does have information about their cap it usually says something to the effect that it was designed by the first superintendent or by the first students.  Seldom is their documentation about the thought process that went into the design or the significance of the features.

                                           http://198.66.139.217/collections/bellevuefa.htm;

                                            University of New Hampshire School of Nursing

The few that have recorded the thought process that went into the cap design indicate that the design may refer to a variety of  concrete features or to virtues inherent in the wearer as a member of the nursing profession (http://www.me.vccs.edu/dept/ietech/nursing/history.htm;).  Some aspects of the cap designs are to reflect geographical features (mountain peaks around a valley that houses the school), or characteristics of the nurse such as each pleat standing for vigilance, nurturing, steadfastness, or the like.  Often the cap is based on an existing program's cap because of its historic significance.  Many programs say that their caps used the Bellevue, Sinai, or Florence Nightingale schools' caps as their starting point.
     Still, why did each school feel that their cap should be unique and distinguished from other programs?
That is less likely to be documented.  How and when this trend started is up for debate.  It is obvious from historic photographs that the trend started early in the growth of nursing programs,  But again, why?  Geographic isolation and lack of communication between and among early programs may be one reason that caps slowly morphed into variants of an existing cap (example a copy of a copy of a copy).  I also think that it is likely that as differences among caps became obvious, schools began to take pride in the differences and the resulting brand identity of the cap.  Thus, the desire for a cap with unique features that could only be attributed to that one specific school became the norm.  These hypotheses will hopefully be supported in findings from my future research.  Stay tuned.

Check out some of the historic caps at:  marlyn-boyd.fineartamerica.com

So well said

In my constant search for information about nurses' caps I came across an article and I just loved the closing quote .
Bonnie Miller, an RN at the Sandra and Malcolm Berman Brain & Spine Institute: “I may never wear [my cap], but I earned it.”

http://www.lifebridgeblogs.org/2011/06/22/the-history-of-the-nurses-cap/

Why the cap? Part II

     Several of my colleagues have said, "Why focus on nurses' caps?" "Caps are relics.  Why even bring them up?" "With all the challenges facing the nursing profession and facing each nurse in the trenches every day how can you justify even bringing up the cap?  It's a dead issue. Nurses have far more important things to spend their time reading about." "Caps bring back parts of nursing that no one wants to revisit such as "training" instead of educating, servitude, the hand maiden role to physicians, lack of professional status....."
     In response I say, "I hear you and on many levels I agree."  Why do I spend my time researching, painting, blogging, and twitting about the now defunct nurse's cap?  Oh, for a multitude of reasons.  Some of which I will share with you now.
     I was brought into the the profession in a time and by a program that continued the long tradition of the cap.  We received our plain white cap after our first semester in a capping ceremony.  As we progressed through the curriculum a blue velvet ribbon was added on the back left tail at the beginning of each year.  Those three blue ribbons worn as a senior were such a status symbol!  Graduation included not only the general collegiate graduation but the nursing pinning and capping ceremony.  We received our school pin and our graduate cap, the blue vertical bands removed and a horizontal black velvet band placed one-inch from the bottom of the cap.  Oh my, I still remember how I felt knowing that that piece of white starched and decorated fabric sitting on the back of my head broadcast to all who saw it that I was a professional nurse.  I can't help it.  I have many very positive emotions associated with my cap.
    Another reason I have taken up the cap cause is that I have always rooted for the underdog, always advocated for issues that may not be popular but have merit, and I have always thought you shouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water.  Love it or hate it, the cap is a part of our nursing heritage and it shouldn't be swept under the rug but acknowledged, researched, and documented as a part of our shared professional history.
     This is enough for now.  I will share more in the next post.

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.

University of Maryland "Flossie"

     I uploaded the digital scan of my University of Maryland School of Nursing cap painting today (marlyn-boyd.fineartamerica.com).  So few schools show their traditional caps on their websites.  The University of Maryland SON displays theirs proudly and has narrative that describes its history.  "Flossie" as it was affectionately named was unique to the Maryland program.  I actually remember several University of Maryland grads wearing their caps back in the day.  I always thought the caps were so regal and delicate looking.  There was no confusing their cap with anyone else's.  When you saw that unique cap you knew exactly what program produced that nurse!  If you want to learn more about the University of Maryland School of Nursing cap go to:  http://nursing.umaryland.edu/museum/history/flossie

                                        University of Maryland School of Nursing "Flossie"
                                          original oil painting by Marlyn Boyd, PhD, RN