There are several reasons why nurses'
caps, along with the rest of the uniform, began to disappear in the
1970s. As nursing became more professionalized,
nurses
wanted to identify more with doctors and other professionals who wore
no uniform. At the same time, hospitals started employing ward aides
and nursing assistants, who were also outfitted with caps, and
subsequently the authority of the graduate nurse's cap was eroded.
In the 1960s to 1980s, hospital schools of nursing gave way to
community college and university schools. The apprenticeship system
of teaching, with its ritualized progress through the ranks, no longer
dominated nursing education, and thus the cap lost much of its symbolic
meaning as a signifier of achievement at various levels.
Male nurses have never worn caps. In recent years nursing leaders have
tried to encourage more men to enter nursing, and sex-specific uniforms
conflict with the larger goal of attracting men to the profession.
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