History of the Nursing Cap

The nursing cap has seen many changes throughout history.

Nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale was among the first to have donned the nursing cap, which began as a way to maintain a hygienic environment for patient care in the 19th century. The first nursing caps were modeled after habits as a tribute to nuns' work who often cared for the sick.

Muffin Caps

The earliest caps represented nurses' service to humankind. Known as dust or muffin caps, they enveloped a large portion of the head to cover the nurses' long hair, as was common in the early 20th century. The caps were part of the standard nursing uniform but deemed unattractive by the women who had to wear them, according to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) Medical Museum.

Handkerchief Hat

The handkerchief hat phased out the muffin cap of the 1920s. Made from men's handkerchiefs, the handkerchief version was much smaller (as women began wearing their hair shorter) and easier to clean. It covered the bun of hair on top of the nurse's head, according to the UIHC Medical Museum.

Graduate Nurse Cap

The Bruck Company of Chicago began mass-producing the nursing cap, eliminating the need for nurses to fashion their own out of handkerchiefs. Starch or sugar water was added to stiffen the linen and create a peak at the top, and nurses carried their caps in their aprons or flat in a book to preserve the shape.

Nursing Cap Band

Senior nursing students included a 1/4-inch black band on their nursing caps, but graduate students changed them by using their school colors and increasing the band to a 1/2-inch. The bands also sometimes identified a nursing clinical unit or head nurse, according to the Medical Museum. The origin of the band is unknown, but it may have started as a way to mourn Nightingale's death in 1910.

Capping Ceremony

Before 1971 new nurses were identified as beginners by their lack of a hat. After a four-month probation, or preclinical, period, new nurses attended a capping ceremony in which they received their hats. Nursing caps no longer were required as part of the formal uniform after 1971, according to the UIHC Medical Museum. They were phased out in favor of unisex scrubs as more men entered the profession.

References

• University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics: The History of Nursing
• Nurse Groups: History of the Nurse's Cap
• Nurses' Careers Abroad: The Nurse's Headgear
• University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics: Nursing Garb