History of the Nursing Uniform

Florence Nightingale is largely credited with inventing and organizing the nursing trade, and it was from her efforts that a need for a distinguishing uniform arose. As a result, the history of the nursing uniform is a relatively short one that is nonetheless marked by many interesting, socially-driven changes.

The first nursing uniforms

The first uniform specifically for nurses was designed by an early student of Florence Nightingale's nursing school. That said, there was a common thread in the clothes nurses wore long before they were told what to wear. Because nuns were the first women to actively tend to the sick and wounded, their habits are largely considered as the first nursing uniforms. The first official nursing uniform, with its conservative cap and smock, was largely inspired by the nun habit.

The most recognizable nursing uniforms

The most recognized nursing uniforms in history are usually the uniforms assigned to nurses during World War I and World War II. World War I nurses were still hampered by sexist views, forcing even battlefield nurses to wear full-length dresses that were further covered by long capes called tippets. By World War II, the uniforms were made practical by replacing the gowns and capes with lightweight shirt dresses of blue or gray with white collars and sleeves and a red cross on the lapel.

Modern nursing uniforms

As social norms changed, they made way for more practical changes in nursing uniforms. Modern nursing uniforms are designed with comfort and function in mind. Most nurses wear a standard scrub uniform comprised of lightweight cotton or synthetic pants topped by a short-sleeved shirt of the same material. These uniforms allow for a full range of motion and are made in breathable fabrics that keep nurses cool in stressful situations. While some hospitals have policies that enforce the use of certain scrub colors and designs, others allow their nurses to choose their own styles and patterns as they see fit.

Nursing uniforms have come a long way from the nun habits that once inspired them. Modern nursing uniforms are all about keeping working men and women comfortable even in the most stressful of situations.