About White Nurse Uniforms

White nurse uniforms are worn by nurses for hygiene and identification purposes. Many people still picture the traditional nurse's uniform consisting of a white dress, a white apron and a white cap. The nurse uniform has evolved over time and today many nurses wear scrubs instead of the traditional white uniform.

• History - The first United States nurses wore gray or blue dresses. The white dresses became popular in the early twentieth century. Nurses started wearing white pantsuits in the 1970s more often than they wore their dresses. Since the 1990's the nurses have started wearing colored scrubs like the surgeons wear.


• Cleanliness - The white nurse uniforms were worn by the nurses because they appeared to be clean-looking. The white uniform could be laundered with bleach to disfect them. The nurses disliked the white uniform because they stained easily.


• Comfort and convenience - Pantsuits and scrubs are more comfortable to wear when performing their duties. The scrubs laundry eaiser and are more durable than the nurse white uniform. The scrubs are made of a combination of polyester and cotton.


• Identification - Because other hospital workers wear scrub, it is harder to distinguish a nurse from any other hospital workers. When the nurses wore the white nurse uniforms they could be easily identified as nurses. The white nurses uniform portrayed a much more professional appearance in the hospital.


• Patient preference - Patients really don't care what the nurses wear as long as they are neat and clean. The nurses wear name tags that identify them as RN.