Like, Hi, Fer Shurr,

When did traditional nurse's uniforms go out of style in American hospitals?  By traditional, I'm talking about the starched, white, long-sleeved dress, the white stockings, the white shoes, and the official nurse's cap, a la Nurse Ratched in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".

By the way, did Louise Fletcher's performance as Nurse Ratched kill the traditional nurse's uniform during 1975, or had it died a natural death by then?  ;D  I was born during 1979, and I was in the hospital a great deal during my early childhood, and I don't really remember seeing the traditional nurse's uniform, although it DID appear on a 1987 friend-of-Barbie doll called Nurse Whitney; she didn't look like any nurses who'd helped me when I was a kid.  ;D
8) 

I'm ten years older than you and I do remember them from the seventies when I was a kid.  I think they went out of style in eighties.  Sort of like nun's habits!
::)

I think when scrubs became more readily available (whenever that was.)  As I understand, scrubs are really comfortable, so that would be preferred more so then starched nurses uniforms. 

Here are a few articles for your perusal

http://blog.mynursinguniforms.com/index.php/the-history-of-the-nursing-uniform-from-19th-century-onward/

http://www.pulseuniform.com/nursing/nursing-uniforms.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrubs_%28clothing%29

I think when scrubs became more readily available (whenever that was.)  As I understand, scrubs are really comfortable, so that would be preferred more so then starched nurses uniforms. 

Here are a few articles for your perusal

http://blog.mynursinguniforms.com/index.php/the-history-of-the-nursing-uniform-from-19th-century-onward/

http://www.pulseuniform.com/nursing/nursing-uniforms.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrubs_%28clothing%29



Scrubs are SOOOO comfortable. I used to work in a hospital (even though I wasn't medical) and managed to steal get some scrubs. I wore them all the time-as PJs, or just around the house.


My step-daughter is a nurse. She only wears scrubs to work.


*Note to self. I really should get a new set of scrubs.



Cat

The Exorcist III from 1990 portrayed the nurses wearing the white uniform, which struck me as odd because that HAD to be way out of date by then. I was born in 1990 and I know from the photos/video from the hospital that nurses were wearing scrubs by then.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mgyYTW2w19c/RoVzuNwhm8I/AAAAAAAAAP4/qBmQ-GKFe3g/s400/nurses_small.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E84OWq6z3IQ

In general I lament the death of traditional garments but I think in the case of nurses, it's a good thing. Being a nurse is stressful so I'd imagine being comfortable makes it that much less so.

You used to be able to tell where a nurse went to school by her cap.  Each nursing school had a different cap and the hospitals had caps that could tell the difference between head nurse, rn, lpn, etc.

Gosh.

I hate scrubs actually. I always wanted to dress like a candy striper had I went into nursing. I mean now, sometimes when I go into dialysis, people assume I'm a nurse, and I'm just in a sweater and jeans.  :(

Can't go without good old Nurse Ratched.  This is a 1975 film depicting events set in 1963.  Nurse Ratched and her assistant both wear nurse's caps.  Hospital attendants don't wear those prettyboy ice cream man uniforms either.
8)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5NyyC-UjBM
'

There was always Cloris Leachman in "High Anxiety," Mel Brooks 1978 --

http://www.foxmoviechannel.com/images/movie_details/77L0008_lg_2_Cloris-Leachman.jpg