You don't need me to tell you just how much nursing uniforms have changed in a century.

The normal attire for most nurses and nursing students has gone from starched, buttoned-up, covered-head-to-foot dresses with aprons to ready-to-wear, easy-to-wash tunics and pants, better known as scrubs. Nurses walk in athletic shoes or clogs in a variety of colors instead of the regulation white leather oxfords from days gone by.With the exception of a few holdouts, the cap is gone altogether.

A "Handbook on First Aid to the Injured with a Section on Nursing," published by Chicago's W.T. Keener and
Co. in the late 1880s, said nurses were required to wear a neat cap.

By the turn of the century, nursing schools were designing their own versions of this professional symbol, from frilly to plain. It was considered a privilege to wear the cap, along with a graduation pin, which showed where you received your education.

By the 1970s, nursing caps began to disappear from hospitals. As nursing became more professional, nurses may have wanted to identify more with doctors (who wore no uniform) and less with assistants, who also wore caps. As hospital nursing schools were phased out, college programs didn't maintain the same "capping" traditions, and in the modern, high-tech health care arena, caps were simply not practical.

Nursing uniforms reflect both fashion and social mores - a gathered apron top modestly covered the bosom when the first Piedmont nursing students gradu-ated in 1905. The white uniform of 1920s and 1930s nurses fit well with the virtuous (early nursing students were unmarried), "angel of mercy" image.

But as nurses took on more responsibility and duties, the uniform was streamlined. Short sleeves replaced long sleeves, and higher heels gave way to flat, comfortable shoes. Permanent press replaced the heavy cotton fabrics that required starch and ironing.

Today's scrubs are a reflection of the casual trend in fashion and nursing's ready-for- action job descriptions. Pants and tunics give nurses greater freedom of movement, and darker colors are easier to keep clean when working with blood and medications. Certainly the large pockets in a lab coat are more convenient than the small utility bags some nurses sewed and wore at the turn of the century.

If there is a downside to scrubs, it's that the garb no longer sets a nurse apart from other health care workers.

Recent exhibits and books on the history of nursing uniforms have sparked debate on what nurses should wear, with some hospitals (Grady Hospital in Atlanta) choosing to return to the traditional white uniform.

This month, I'd like to thank two Piedmont Hospital nurses: Diane Erdeljac, public historian and archivist, and Tony Smith, service line administrator for orthopedics and director of alumni services. Their sharing of artifacts, memories and knowledge made it possible to take a look back at nursing uniforms.

> Pulse is also proud to announce a competition for the first AJC Nursing Excellence Awards. Please see the Celebrating
Nurses nomination form for an opportunity to nominate a licensed nurse who has demonstrated excellence by her or his compassion, knowledge and strong clinical and communication skills during 2005. A panel of judges will select 10 finalists and three winners to be named at a Celebrating Nurses awards banquet on May 10.

To learn more or submit nominations for the award online, visit www.ajcjobs.com and click on Celebrating Nursing.

- Do you have any story ideas for Pulse? We'd love to hear more about your career and what you do after hours. E-mail me at pulseeditor@ajc.com or call 404-526-2078.