Local artists attempt to update image of nurses

Since the 1870s, there have been many perceptions of the nurse -- a war heroine, a mother figure, an angel of mercy and even a sex object, attracting males with her short white dress and jaunty cap.

With these changing points of view came changes in nursing uniforms -- and now, two artists are hoping to create a new vision to fit the modern nurse's needs.

Philadelphia's Fabric Workshop and Museum has collaborated with artists Mark Dion and J. Morgan Puett, as well as the University of Pennsylvania's School of Nursing, in the production of an exhibition entitled "RN: The Past, Present and Future of the Nurses' Uniform."

The exhibition -- which held its opening ceremony on Friday, attracting a crowd of about 350 people -- will be on display at the Fabric Workshop and Museum from Oct. 3 to Feb. 14.

"It really does capture uniforms and reflects the changes in nursing from starch, long, elaborate [uniforms] to simple material and changing colors," Dean of the School of Nursing Afaf Meleis said, adding that nurses' dress has gone from "black and white to pinks, yellows and greens."

According to Nursing Professor Karen Buhler-Wilkerson, the goal of this exhibition is to "use a survey of data to create a uniform that is comfortable, utilitarian, washable and usable" -- to create the ideal nurses' uniform.

In order to accomplish this, Dion and Puett have been working for the past three years collecting data and actual uniforms dating back to the 19th century.

The centuries-old company that the artists have been working with -- the Marvin Neitzel Nursing Uniform Company in Troy, N.Y. -- recently went out of business.

"We worked with their last fabric maker and last employer," Puett said. "We were witnessing the demise of the industry of uniforms, and we wanted to make something that spoke to this history. Fabric Workshop took that challenge of sponsoring the project."

The museum then identified Penn as a scholarly resource for the project, according to Buhler-Wilkerson.

In 2002, a survey of 730 female nurses and 60 male nurses was conducted to obtain information for the creation of the ideal nursing uniform. Participants were divided into three focus groups, representing Penn student nurses, practicing nurses at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and retired nurses.

The consensus of the survey was that nurses have "fallen in love with scrubs," said Buhler-Wilkerson, noting that 68 percent of those surveyed preferred to wear scrubs to work.

"I don't think anything will replace scrubs, because it has come to be the standard in the medical profession," Nursing junior Morgan Cohen said. "They are more practical for all the tasks nurses have to do to care for the patients, rather than wearing the old white dresses of the past."

"I think nothing will ever replace scrubs because of the comfort factor," Nursing junior Yael Sollins agreed.

Other survey questions included what characteristics nurses look for in a uniform -- such as what neckline and fabric they would prefer to wear on a daily basis.

Using the survey data, the designers have been collaborating with visual art students at the Vermont College of Union Institute and University, who have designed a small collection of nursing uniforms that they believe will accommodate a wide variety of nurses.

The artists have developed a red and white RN logo that all nursing uniforms will feature.

"The RN logo is a good idea because it distinguishes nurses" from other hospital staff members, Sollins said.

As Puett and Dion continue to prepare the perfect nursing uniform with anti-microbial fibers, Lynn Houweling, a doctoral student in nursing history, has been preparing a written history of the nursing uniform. Her essay will be included in an exhibition publication -- a gift from the Beatrice Renfield Foundation of New York -- due to come out at the end of this week.

Houweling said that she has been spending her time since the beginning of August in the basement of the biomedical library, reading copies of the American Journal of Nursing from the entire 20th century.

"It's fascinating to learn about the history of nursing, not just the uniform," Houweling said. "The uniform reflects the profession from the time of little [medical] training to growing autonomy and patient care. It's not just a uniform -- it's art."

While creating this ideal uniform, the designers are not prepared to just stop there.

"We're making the ideal uniform for nurses today," Dion said. "But why stop there?" he continued. "We've taken clues from science fiction and pushed them further" to create futuristic nurses uniforms.

So far, Dion and Puett have drawn up the plans for four futuristic nurses uniforms, including the bioterrorism nurse from 2015, the diagnostic nurse from around 2027, the post-apocalyptic nurse from 2130 and the intergalactic nurse from 2206.

The diagnostic nurse's uniform "is equipped to assess a patient's vital signs at the touch of a hand or comforting embrace," said Kathryn van Voorhees, a Fabric Workshop and Museum spokeswoman.

According to Dion, "Whatever the future is, I'm not sure it's what we think."

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