The March cover featured artwork called Vanishing Capes. The artist who painted the picture referred to the cape as a "uniform no longer worn [that] is historically recognizable by the last generation of nurses still alive today." At age 86, I am one of those nurses!
I attended nursing school from 1954 to 1957. My heavy blue wool cape lined with gold (the school colors) was a welcome addition to the short-sleeved uniform on cold days when I had to walk to the hospital from the dormitory across the street.
I kept one student uniform (dress with apron), a cap, a student name pin, and my cape as a reminder of the beginning of a wonderful career in home care and hospice. A few years ago, I donated my student items to the Nursing Foundation of Pennsylvania (NFP; http://www.thenfp.org) in Harrisburg. They are displayed on a mannequin in the lobby of the NFP as a reminder of the "iconic image strongly associated with the caring, trust, and compassion of nurses practicing during some of the most trying times in our nation's history," as noted in On the Cover. Those trying times continue in 2023.
Marilyn D. Harris, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN
Warminster, PA