Nurse's Uniform Dress

Datec. 1920s

Credit LineGift of Mr. George DeKay, 2008.

Object number2008.026.002

Label TextThis is Edna Gray’s (1897-1992) nursing uniform from the 1920s. She pursued her nursing studies at London’s Victoria Hospital School of Nursing from 1918 to 1921. By this time, many Canadian young women had established careers in the nursing profession. Believed to be innately nurturing, obedient, and patient, women were considered to be uniquely suited to the work. Once employed as a nurse, in addition to caring for patients, Gray helped manage the ear, eye, nose, and throat operating room under Dr. Septimus Thompson. As with the white coat of the medical doctor, the white dress of the professional graduate nurse served as a symbol of her authority, scientific knowledge, and skill.

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