Taking a uniform approach to nursing attire

An Integrative Review of Body Art in Nursing

BACKGROUND

Schools of nursing and health care facilities frequently have policies prohibiting the visibility of body art (tattoos and piercings). The authors sought to understand literature specific to nursing regarding such policies.

PURPOSE

This integrative review examined literature regarding body art in nursing.

METHODS

A systematic electronic database search was conducted for publications between 2010 and 2021. Thematic analysis of both empirical studies and nonresearch articles was completed.

RESULTS

Thirty articles were analyzed, revealing 3 themes and 8 subthemes related to body art in nursing practice: level of acceptability (subthemes were positive perception, stigmatizing, and personal meaning); professional image (subthemes were appearance matters, policy, and trust and confidence); and infection concern (subthemes were hygiene and contamination).

CONCLUSIONS

Current understanding from literature regarding body art in nursing was summarized.

The Brazilian Army nurses' uniforms: visual identity in World War II

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the symbolic effects of the official military uniform of the nurses from Brazilian Army in World War II.

METHOD

This research was developed using the historical method, with iconographic sources. The data were discussed based on the concepts of the social world theory, by Pierre Bourdieu.

RESULTS

The images selected demonstrate the own meaning of the uniforms, evidencing the functions and the social position of those who wear it, being private and obligatory to use it in the military field.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

In the case of the nurses from the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, the appropriation of uniforms promoted the visual communication representing military nurse in the context of war, at the same time it served for distinction purposes in the army, but not necessarily in the nursing field. Symbolically, they remained amongst the walls of the barracks even after the end of the war and, thus, they remained unknown and marked by the symbols of forgetfulness.