Own uniforms or hospital scrubs?

[irehc]

I am a neonatal nurse who works in a Special Care Nursery. My job also is to attend all deliveries and c-sections. We now wear hospital scrubs, but the hospital wants to cut costs and have us wear uniforms into work. I would like input from those RNs who have tired this. How will it work when you need to attend an emergency C-section? What if your uniform gets contaminated? Does infection rate go up because of outside germs coming into the unit? Is it ok to wash your uniforms with household wash? Do you wear cover coats at all deliveries? Input needed. thanks Cheri

[palesarah]

not only are we allowed to wear our own scrubs, we're not allowed to wear the hospital ones any more unless we get dirty and need to change at work.

We wear sterile gowns over our own clothes in the OR (for scheduled and emergency sections). I didn't work at the hospital when the nurses wore hospital scrubs, but we have a fastidious infection control officer who would have initiated a change if the infection rate had risen with the change.

Most nurses on my unit do not wear gowns for all deliveries. We probably should though.

[SmilingBluEyes]

we wear hospital -issued scrubs. partly due to the fact we do our own csections. i think that is the best way to go...and saves ME $$$$$$$$$$$$. I like that.

[4Blessings]

Have done both.......Really liked having them provided. It felt "cleaner" to me. Now I work were we provide our own. This facility has always had nurses provide their own and my previous facility always provided.....SO..can't really know about infection rates..As to washing, I alway wash me scrubs separatly. I always buy scrubs I can bleach, and I always have an extra set in my locker for contamination issues...

[Zhlake]

We wear our own scrubs and we wear them in to the hospital (we dont' change when we get there).

[Zhlake]

Oh and we are like a PP in that we ONLY wear hospital scrubs if we are in a c/s or if we get poop on us or something. They are very strict about wearing them.

[USA987, MSN, RN, NP]

L&D, PP, SCN all wear hospital laundered scrubs...

Of course until the powers that be decide that it's not "cost-effective".

:balloons:

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

Our maternity wears their own scrubs, and always has. And they'll start doing their own C-sections again in June.

[tntrn, ASN, RN]

There's a little of both where I work. The hospital does provide scrubs, but several of have allergies to something in them, on them, or around them. The powers that be tried to narrow it down by chaning laundry procedures but that didn't help at all. I think my particular problem is caused by the kind of thread used to serge them together because I get long red welts under the arms and inner thighs right along seam lines. I make my own scrubs; others purchase theirs. Some wear their to and from work. I change once I'm there and before I go home.

[Gompers, BSN, RN]

Level III NICU here. We also attend high risk lady partsl deliveries and all c-sections.

Hospital-provided surgical scrubs - and I hope it never changes! Feels clean, always something to change into if you get dirty, saves us money, etc. Yes, they're pretty ugly, but when everyone has to wear the same thing, no one notices.

[kmrmom42]

I have done both. I think there are pro's and con's for each. I liked the fact that it didn't cost me anything with hospital scrubs and I thought we looked more professional with all of us wearing the same thing.

However, hospital scrubs tend to be more wrinkled than our own and people can exhibit a little personality with their choice of scrubs which is nice too.

Currently I wear my own (to the OR as well) and I recently destroyed half of them in a load of laundry which contained a pen I had forgotten to take out of my pocket....expensive mistake.

:imbar

[BETSRN]

Hospital buys and monograms our scrubs. We are an LDRP. I bring mine home to wash but only if I have not gotten dirty. Otherwise, I leave them in the hamper at work. Each department has its own color and having our names on them makes it even easier.