Everyone wears scrubs!

DoGoodThenGo · Jan 29, 2012

I am under the impression (maybe I am mistaken) that the purpose of the scrubs is to look somewhat "uniform" as a staff and to be even more sanitary. I'm studying to be a nurse but my only job now is to scribe for the doctor. It includes me following the doctor everywhere he goes and always being at his side whether it is in a regular exam room or trauma. The coworkers that have the same job as me have to follow every sanitary procedure everyone else does but are no longer allowed to wear scrubs because nurses were complaining it wasn't fair. Fair?? Its unfair to be just as sanitary because I haven't completed school yet? I find it annoying to not be able to wear them because I'm just as close to the patient projectile vomiting as the nurse standing next to me. It would be nice to wear something that is more stain resistant, less likely to retain as much bacteria, and easier to clean than regular clothes. If the worry is that a patient will mistake your position and specific job title... no worries, because everyone has a security badge slapped right on the middle of their chest with their title in bold capital letters. I'm not wearing scrubs and patient's still mistake what my job entails. To a certain point, it isn't a workers fault that people make assumptions or don't bother to look at a badge right in front of them.
I have to say it is kind of odd about the walmart workers because they are not as at risk of coming into contact with certain things as much as a worker would in a medical facility.

When hospitals began abandoning whites (with or without caps) for nursing staff scrubs were the obvious choice. Nurses on the units, L&D, and OR already wore them and the restrictions against floor/staff nurses wearing scrubs *rubbed* some the wrong way. During the nursing shortage of around the late 1980's or so hospitals in an effort to ease staffing problems and help with the then current trend to "elevate" the nursing profession began to loosen rules on whom got to wear scrubs.

It wasn't long before all hospital staff wanted in on the act and that is how in some facilites most everyone from housekeeping to transcription clerks along with those involved in direct patient care wears scrubs.

To administrators and or others who run hospitals things have been carried too far much like "casual Friday" in corporate offices and have begun to tighten things up.

As for being "sanitary" nursing unforms be they whites or scrubs aside from perhaps those sent to commercial laundries with the other hospital linen, are no more "cleane" than those properly washed and dried at home. In the old days if one was worried about bodily fluids or whatever getting on one's clothing/unifom you grabbed an isolation gown and wore that. This replaced the various pinafores/aprons long part of a professional nurse's uniform.

If you are that concerned about your street clothing becoming contaminated simply wear/purchase things that can withstand strong laundering and tumble drying. Those two processes will take care of making your "uniform" sanitary for normal hospital purposes.

Regarding ID badges you do realise that not small number of the general population have some sort of eye problems and couldn't see a badge unless it was held within their field of vision. This is one of the reasons may facilites have gone to colour coding if not putting floor nurses back into whites.

DoGoodThenGo · Jan 29, 2012

I am under the impression (maybe I am mistaken) that the purpose of the scrubs is to look somewhat "uniform" as a staff and to be even more sanitary. I'm studying to be a nurse but my only job now is to scribe for the doctor. It includes me following the doctor everywhere he goes and always being at his side whether it is in a regular exam room or trauma. The coworkers that have the same job as me have to follow every sanitary procedure everyone else does but are no longer allowed to wear scrubs because nurses were complaining it wasn't fair. Fair?? Its unfair to be just as sanitary because I haven't completed school yet? I find it annoying to not be able to wear them because I'm just as close to the patient projectile vomiting as the nurse standing next to me. It would be nice to wear something that is more stain resistant, less likely to retain as much bacteria, and easier to clean than regular clothes. If the worry is that a patient will mistake your position and specific job title... no worries, because everyone has a security badge slapped right on the middle of their chest with their title in bold capital letters. I'm not wearing scrubs and patient's still mistake what my job entails. To a certain point, it isn't a workers fault that people make assumptions or don't bother to look at a badge right in front of them.
I have to say it is kind of odd about the walmart workers because they are not as at risk of coming into contact with certain things as much as a worker would in a medical facility.

Futhermore in regard to non-medical workers wearing nursing uniforms that is nothing new.

Various parts of the general public have long worn nurse *white* uniforms (those three quarter sleeve white dress jobs) for whatever. First thing that comes to mind are the female usher or "nurse" guilds of African American churches past and present who wear whites despite most having no formal training.

Laboratorian · Feb 13, 2012

I'm still not sure why daycare workers wear scrubs.

I'm staring to move away from wearing scrubs. We have no formal dress code in my lab. Some do business casual, some do jeans and t-shirts, some do scrubs, some do pajamas. I'm think I'm going to move toward business casual............but keep the white labcoat. :)

TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP · Feb 13, 2012

I'm still not sure why daycare workers wear scrubs.
I'm staring to move away from wearing scrubs. We have no formal dress code in my lab. Some do business casual, some do jeans and t-shirts, some do scrubs, some do pajamas. I'm think I'm going to move toward business casual............but keep the white labcoat. :)

See, you work in a lab, and therefore have a reason to wear a labcoat. Don't get me started on people who wear labcoats who have no need to - it's almost as bad as people who wear scrubs that don't need to.

Hint: if you care enough about your labcoat to have it personalized with your name embroidered on it, you don't need to be wearing a labcoat. /formerlabworker

cally527, RN · Apr 1, 2012

i saw a woman on a plane wearing scrubs -- no, not a travel nurse traveling to a new assignment. she just thought they were cute. (cartoon characters.) that said, i don't support color coding -- it only works if you have a key to the color coding and are capable of reading and understanding it. (that lets out the majority of my patients and their family members.) if the problem is that everyone wears scrubs, rather than color coding the nurses, who worked hard for their degrees, make the housekeeping staff, messengers, pharmacy assistants and dietary aides wear different uniforms. the hospital buys them their uniforms anyway, so why not buy them something that's different from what caregivers wear?

you just answered your own question, lol. the hospital buys the uniforms and scrubs are cheap, comfortable, non revealing, easy to launder, and long lasting.

SingDanceRunLife · Jun 2, 2012

It's true, everyone wears scrubs. I worked in a dental office briefly cleaning rooms and sanitizing tools etc. and they had me wearing scrubs for sanitary purposes. They didn't want me to have to get my clothes all nasty.

And I'm about to start training and them working as a PCA (personal care aide) and I'm required to wear scrubs for that, even though I'm going to be in people's homes not in a hospital setting or anything like that.

malenurseFl · Jun 5, 2012

I've seen many people in all aspects of the medical field wearing scrubs. The layperson equates scrubs to nurse. If you don't believe me, ask around and find out. I don't feel there's a need for non medical personnel to wear scrubs. There are and will always be people that want to make others believe that they are more than what they actually are. One example that springs to mind is the security guard that wants everyone to think he or she is a law enforcement officer. I don't see a need for everyone that's working to be attired in scrubs, no matter how comfortable they are perceived to be.

DoGoodThenGo · Jun 5, 2012

I've seen many people in all aspects of the medical field wearing scrubs. The layperson equates scrubs to nurse. If you don't believe me, ask around and find out. I don't feel there's a need for non medical personnel to wear scrubs. There are and will always be people that want to make others believe that they are more than what they actually are. One example that springs to mind is the security guard that wants everyone to think he or she is a law enforcement officer. I don't see a need for everyone that's working to be attired in scrubs, no matter how comfortable they are perceived to be.

Public has always equated whatever "uniform" worn by nurses with the profession, so this craze regarding scrubs is nothing new. Back in the days of whites people assumed anyone in a white dress and shoes was a nurse. It is for that reason by the way wearing a cap (especially with a stripe) while in a healthcare setting and or being seen as performing the duties of a nurse is a big no no. :nono:

RedhairedNurse2Be · Jun 5, 2012

At my last job the housekeeping staff wore dark green scrubs and the CNA wore khaki pants and a dark blue polo shirt. Families of the patients we'd always confusing us. One time I went to do a check on one of my patients and his daughter asked if I was their to fix the A/C. When they learned I was their CNA for that shift they apologized, and said management should make us wear scrubs. Even our name badge didn't look professional.

I think only medical personal should wear scrubs. At the hospital in my town, the scrubs are colored coded by position, and their signs everywhere explaining the uniforms to patients.