Nursing scrubs worn by visitors in the unit

[Skippingtowork]

Just wondering about the policies in various hospitals about nursing scrubs being worn on hospital units by non-employees. Specifically, what are the thoughts on visitors wearing scrubs on a mother-baby unit?

[PinayUSA]

It is absolutely forbidden* in our Women's and our Children's hospital.

*We have occasionally had a parent arrive with their emergently admitted child while the parent was wearing scrubs- we explain it as a security issue (they are all understanding) and we provide some donated shirts until they can have someone bring them other clothing.

I could eat your hospital alive in court, I would just call it my religious freedom and say it was part of my religion to wear scrubs.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

It must be because the nurse doing the education was overweight.

It's like you can see my drivers' license over the internet.....

[Skippingtowork]

I am referring specifically to maternity areas, pediatrics and NICU. Parents are not always present, nor do they always check for ID. I always have to remind them to look at my badge. Also, if a person showed up in scrubs different to the ones worn on the floor it's one thing. But when it's identical and they weren't coming from work (as an excuse) it's quite another. I'm thinking safety/security. Nothing else.

[DoGoodThenGo]

Sleepy new mom + person in scrubs/ badge turned backwards = abduction potential

Nearly every abducted newborn from a hospital was abducted by a person wearing scrubs.

Prior to scrubs becoming the defacto uniform it was whites (with or without a cap), and yes infants were abducted by "nurses" under similar or other circumstances.

Uniforms were incredibly easy to obtain as were most caps (within a few miles of any hospital there was always one or more shops that sold uniforms, caps, hosiery.. you could even order various name plates/tags with anything you wanted printed on them.

Until things began tightening up all anyone had to do was learn the shift changes and walk in with a bunch of other nurses, or just waltz in wearing a uniform. They'd rarely be stopped and once inside pretty much had full access to the entire hospital.

[Extra Pickles]

On a tangent, I think all staff should change out of their scrubs once the shift is over. I find it dirty that people go shopping with their scrub on from work that's seen all kinds of stuff. I don't even bring my shoes into the house.

Also a little off tangent but following up on your thought, not everyone who wears scrubs works in a hospital and not everyone who wears scrubs works in environments any dirtier than a law office or insurance agency.

[Coffee Nurse, BSN, RN]

I am referring specifically to maternity areas, pediatrics and NICU. Parents are not always present, nor do they always check for ID. I always have to remind them to look at my badge. Also, if a person showed up in scrubs different to the ones worn on the floor it's one thing. But when it's identical and they weren't coming from work (as an excuse) it's quite another. I'm thinking safety/security. Nothing else.

All the nurses and non-attending doctors wear the same scrubs in my NICU, which I can imagine is confusing enough to parents. But any random people on shadow days, students who might attend deliveries, etc. also get put into the same scrubs, and I hate it. It seems inappropriate and unprofessional to me, not to mention that it gets my hackles up when I find random-person-in-scrubs thumbing through my charts or whatever. Worst case was when we had a very sick baby just admitted, hordes of people everywhere, I was waiting on platelets for what seemed like forever only to finally find someone just standing in a corner holding the bag -- because the porter had handed the platelets to the first person in scrubs, and she had no idea that they were important or what to do with them. (Which reaction was another issue entirely, but you get my point.)

[MrChicagoRN, RN]

I could eat your hospital alive in court, I would just call it my religious freedom and say it was part of my religion to wear scrubs.

That's absurd. The only thing you'd be eating in court would be the sandwich you brought in with you...assuming the judge didn't have you thrown out for bringing in food in the 1st place.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

That's absurd. The only thing you'd be eating in court would be the sandwich you brought in with you...assuming the judge didn't have you thrown out for bringing in food in the 1st place.

On the subject of eating, please don't feed the troll! :) But I would be interested in the basic tenets of a 'religion' that required scrubs!

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

It's not just nurses that wear scrubs, you can't go by that alone to determine employment by a particular appointment--that's what badges are for

i work in a clinic and once a week I stop by a hospital pharmacy for chemo that we inject into someone's eye. I'm dressed for clinic in my scrubs and am in that hospital weekly wearing them. My badge tells anyone who cares to look the I do not work there

[iPink, BSN, RN]

I work for a Women's Hospital, working on a Mother/Baby unit and it's not forbidden at all. A few of my visitors have friends or family visit them in their scrubs. I don't see an issue because employee entrances require the use of our badge. We badge-in using the elevators and upon entering the nurseries. Now say a parent wants entrance into the nursery (via showing their wrist band) and their friend tries to slip in behind them with scrubs on, our Mother/Baby unit badges have a special color on them that identifies those nurses who can have access to the nursery.

[MunoRN, RN]

I would say any hospital where you can steal a baby just by wearing scrubs probably has a number of other serious problems.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

I would say any hospital where you can steal a baby just by wearing scrubs probably has a number of other serious problems.

Obviously it's not 'just by wearing scrubs'. And many rural hospitals and critical access hospitals lack funding for sophisticated anti-abduction systems.