Hospital Scrubs

justme1972 · Jan 30, 2008

I'm still a student, but I would just wager that it's an infection control issue.

Sweeper933 · Jan 30, 2008

Since the time my unit first opened (in the mid 60's) nurses / docs have been required to wear hospital scrubs. It is an infectional control thing. Besides - it's nice to always have plenty of "spare scrubs" on hand for when you get puked / peed / pooped on...

We're not even supposed to wear our scrub jackets (from home) when we're doing patient care.

elizabells, BSN, RN · Jan 30, 2008

Nope. Only L&D and the OR get scrubs at my hospital. If we get junk on us L&D is usually nice and lets us have a pair. The OR has one of those machines, though, so no extras from them.

preemieRNkate, RN · Jan 30, 2008

We can wear hospital issued scrubs or our own. When I first started, I wore my own (fun colors and prints) but now I'm just lazy and wear the hospital ones. It's much easier, in my opinion. Latest rumor about our scrubs is that hospital wide, the nurses are going to be wearing the same color. I'm just praying it's not white!! I would prefer to continue wearing the green hospital scrubs, but not everyone likes them. The idea is that a patient should be able to identify who the nurses are, regardless of where in the hospital they are. Not that the big RN on my badge would give it away or anything...but that's a whole 'nother issue!

If we wear hospital issued scrubs, we can go to the OR for c-sections like that. If we wear our own and have to go to the OR, we have to wear cover gowns (which I usually do anyway to avoid getting blood/amniotic fluid/meconium/whatever on me).

We are all issued scrub cards to use in our machine that we share with L&D. We have 3 credits on it, so you have to swipe it to give back dirty scrubs and swipe it to get a clean set out. Most of us have figured out how to get more than our 3 pairs though.

NebraskaRN · Jan 30, 2008

We wear our own scrubs, pretty and printed but we have a dress code to follow. If we are going to hold infants we wear cover gowns. If we go to the OR or DR we use cover gowns.

SteveNNP, MSN, NP · Jan 31, 2008

Our fellows/NNPs do deliveries, sections, so we can wear whatever. My favorite are the blue OR scrubs that I swiped from L&D. So soft and comfy. At my last job all the nurses had to change into their own lavender scrubs.... yes, me too. I got used to it though. I do miss wearing them once in a while.

preemieRNkate, RN · Jan 31, 2008

At my last job all the nurses had to change into their own lavender scrubs.... yes, me too. I got used to it though. I do miss wearing them once in a while.

I suggested pink for our scrubs, my male coworkers didn't appreciate that.

In my hospital, certain units have scrubs with the hospital logo and the department embroidered on the tops. I want that for us, but I don't think it's going to happen. I thought the ceil blue color would be nice, with the embroidery. Oh well.

hikernurse · Jan 31, 2008

I like ceil blue, too. We can wear either the hospital scrubs or our own. I think the hospital would prefer we wore our own, less laundry for them, but most nurses do wear the hospital scrubs. I like them because they are sooo comfy, nice and loose, and honestly here, I kind of like wearing what the rest of the nurses do.

Some units wear their own embroidered solid color scrubs; I like that idea more than I ever thought I would.

prmenrs, RN · Jan 31, 2008

Whenever I've had to wear hospital provided scrubs, it's a real challenge size-wise. They would wind up getting me a few sets in my size, and I'd keep 'em--if I put them back in the hospital laundry, I'd be working in my undies. Not a pretty sight.

Thankfully, I can wear my own. This hospital is too cheap to provide them.

NiteRocker · Jan 31, 2008

Wear my own; but it seems a matter of time. The NICU here is drillying down to the most possible cause for infection.

No ring, no watch, no beyond elbow clothing, cut nails; hand washing monitors, daily change of all Central IV tubing...where does it stop. In a surgical NICU, there is bound to be infection.

Yet, we, the nursing staff, seem to be at blame for any infection.

Where does it stop?

BittyBabyGrower, MSN, RN · Jan 31, 2008

We wear our own. There have been studies done and the infection rate for wearing your own scrubs weren't a factor.