Medical Workers wearing scrubs to and from work, outside the Hospital, etc..

LDJRN · Nov 8, 2006

i am a total believer in evidenced-based practice. therefore, let the research guide the debate. show me evidence one way or the other that wearing our scrubs to/from work increases the risk of infection from either the patient to the community or from the community to the patient, and then i'll leave my scrubs at the hospital. until then, i'll keep wearing my scrubs to church. amen.

amen and amen. lol

wilbur's mom · Nov 8, 2006

p.p.s. acquired (ever notise how are darnned compooters thro tipos in just to make us look like rottin spellars, too stoopid to yuse spel chek?) :angryfire

33-weeker · Nov 10, 2006

I work level I & II nurseries, so I have a different perspective. We don't come in contact with nearly as many bad germs as on an adult floor. We do risk more contamination with fluids attending those sometimes-drenching deliveries. A dry birth? what's that. :lol2: We are suppsed to gown for them, but sometimes when a lady precipts, there just isn't time. I've learned to layer the catching blankets thick and be very quick on me feet. LOL

There have been places I've worked that provided scrubs and had you change upon arriving, and then again before leaving. This was due to what you might bring in, not as much what you might take home. The reason is that nursery nurses frequently are called into the OR on a moment's notice. We need to be clean to enter the surgical suite. (of course, we add shoe covers, mask, etc)

Another hospital was less restrictive, but expected us to wear a scrub jacket on our way in to cover our scrubs until we got inside. We also were only supposed to go straignt from home to work if we wore them from home. The reason was mostly the OR issue, too, from what I understand.

I suppose if I worked on a floor with more bad germs, I'd be less likely to wear my scrubs home. I will change asap if I get a gross contamination, of course. But otherwise, I just wear them home and wherever I am running errands on the way.

I must admit, I've never been too sure how to handle the shoe issue. I suppose I could use a locker and change shoes. I've just never been much of a locker person for work. For now, I just am very careful where I set them and I admonish my children severely if they even go near them. They know better than to touch mommy's work shoes.

lorster · Nov 10, 2006

The only solution to the entire problem is for all hospitals and other facilities to purchase scrubs for every department and make all employees regardless of department change, in house. It is as simple as that. But my hospital cannot afford to do that because they had to build a large zen garden and a huge waterfall in the mammogram department this year.

yogastudentRN · Nov 10, 2006

I think that most nurses would be happy to change at work...IF they were provided with a locker to store their street clothes while working and a decent locker room.

Maybe the issue is the facilities, not the people.

danissa, LPN, LVN · Nov 27, 2006

I work level I & II nurseries, so I have a different perspective. We don't come in contact with nearly as many bad germs as on an adult floor. We do risk more contamination with fluids attending those sometimes-drenching deliveries....
I suppose if I worked on a floor with more bad germs, I'd be less likely to wear my scrubs home. I will change asap if I get a gross contamination, of course. But otherwise, I just wear them home and wherever I am running errands on the way.
I must admit, I've never been too sure how to handle the shoe issue. I suppose I could use a locker and change shoes. I've just never been much of a locker person for work. For now, I just am very careful where I set them and I admonish my children severely if they even go near them. They know better than to touch mommy's work shoes.

Why don't you just leave the work shoes at work?? If you are concerned about your own children going near them, then surely you should be concerned with what you are taking back into work wearing your shoes outside! can't stress enough, (feel like a bit of a zealot here !) that it takes two minutes to change from jeans to scrubs, and I am happy to leave my work stinky shoes at work! Again, we have facilities for changing, so are lucky. Maybe you need to petition your hospitals for safer changing areas? Our changing areas are one inside the ward, (with a unisex staff toilet inside!) and one just outside the ward(keypad entry),bags we keep in the coffee room and trust our fellow staff not to rake in each others bags! You can lock your lockers, but as a team most people don't bother. Only problem with the inner changing room, (where my locker is) is male docs coming out of the loo when you have your t-shirt over your head!!but, hey, we're all adults, if I met them on the beach in my swimmers, I wouldn't be embarrassed! ( and believe me, I'm no Twiggy!) usually just shout to see who's in the loo before doing the stripping off thing!

danissa, LPN, LVN · Nov 27, 2006

The only solution to the entire problem is for all hospitals and other facilities to purchase scrubs for every department and make all employees regardless of department change, in house. It is as simple as that. But my hospital cannot afford to do that because they had to build a large zen garden and a huge waterfall in the mammogram department this year.

:Crash: ??????? Don't ya just love hospital management??? :confused:

miko014 · Nov 27, 2006

But my hospital cannot afford to do that because they had to build a large zen garden and a huge waterfall in the mammogram department this year.

Amen! I work oncology, and my hospital has been named one of the 100 best in cancer for 5 years in a row...yet our inpt oncology floor is SO GROSS! We have cracks in the walls, chunks of wallpaper missing...if you look around the edges of the floor, you can see what color the linoleum used to be! It's getting bad!!!! But I guess we don't bring in the money, because they just redid maternity AGAIN! Oh, and now we're not making money (the hospital), so the management said, "ooh, soory. You guys are going to have to work at 103% productivity." Sorry, off-topic, but I loved your response! :chuckle

aileenve, ASN, RN · Nov 27, 2006

Where I work all staff nurses are required to wear scrubs, some do not have pt. contact....some work in clinic etc.. people should not always ASSUME we are out there spreading germs, also people should not take a child in a hospital unless he/she is the patient. :banghead:

lauralassie · Nov 27, 2006

Sorry about your luck, hospitals cut back so they don't buy scrubs , our hospital has not place to change we work 12-13 hours without pee'ing or eating.There is no cafateria at night and so on and so on. So, I'll wear my scrubs out. (unless I have obvious body fluid on them). You need to be more worried about the sports equipment that is used by many people, or the immagrants that have no health testing that are handeling food. Or the child with no immunization. I think most days after a hard shift in the ER, I'm cleaner than the staff behind many fast food counters.

mel1977 · Nov 27, 2006

I think much of it depends on where you work. For example, shoes. In the ob unit at our area hosp. they have to change shoes (may be entire hosp) but not scrubs. I work in rehab and it is much more laid back in general and is not in a hospital. I don't think it is a big deal-I see no real reason-there is no evidence to suggest our uniforms are a problem. More focus on handwashing and that kind of cleanliness-I think scrubs are the least of the worry.

jo272wv · Nov 27, 2006

Our hospital provides changing rooms for the Physicians but not the nurses. I agree that scrubs should be changed at work do to carrying all those germs not only out in public but also home to the family. But unless hospitals are required to provide space and uniforms to the nursing staff to change at work, staff is forced via conveinence to wear scrubs to and from work.