OR scrub attire

[tammki5g]

Hi everyone

doing a search hoping for some info. Recently I have heard that some hospitals for their L&D units are not wearing hospital laundered scrubs and that the nurses still circulate. Anyone out there doing this? or is everyone still doing the hospital laundered scurbs. I would love to change this on my unit but would like to know the research behind it.

thank you

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Our labor and delivery unit can wear their own scrubs, unless they are assigned to c-sections that day, then must wear the hospital laundered ones.

AORN recommended practices state that OR attire should be laundered by the facility.

[schack]

We all wear the hospital scrubs... lovely green scrubs- ugh

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

we are getting away from hospital provided scrubs.

[LNDBSN]

I worked long and hard to get this policy changed in our hospital. I called hospitals in a 200 mile radius and polled them. Some of them were afraid to give any information over the phone but I just continued until I had a satisfactory amount of information from surrounding hospitals. There are also numerous studies online that show that there is NOT a higher infection rate in home laundered scrubs vs. hospital laundered scrubs. We now wear our own scrubs in the OR for sections and tubals. It took me about 7 months to get the policy changed but it's definitely worth it! Good Luck!

[tammki5g]

ClassicDame would you mind telling me what state you are from just in comparison?

LNDBSN I have been looking and looking for research that really shows that I know its out there but have been having a hard time. could you tell me what keywords you used? I will be calling area hospitals as well but would love to get some research to back me us. Interestingly the OR director told me the other day that the AORN recomendation are to keep staff from bringing home germs as opposed to worrying about it in the OR. If that were really the case then wouldn't all nurses need to weat hospital laundered?

thanks in advance for any information.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

OR vs rest of hospital- most patients on med/surg or icu don't actually have open body cavities. If the rest of the hospital were like the OR, every person would have to wear a mask, sterile gown, hat, and sterile gloves to do patient care. Think about the patient laying on an OR table with a six inch or larger incision in their belly, wide open just waiting for those little germs to crawl on in and wreak havoc. While not intact skin, a sutured incision is still providing some barrier.