Question from left field

[Java_Wench]

I know that most if not all OR nurses wear scrubs issued by the hospital while in surgery, but what do you wear if you're not in the OR? Say you're on a break or lunch or something, do you wear the same scrubs? And what do you wear into work? Is there another type of scrub/uniform that people have to wear when they're just on their way into work in the morning, or before they actually are in the OR, or when they're leaving for the day?

Alot of my former customers (I owned a coffee house) were nurses/EMTs and they would come in in their own scrubs or their uniforms, but it seems that OR staff has a bit more restriction as far as that goes. Or I could be completely wrong. I'm just curious and this is the type of stuff my brain is apparently wondering about when I have a teething one-year old who is waking up almost every two hours all night for days. Thanks for bearing with me!

[PetiteOpRN]

I wear the same scrubs from the start of a shift to the end (including lunch) unless there are copious amounts of bodily fluids or some other foul substance all over them...then I change.

[CaliLvr000, BSN, RN]

We just wear street clothes to work, change into hospital scrubs for the shift, then change back out of them before we go home. As for lunch breaks, we just wear the same scrubs all day unless there is a reason to change.

[Java_Wench]

Thanks for your answers! I know it's probably a rather stupid and silly question, given the serious nature of the job...but hey, you don't know if you don't ask, right? :)

[drums326]

We require everyone to wear hospital scrubs in the OR. Our OR is on the 4th floor, and if we leave that floor we have to wear a linen or disposable jacket and remove all of our PPE (scrub caps, shoe covers, and no face masks down around your neck!). We are pretty much free to wear what we want on our way into work. However, open-toed shoes and frumpy clothes are looked down upon.

[halcion]

What everyone else said, if we leave the hospital e.g. go outside for a smoke break then we need to change out of scrubs completely back into street clothes/regular nurse uniform.

[shodobe]

You have to remember also that when you see individuals out in public that are wearing scrubs it doesn't mean they work in the OR. Most of these people are staff in other departments or in a Drs office. Most OR nurses I know want to get out of their scrubs as quickly as possible!

[Java_Wench]

Yeah, that was one reason I asked. I know several of them work in the ICU or med/surg. I don't think any of the ones that came into my shop worked in the OR. I know that most ORs provide scrubs and launder them at the hospital, I just didn't know what OR staff wore into work on a given day. Like if they had to dress business casual, wear their own scrubs in, or just street clothes. Thank you for your replies! :)

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

Street clothes coming into work, change into hospital issued scrubs for the OR, change back into street clothes going home.

A lot of hospitals require staff that are leaving the OR suites to don a lab coat over their scrubs (like when going to meetings/lunch, etc.). I like this policy, but not all hospitals enforce it.

[kymlaga]

ha ha! it's a funny question! my hospital doesn't care what we wear to work--they just want us to show up! i usually wear sweats and sneakers in the winter and capris or shorts and flip flops in the summer... so many people have asked me if i am "off" that day when they see what i am wearing, but really! why dress up just to change clothes as soon as i get to work? the only time i dress up is if i have something to do after work and i don't have time to go home first. that is just one of the many things i LOVE about my OR job--the awesome dress code! :0)