Skirts in the OR

ShariDCST · Jul 18, 2008

am i understanding this to mean they're afraid something might fall out from underneath the skirt? omg, that is terrible... and kind of funny to my odd sense of humor! maybe it's just the term!
to me, though it seems logical, i would think that someone who wears only skirts for religious reasons could feasibly have a discrimination case with this. there are quite a few nurses in my hospital who do only wear skirts, and though i know of none who work or, i assume they did some observation during nursing school. wonder how they got around with that?

i live in an area where there are some conservative religious sects - old german baptist, mennonite, some of the apostolic groups and so on, and some of the young ladies belonging to them have observed in some of the ors where i have worked over the last 15 years as part of their vocational education programs for some of the health care professions. while skirts as a daily uniform are out for the or, in some facilities, scrub dresses can be made available if one requires it for religious/cultural reasons, as long as they are worn over scrub pants.

the perineal fallout issue seems to be overplayed though - proper undergarments have been part of every dresscode i've ever seen where i've worked, and if it's gonna hit the floor anyway, what possible difference could it make? (i'm not talking about tampons and the like - just biological "fallout".) nothing on the floor is sterile and nothing on me could be much worse than anything else that hits the floor during surgical cases - blood, amniotic fluid, bone, tissue, contaminated sutures, etc. i don't recall using the bottoms of my shoes for anything but walking on. makes me wonder what kind of research they used to base this policy on?

i'd think it'd be more for the protection of the staff to have everyone wear pants - even if they aren't impervious - i'd rather have stuff on my pants legs, or bouncing off the scrubs, than bouncing off or sticking to my legs!

since i've always worn scrub pants in the or, i guess i never gave it a lot of thought........maybe some further research is called for?

psalm, RN · Jul 18, 2008

...when we wore scrub dresses in the delivery room (in the 70s), with white pantyhose, it was not an issue, this perineal fallout. However, it would have been nice to have been wearing scrub pants when Dr. P threw that placenta at me and it hit me in the thighs and blood and placental "fallout" ran down my white pantyhose legs!

corrupt32 · Jul 18, 2008

hello! i'm also an OR nurse... In our hospital there is no rule for the dress you have to wear but according to the culture and norms here in Saudi Arabia, nurses esp. women should cover skin, so they prefer pants. And when i'm still a student what they taught is as long as you are comfortable with your dress and not causing any problem with your work and as long as we observe what we called "cleanliness and sterility" then i think skirt can also be used... and usually it depends on the institutional policy... :nurse:

Batman24 · Jul 20, 2008

I swear when I read perineal fallout I picture someone's lady parts falling on the floor right in the middle of

the OR.

Our OR wears pants too. I think you might be best off just asking to wear a skirt over the pants.

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Jul 20, 2008

If you're applying for an OR job, Rose, I would mention it.

Reasonable accommodations can and should be made for religious reasons. There is no reason on earth the facility couldn't purchase a few long scrub skirts and launder them for you.

I would rather know before being hired that the facility is not culturally sensitive.

GadgetRN71, ASN, RN · Jul 20, 2008

...when we wore scrub dresses in the delivery room (in the 70s), with white pantyhose, it was not an issue, this perineal fallout. However, it would have been nice to have been wearing scrub pants when Dr. P threw that placenta at me and it hit me in the thighs and blood and placental "fallout" ran down my white pantyhose legs!

Yuck!! I'm not sure about the validity of the "fallout" but for my own protection, I'd prefer to have my legs covered. I do plenty of crawling around on the floor so I'm not sure how much pantyhose would protect me..

I guess I just don't see why wearing pants is such a big deal..is the basis of this biblical? :confused: I'm a lapsed Catholic though, so I'm not so impressed with arbitrary rules made up by humans thousands of years ago(even when I was still a practicing Catholic, I had more than a few hamburgers on Fridays during Lent, LOL). I do understand that some faiths take the bible word for word..maybe this is where they're coming from? If so, I can respect it even though I don't understand it, exactly.

At any rate, never seen anyone around here request a scrub dress, and I'm not sure how my hospital would handle it. We have a hard enough time making sure we have enough regular scrubs, and the ones we do have are in rough shape! I can't see my cheapskate hospital buying a scrub dress for anyone...

RNRNFA · Jul 20, 2008

I worked in an or where there were actual scrub skirts processed just like scub pants.. The nurses who wore them did so because of their religious convictions. They were required to wear pantyhose of course. I didnt see a problem at all. Probably better because if your pant legs arent tucked in bacteria and such is probably falling out anyway. Surgical attire compliance is a controversial issue especially with physcians coming in off the street with their scrubs on and management lets them. The standards also say that we are supposed to have long sleeves to keep skin and hair from sluffing off our arms as circulators. How about those personal scrub hats I see nurses wearing many days in a row? They are supposed to be change every day. Surgical concience!! Just to be the devils advocate though I think there are more and more studies showing that many of our Holy grail issues dont really even matter.:bowingpur:nono:

Good luck I hope you get to Wear your skirt if you want to. :bugeyes:

GadgetRN71, ASN, RN · Jul 20, 2008

I worked in an or where there were actual scrub skirts processed just like scub pants.. The nurses who wore them did so because of their religious convictions. They were required to wear pantyhose of course. I didnt see a problem at all. Probably better because if your pant legs arent tucked in bacteria and such is probably falling out anyway. Surgical attire compliance is a controversial issue especially with physcians coming in off the street with their scrubs on and management lets them. The standards also say that we are supposed to have long sleeves to keep skin and hair from sluffing off our arms as circulators. How about those personal scrub hats I see nurses wearing many days in a row? They are supposed to be change every day. Surgical concience!! Just to be the devils advocate though I think there are more and more studies showing that many of our Holy grail issues dont really even matter.:bowingpur:nono:
Good luck I hope you get to Wear your skirt if you want to.

Luckily, in my OR, people do wear a different scrub hat every day. I myself have about 40 of them. It's kind of an addiction.

I don't panty hose are enough protection for the circulator, especially if you work in a bloody specialty. But, if the nurse wants to wear the dress, no problem. I just don't think the hospital should have to pick up the tab if the nurse gets exposed to blood or other bodily fluids. Same with people wearing unsafe shoes.

I also think that the nurses that want to wear dresses shouldn't expect the hospital to buy them for them. This should come from their own pocket considering the majority of people wear the normal scrubs.

I'd also be careful in trying to decide which rules we are going to follow, and which ones we're going to toss by the wayside. Remember, we're not there to be catered to, we're there for the patients. What's next, someone not wanting to wear a mask in the OR because it offends them somehow? Or not doing counts because "we take Xrays anyway" ?

I have the sneaking suspicion that this post is going to bring the flamethrowers out so I think I'm done... :uhoh3: :lol2:

Owensaunt · Jul 23, 2008

Most places got rid of scrub dressses, but some have kept some. They usuaaly wear scrub pants underneath. Perineal shedding is why they were gotten rid of. Apparently only women have pubic hair and men don't. That's why alot of them go commando. EEEWWWW.

RNRNFA · Jul 23, 2008

I wonder how much perineal shedding falls out of peoples open legs on scrub pants without panty hose on. I think the pantyhose would actually be better.

Maybe I should start wearing pantyhose. :idea:

suanna · Jul 23, 2008

Perineal fallout is what policy says.
:chair: :behindpc:
Ewww! How often does stuff "fall out " of your peineal area? If you have enough stuff falling out of you perineal area to be an issue you have a bigger problem than scrub pants can cure!
Our hospital provides scrub dresses for OR staff that want them for religeous reasons. I do not know if there is an accompanying undergarment rule (like panty hose, or other leg coverings) but to claim "perineal fallout" for the reason is BIZZARE!

morte, LPN, LVN · Jul 23, 2008

the only thing i can remember on this topic....perhaps ten years ago a fellow nurse mentioned that there was a post op inf rate increase....all staff was cultured and it proved to be a MALE surgeon....and yes it was THAT part of his anatomy that cultured positive for the offending microorganism.....the answer was CUFFED scrub pants for all....