Wearing scrubs home??

NRSNFL · May 28, 2006

As a matter of fact, I just arrived home after working a 16-hour shift (6am to 10pm). Long work hours do not leave much time for 'cool hobbies'.

Commuter-

Calm down and just relax, you feed into peoples sarcasm way too easy and really are way to preoccupied. I bet you get the last word in all the time but don't think you do don't you? Just an observation.

I wear scrubs all the time, before and after my shift......I work at a hospital but don't have patient contact and frankly there are more callouts in my dang department than one that DOES have patient contact. I think it's one thing to go ahead and get your work clothes (like any other job) off when you get home, but I've been known to do my laundry, dishes and cleaning done with my scrubs on because I'll be damned if I'm going to dirty ANOTHER outfit. If I come home and have things to do, scrubs stay on....if I don't...it's hit the shower for me. And that is more to unwind. I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day. I'll be working. :scrying:

Fiona59 · May 28, 2006

Somebody back at the start of this said something about being amazed that people let nurses hug their babies in the hospital.

What do you expect us to do, we work in maternity and handle babies all day. Yes, I've been known to cradle them and show new Mums how to shoulder burp them, and no I don't change between infants. I put a towel over my shoulder and then put the towel in the linen basket. New baby, new towel.

If we were as contaminated as some posters believe we would all be dead by the end of the week. I admit I don't like to see scrubs in the produce section at Safeway, but who knows where that little old lady's hands have been who is happily touching the tomatoes....

all4schwa · May 28, 2006

who knows where that little old lady's hands have been who is happily touching the tomatoes....

I know, I discharged her this afternoon!! :rotfl:

JessicRN · May 28, 2006

Considering all the microbes out there-remember the news show that swabbed grocery cart handles?-I doubt you're spreading very much.
It's a fact that MRSA is now very common in the community as well as Tb, all kids of viral illness, etc. I doubt you're going to be spreading a whole lot to anybody off your scrubs unless you rush up to someone and smear yourself over their faces.:rotfl: Those bugs aren't just going to jump from your clothes to the nose, mouth, or open sores of a person six feet away from you.

I agree I wear my uniform and shoes home as I have no locker and anything left in the open overnight or over a 12 hours is likely to not be there when you go get it. Our facility provides uniforms but they are very wrinkled and stained and unprofessional looking. I prefer to look professional so so of us bring them home others, iron and starch them or choose to wear there own scubs. I do not hug anyone so the likely hood of my germs getting onto someone is unlikely. I am beginning to feel I should apoligize for causing all the infections of the world because I wear my uniform home. Germs are everywhere, hey my hands are clean I only wash them 500 times a night, can most of the population say that?

ocb_dave_ocb, LPN · May 28, 2006

When i go home i throw my scrubs in a dirty laundry basket of their own they get washed 1-2 times a week, along with my mother and step-fathers scrubs.. We are all 3 nurses and follow the same practice. We all wear our shoes in and as of yet we all have only had common colds. As a matter of fact when i came home earlier Kevin was sitting on the couch in his "dirty" scrubs and so was my mother. After a long day at the office i dont want to come in a do laundry on a daily basis. We all shower after our shifts and we all do our own thing ya know.. I mean i work Mon, Tues, Wed 6p - 6a and Kevin work Thur - Mon 3p - 11p and my mother works Sat and Sun 6a - 6p so there is always someones "dirty" scrubs in our house at all times. I know its bad spreading organisms and such but as an above poster mentioned its not as bad as everyone makes it out to be as compared to with the spread of MRSA and TB. I know that when I get my own Apartment here in next couple of months i will probably be doing the same practice.. Work m, t, w and wash the scrubs thursday after i wake up, then repeat the process the next week and so forth...

Kasper1014 · May 28, 2006

I am an infectious disease nurse. You can NOT spread TB through your scrubs!!! LOL TB is spread through airborne droplets. And UV light and sunlight DOES kill TB. It is also harder than you think to spread the TB virus.

At my facilty, all patients have to have the diagnosis of TB to be admitted. None of our employess and staff members have contracted TB in the last 10 years.

Hopefully I have put some of your minds at ease! : )

roses4mom · May 28, 2006

I think it's imperative to be very very careful with regard to wearing scrubs home, whether the house is empty or not makes no difference. With everything from the bird flu coming our way to scabies (extremely contageous and prevalent in nursing homes and daycares and can be passed from dog/cat to humans,it always amazes me when people downplay the wrisks of infection, considering how cycles of infection work. These basic common- sense nursing do's and don'ts are very important and need to be enforced. Let's not forget to do our homework

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

Capt ODP · May 28, 2006

I'm sure things are done slightly differently, country to country, but the wearing of scrubs home, in my view, is extraordinarily bad practice. In the UK we change in to scrubs when we arrive in theatre and change out of them when we leave, not only does it improve infection control, and therefore patient care, but I find it nicer to drive home without the essence of Malena hanging around!

Regards Capt

RNGrammie · May 28, 2006

I think it's imperative to be very very careful with regard to wearing scrubs home, whether the house is empty or not makes no difference. With everything from the bird flu coming our way to scabies (extremely contageous and prevalent in nursing homes and daycares and can be passed from dog/cat to humans,it always amazes me when people downplay the wrisks of infection, considering how cycles of infection work. These basic common- sense nursing do's and don'ts are very important and need to be enforced. Let's not forget to do our homework
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

I agree completely, but I gues it's not all that important to some. Just about all of the nurses that I know either have scrubs provided for them or change from their personal scrubs before heading home. IMHO it is total common sense...which some of us have more than others.

prettypaws · May 28, 2006

I haven't worked in about 3 months,so, I thankfully donated my oh-so-attractive scrubs to my mother. That being said, my husband still works. He wears his scrubs home every day and they go straight in the hamper. He alternates between 2 pairs of shoes that are treated like,well,shoes. He takes them off and they usually stay where he takes them off. I am somewhat succeptible to illness due to Prednisone use. He has yet to infect me despite wearing his scrubs home.

Emergency RN · May 28, 2006

Don't know if this is still true or not, but wearing surgical scrubs off site used to be a state health violation. I remember employers getting cited as state investigators used to stand by the front door and write down the names of employees that were seen leaving the building wearing scrubs.

Nowadays, it's just fashion. But years ago, scrubs were one facet of infection control that hospitals used to keep morbidity and mortality down.

Ralph

Faeriewand, ASN, RN · May 28, 2006

When I did my student work at a SNF there was no place to change into or out of your scrubs. We were expected to show up on time dressed and ready to go and to leave without tying up the one bathroom in the lobby. One moring I saw a girl, who had finished an early morning shift, changing in her car! (and no she was not wearing an undershirt) LOL She just didn't care I guess.