Wearing Scrubs Outside of the Workplace

[NewGradRN114]

I just wanted to post a question to see what others think of wearing scrubs outside of their place of work. I live in a small town about 30 minutes away from the hospital I work at and sometimes after work I try and get some errands done in the city before driving home. I do this so I don't have to make another trip to the city on my days off. I have a locker at work but it's just big enough to fit a purse so I can't even bring anything to change into after my shift. I would love to hear any opinions people have on this topic!

[Julius Seizure]

Yes, Dunkin' Donuts had specials for those in uniform like the Flight team and EMS.

For our teams we get 50% off in most restaurants. Free movies during the week. Free metro transit rides if in uniform with ID.

Many will put on a fresh uniform to go out to the movies or even to a restaurant off duty. For the Flight or CCT team, we usually shower and put on a clean uniform before going out for something to eat. We always have extra uniforms especially in the summer.

Plus, a lot of companies give us great discounts.

Clearly I need to switch to flight nursing. Nobody has ever given me free anything for my plain old scrubs!

[NotMyProblem MSN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN]

I save the errands for my days off because frankly, I'm too **** tired and sleepy when I get off.

As for the fresh produce, I'm not a supermarket taste-tester. I don't nibble on a grape or two in the store. I wash everything because who knows what those items went through before they even made it to the store in the first place.

As for the nasty-nose kids, I worry about them if I see them at an open buffet where it is assumed that food is safe for consumption as it's presented (already cooked); not standing over stuff I plan to wash anyway.

As for the scrubs, wear them if you want. Your choosing to do so or not, won't stop others from doing so..or not. We all, as individuals, must do whatever we must do to protect ourselves and our families regardless of what the scrub-wearing masses do.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

I'll run errands in my scrubs. I don't wear my ID badge, so no one knows I'm a nurse and therefore I don't get pestered with questions.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Clearly I need to switch to flight nursing. Nobody has ever given me free anything for my plain old scrubs!

I did get a box of donuts on the house one time :) Other than that, me neither.

[coldcasejustice]

I am not concerned with people wearing scrubs outside the workplace. These days you can't really tell what profession they are in- some may only be working front office.

What DOES concern me: seeing Nurses outside the OR wearing booties and surgical caps. Especially in the hospital cafeteria by my food. Are they clean/dirty? Are you going to wear the same ones when you operate on a pt (now that you've worn them in public?)

Either way, I imagine germs traveling from 'there to here'- and 'here to there.' The perception can be worrisome to others.

Thank you for any clarification on how or why OR Nurses wear booties/caps outside the OR. This was not meant to direspect any nurses by no means.❤️

[AlabamaBelle]

I live in a very small town and work in a larger city about 30 minutes away. Yes, I run errands in my scrubs simply because I don't want to spend my days off going back for something I could have gotten while already there that I cannot get in my town. While at work, I wear an impervious gown covering my scrubs during dialysis. When I do mobiles, booties are removed just before I leave the patient room. Once I get home, I find it almost impossible to leave my sanctuary. I might for coffee.

Let's just forget about the yoga pant thing. I'm too old and don't have the body for them anymore. That's too scary a thought.

As for the fruit/veggie thing...they get washed once I get them home. No exceptions. Canned goods lids and canned colas get washed as well. My mother always did the canned goods washed even before it became a thing. She always said she didn't know who or what touched or went across them, so they were just considered dirty.

I've never gotten stopped and asked for advice while in my scrubs. They'd just get the standard, "That's something you should discuss with your doctor."

[lauriead]

I agree with what was said below. The germs you find in the stores are worse, most likely, than what is on your scrubs. Granted, I would not run errands with visibly soiled scrubs. The thing is, I now work in Legal Nurse Consulting. I wear my old scrubs when I take the dogs for a walk. I run errands first. They are clean when I hit the grocery store. I am also like others. I prefer to run errands on the way home because once home, there is no way you will get me out again. Not even if I am out of food. I will go without. If I were still in the hospital, it would depend on what patients I worked with during the day. If I worked with someone on precautions, I would probably have cleaner scrubs because of all the PPE. And, depending on the bug...

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

If all these nasty germs are truly so easy to spread from our scrubs to the produce at the grocery store, wouldn't us nurses be sick a whole lot more from getting germs from our own scrubs? I mean, we are wearing them.

I am not saying the organisms are EASILY spread. I am saying there is a risk of transmission that a prudent nurse should not take. Wearing your funky scrubs in private, is far different from exposing them to the community.

Nurses are exposed to many organisms, sometimes we develop the disease, sometimes we don't. Perhaps your scrubs ARE making you sick. I CAN tell you that during 30 years of hospital nursing, I got very sick once or twice a year. In the 5 years I have been working from home, I have not even gotten a case of the sniffles.

[BricMSN]

"Nobody has ever stopped me in the store to ask me to look at their skin problem, does that really happen to you all?"

Yes indeedy it does. I once wore my scrubs on my way home and ran an errand to get my cell phone fixed. A fellow shopper who was an exotic dancer dropped his trousers to show me a large bruise on his hiny. That was the last time I made that mistake. 😯

[Ms. Sweetheart, ASN, RN]

I don't mind doing it, because at my job I get very minimal patient contact... So I'm relatively clean almost everyday. That being said, that wasn't the case at my previous job at an LTC facility... I would always keep extra clothes in the trunk of my car... Just in case

[JinnSchlajfertig]

I rarely touch a patient. I work in a prison which is one of the cleaner environments I've ever worked (vs detox and inpt psych units, shelters, etc.). It may surprise some, but inmates all have jobs. They need to have something to do. So the floors are scrubbed and waxed, bathrooms gleaming, garbages emptied. Only messy areas are the nursing station and med room since inmates aren't allowed.

When I get off night shift I love to pop into the grocery store. The store is empty and it is a great time to go.

I've never had strangers approach me about medical advice or even appear to notice what I am wearing.

[pluckyduck, MSN, NP]

I really try not to because it's gross and I usually want to go straight home and hop in the shower. If my scrubs are super gross, sometimes the residents will lend myself or a colleague a replacement pair from the machine so we don't dirty our car. If my scrubs aren't visibly soiled, once in a while I might stop at the store for milk or something but it's one stop, no lingering, in and out quick!