Wearing Scrubs Outside of the Workplace

1056chris · Oct 19, 2016

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!

I also will wear my scrubs to run a few small errands after work. Unless I work on a unit where you put on scrubs at work ( burn unit , wound care) I don't see anything wrong with it.

Allgood2016, LPN, LVN · Oct 19, 2016

I, also, stop at the store after work. I just politely tell people: I'm sorry, but I am not a doctor. I legally can't help you.

On occasion I've had to say this to family members, too.

masulliv · Oct 20, 2016

When I worked on a post op floor, I covered my uniform (Yes it was before scubs were so popular and available). After I retired and became a school nurse I did wear scrubs and went on errands at the store, sometime choir practice etc because I had no time to change. As a nurse I believe you know what good practice entails and hope that if cooties were a problem you would find a way to change you clothing. BTW, my kids usually got me way more 'germy' than my patients.

RNxICUx15 · Oct 21, 2016

I always ran errands after work when wearing my scrubs, unless they were visibly gross with somebody else's "stuff", *ahem* on them. The one thing I really hated the most, though, was wearing my work shoes out of the hospital. Even just to get in my car, walk in my house, etc. After a stint as an Infection Control Nurse at a hospital that was a veritable repository of some of the nastiest germs I had EVER seen, I started leaving my work shoes at work. When I moved to CO, the ICU I worked in had many other nurses that did the same. I mean, just think about what hits those floors!! Even Wal-Mart doesn't need that...

~Shrek~ · Oct 21, 2016

just wear an undershirt under your scrub top (a light weight t shirt), then after work, take off the scrub top and leave the undershirt on. It looks like you are wearing something a step or two above sweats and it is easy.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Oct 21, 2016

just wear an undershirt under your scrub top (a light weight t shirt), then after work, take off the scrub top and leave the undershirt on. It looks like you are wearing something a step or two above sweats and it is easy.

Clearly you haven't enjoyed the personal summer of menopause!

Allgood2016, LPN, LVN · Oct 22, 2016

And, in my experience the canisters are always empty.

ponymom · Oct 24, 2016

Until the hospital provides me with a secured, changing room with my own full size private locker I will continue wearing scrubs everywhere after and before work.

Hey hi. As usual I'm a little late to the party, but I never, ever, evernever, left my nursing job without changing into street clothes. Hell, I never even left clinicals without changing into street clothes. I didn't have a changing room or a locker, so I brought in newspaper from home to stand on, and changed in either the nursing office or bathroom (without touching *anything*). I did wear my shoes out to my truck where I changed them and kept them on newspaper in a repurposed catlitter pan (they *never* went into my house). They might be a bit cold in the winter, but no way was I wearing them inside my truck.

Look I know germs are everywhere, but just the thought of going directly from nh to vehicle or store or whatever was putridly nasty to me. And I know that a lot of it had to do with the fact that there was never a proper amount of staff to ever keep any nh I ever worked in properly clean. None of those nh could even keep the poor residents clean.

However, in my factory job which I have returned to (thank God), I have a nice clean locker room with separate showers and changing rooms. They do a great job keeping it all clean and fresh-smelling, too. Sometimes I will wear my work clothes home (company supplied and laundered btw). I don't feel *nearly* dirty as I did in ltc. Btw, in this plant I have two full size lockers, plus two more small ones in my work area.

Kinda sad and ironic that a 'bluecollar' manufacturing plant is cleaner and more properly staffed than a 'professional' organization that *cares* for people.

ponymom · Oct 24, 2016

Here's the reality, and it has nothing to do with infection control.
You work 3 or 4 12 hour shifts in a week. You have maybe six hours to sleep. You need to buy some groceries you're not going to go home, shower, and change, then get the groceries. You're going to the grocery store that's between work and your house and wearing your scrubs. If hospitals had locker rooms for nurses, maybe you'd change. But walking to the locker room, changing into clean clothes, making the inevitable small talk, and going to your car would add another 30 minutes to the time it takes you to leave.

Never more than 10 minutes ðŸ˜

Ruby Vee, BSN · Oct 24, 2016

Hey hi. As usual I'm a little late to the party, but I never, ever, evernever, left my nursing job without changing into street clothes. Hell, I never even left clinicals without changing into street clothes. I didn't have a changing room or a locker, so I brought in newspaper from home to stand on, and changed in either the nursing office or bathroom (without touching *anything*). I did wear my shoes out to my truck where I changed them and kept them on newspaper in a repurposed catlitter pan (they *never* went into my house). They might be a bit cold in the winter, but no way was I wearing them inside my truck.
Look I know germs are everywhere, but just the thought of going directly from nh to vehicle or store or whatever was putridly nasty to me. And I know that a lot of it had to do with the fact that there was never a proper amount of staff to ever keep any nh I ever worked in properly clean. None of those nh could even keep the poor residents clean.
However, in my factory job which I have returned to (thank God), I have a nice clean locker room with separate showers and changing rooms. They do a great job keeping it all clean and fresh-smelling, too. Sometimes I will wear my work clothes home (company supplied and laundered btw). I don't feel *nearly* dirty as I did in ltc. Btw, in this plant I have two full size lockers, plus two more small ones in my work area.
Kinda sad and ironic that a 'bluecollar' manufacturing plant is cleaner and more properly staffed than a 'professional' organization that *cares* for people.

That sounds crazy! I've been a nurse for a long time, have always worn my uniform and shoes home (except for that one time the fecal incontinence bag exploded) and have never thought twice about it.

ponymom · Oct 24, 2016

That sounds crazy! I've been a nurse for a long time, have always worn my uniform and shoes home (except for that one time the fecal incontinence bag exploded) and have never thought twice about it.

Ha ha yeah I know!!! Crazy that a factory takes better care of it's staff and building than an nh. But that was me and like I said it was because the nh were just never staffed appropriately and honestly it was part of my compounding distaste and disgust with ltc. (Oh Disclaimer here: the business model, not geriatrics itself).

I hear ya on the fecal incontinence bag. Twice for me...

Skips, MSN, RN · Oct 25, 2016

When I wore scrubs to work, I changed before I went out. I wasn't a fan of wearing them in public, if I could help it. I didn't deal with bodily fluids often (clinic nurse), but I still wanted to change.

Now I change when I get to work and change after! I love not having to wear scrubs to work!