I was reading the paper this morning, and this topic was mentioned in teh "Ask Marilyn" column. The question and answer was this
"A question has been bothering me since I moved to a city that is home to some of the finest hospitals in the world. When I use public transportation, I see people wearing scrub suits to work. Is this acceptable? I had thought employees were supposed to change into scrubs provided at the hospital in order to leave outside germs at the door"-
and her answer
"You're right. I've noticed the same phenomenon in other cities, too. If those people are hospital employees they are endangering patients and should be reported to hospital authorities. Another growing problem is scrubs being stolen and word in other places, such as the subway, to convey an impression of respectability. Anyone seen wearing scrubs outside an appropriate environment should be regarded with caution"
What do you think?
WHen i was a student, so recently, we had to wear our scrubs into the hospital, we were told not to change at the hospital. Here I saw the OB nurses and OR nurses were the only ones who had uniforms provided to them to change into at the hospital.
We all wear our own-but if we were coated in some type of nastiness - you bet we get a pair of OR scrubs to change into - and yes sometimes those OR scrubs get woven into the wardrobes of nurses. They are pretty comfortable. I've slept in my OR type scrub pants!
If I come home late from the hospital and just don't have the energy to change my scrubs make the best p.j. bottoms ever.
NOTHING will EVER stop that! The bakery lady once stopped me and asked me questions that should have been directed to her GYN doc.
I still love the response from an OB/GYN at a party once. He was there with his wife enjoying the evening and a woman approched him and started asking him medical questions. He suggested she remove her clothes, lay on the table (table with all the food spread out) and he would examine her.
HA! She was mortified. I was laughing so hard I thought I'd bust.
I am going to email parade magazine I think, since this is just another thing that chips away at our image.
Just wanted to know if anyone followed up by emailing parade, and if there was any response. Just another example of the ignorance of people, and whether intentional or not, I agree that it makes our profession look unprofessional (not the wearing of scrubs in public, but the belief that if we do we are going to spread germs that are worse than what is already out there!) I have on occasion picked up a gallon of milk on the way home from work, but please, some of the people I see at the grocery store are visibly dirty and picking up things and then putting them back on the shelf!. They need to put the alcohol disinfecting dispensers at the grocery store.
If I come home late from the hospital and just don't have the energy to change my scrubs make the best p.j. bottoms ever.
I have scrubs for work, as well as for shopping, and for sleeping...As for the caution, please. I buy my own scrubs, and if anyone has a link to that parade, I will gladly set the record straight.
As for now...i'm going back to be with my scrubs on!
Just wanted to know if anyone followed up by emailing parade, and if there was any response. Just another example of the ignorance of people, and whether intentional or not, I agree that it makes our profession look unprofessional (not the wearing of scrubs in public, but the belief that if we do we are going to spread germs that are worse than what is already out there!) I have on occasion picked up a gallon of milk on the way home from work, but please, some of the people I see at the grocery store are visibly dirty and picking up things and then putting them back on the shelf!. They need to put the alcohol disinfecting dispensers at the grocery store.
:angryfire
I emailed her I have gotten no response (of course). The fact that I put the word nurse in the title probably landed it right into the recycle bin. She probably put a block on all emails that contain the word nurse, angry, incompetent, ignorant, and..oh yeah, scrubs.
Well, number one I don't think a hospital should provide scrubs for anyone outside the OR/PACU. I get real disgusted seeing people in our hospital wearing scrubs because their too darn cheap to go out and buy their own. The other problem about workers wearing scrubs outside the hospital is that you don't know if they are a nurse, MD, x-ray tech or even a housekeeper. So the general public should approach with caution because you never know if the question you want to ask could be answered by a doctor wannabe that is in reality an Engineer at the hospital. As far as nastiness on scrubs in public, I generally don't think that is the issue most of the time. Health care workers that do get body fluids on them are smart enough not to drag it through the general population and will change before heading home. Mike
I am not trying to be rude onthis one, but when you say some people are "too darn cheap to buy their own" don't you think that's a little harsh, too? I mean, for what they are, scrubs are not cheap at all. and when you have to plan on having so many different sets for every day of the week and in case you get super dirty at work--it all adds up. (I work in a small clinic where we do not have access to facility provided scrubs, so if we get really contaminated, we have to go get some clean scrubs from home). I personally don't think it seems all that right that some departments get them provided and others don't. I think the departments that don't have them provided should get like an allowance or something.
I do think that scrubs should be limited to medical personnel and not receptionists or housekeeping, or that type of thing.
That is my two cents. Thanks for listening. :chuckle
I understand the concern and how infections can be transmitted through scrubs... but what about those of us who don't really work in a highly transmittable area, such as the nursery? Where I work, we're required to wear cover gowns and change them in between babies if we're going to hold one up against our scrubs for a long period of time. And this is done for normal newborn babies who aren't sick at all. We scrub in up to our elbows prior to starting our shift, we wash our hands or use the hand foam constantly and I even scrub out prior to leaving at the end of the day. I can't say I get very "dirty" during my shift unless a quick draw baby boy pees on my scrubs while I'm changing his diaper or if a baby spits up !
If the communication of diseases is really that much of a concern, I think all hospitals and all departments should be required to provide their health care workers with scrubs to change into. I wouldn't mind if my hospital did this, that way I wouldn't have to spend so much money on scrubs. Also if scrubs were provided for us, it can be ensured that scrubs are clean to begin with and no one leaves wearing dirty scrubs and exposing the public to our "germs". Gosh, if you can't trust a nurse to be clean, who can you trust?
Sure, I'll pump some gas or go out and pick up a quick item at the grocery store after work in my scrubs. On the other hand, I don't go home and hop into bed in the scrubs that I just wore at work... that's just wrong . But I have been guilty of wearing a clean set of scrubs as PJs. Who else aside from health care workers can say they wear pajamas to work and pajamas to bed?
When I did home care my agency made us wear scrubs. All had to be purchased from them and the same color. When I went to the grocery store for the patient I was in my work clothes. Wouldn't have been any dirtier than if I worked in street clothes.
I saw a girl the other day at the grocery store who was wearing the color scrubs my facility makes the CNA's wear. I asked her if she worked there and drew a blank. I asked her where she worked as a CNA and she didn't know what that was. So I asked her about the scrubs and she said she just loved those doctor shows on tv and bought a bunch of scrubs so she could look cool.
oh yeah reall cool........... :rotfl: [sarcasm off now]
An anaesthetist told me that he always informs people he is a gas man, then he gets no embarrassing questions
NOTHING will EVER stop that! The bakery lady once stopped me and asked me questions that should have been directed to her GYN doc.
I still love the response from an OB/GYN at a party once. He was there with his wife enjoying the evening and a woman approched him and started asking him medical questions. He suggested she remove her clothes, lay on the table (table with all the food spread out) and he would examine her.
HA! She was mortified. I was laughing so hard I thought I'd bust.
I have worked in the OR for several years and the rules change from time to time. Studies have shown home laundered scrubs to be no more of a threat to wear than
ones done at a laundry service. The appropriate cover coat must be considered when
going to other departments in the hospital and booties removed before leaving the OR and new ones placed upon returning. A responsible OR nurse or scrub should know the
or if a baby spits up 
!
. But I have been guilty of wearing a clean set of scrubs as PJs. Who else aside from health care workers can say they wear pajamas to work and pajamas to bed? 
nosebleed
3 Posts
If I come home late from the hospital and just don't have the energy to change my scrubs make the best p.j. bottoms ever.