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.
One of our local TV stations did a feature where they swabbed grocery cart handles and then did cultures. YUCK YUCK YUCK. Made me want to take gloves on my next visit to Food Lion.
You name it, it was on there - staph, flu, various body fluids - ICK.
Not that I really expected much less from the general public, though - sad to say...
Not long ago, I was working as a pharmacy tech in a CVS. I had some woman - at the height of flu season when no one over the age of seven and under the age of 60, with few exceptions, was getting vaccinated - LICK HER FINGER and COUNT OUT HER MONEY. I did not let her put the money in my hand and I picked the bills up off the counter from the opposite side of where her licked fingers had touched them. She got sort of nasty with me and I asked her, "Have you had a flu shot?" Of course, she said no, and I told her "Neither have I. And I don't know if you are carrying flu or not."
Her expression changed a bit...
I know! I have even brought my own paper towel or wipes to put over the handle on the carts because it is quite disgusting. I realize we cannot change anyone else or anyone elses mindset so we must protect ourself the best ways we possibly can come up with to ensure a safe/healthy/happy/wealthy home life!
You can buy scrubs in walmart!!! just becaouse they wear scrubs doesent mean they are a medical person.
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.
:uhoh21: Why would anyone want to wear scrubs other then in areas where they are prescribed uniform???? They are comfortable but oh so ugly and shapeless:uhoh3:. I don't know if your scrubs are different to ours, but our issued scrubs have no shape and I think they were made for men. The pants are good to sleep in if you have no comfy PJ's:rotfl: . I think they are better sleepwear then OR uniform:o
Just one more thing.
Our OR/NICU areas get scrube provided for them.
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!
Someone really needs to give these people a wake up call. Nursing is more than ORs and ICUs, it is also more than hospitals. There are several areas of nursing outside the hospital, ie LTC, home health, wound care, offices.
I work in a derm office, the surgery we do there is a clean procedure. I wear my scrubs to work, then gown and glove up. That doesn't mean I should be "regarded with caution" when seen out on the street.
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 cannot believe you actually posted that. Cheap? What is wrong with an employee of a hospital wanting to wear a uniform and the scrubs their company provides? Its not about being cheap it's about being a professional and an infection control minded individual. What I can't stand is all the prints and cartoons and bell bottoms and all the crap that is taking this profession down to pajama wearing Doctor Secretaries. If any thing in this field needs to change it is the fact that the Nurses are not uniform or at least professional in their wardrobe. Walk into a business office wearing your sponge bob shirt and see how much respect you get. Body fluids. My friend it is not the body fluids that are the problem its the little microscopic guys that are in the body fluids so if you can see it great but if you cant.........doesn't mean its not there.
My husband had a kidney transplant in high school and his medications supress his immune system. I tend to be a little overly concerned about tracking germs around. I have a large towel that I use to cover my car seat after work (which I keep in a zipped plastic bag). I strip off my clothing and shoes prior to entering the house. I then bag my clothing and set it aside. (my scrubs get washed seperatly in hot water with color safe bleach). Then it's a short march straight to the shower for a good scrub.
I'm probably a little over the top. But the facility that I work with is bursting with MRSA. Now that our big shot ortho surgeon is using great wacking doses of vancomycin as a prophylactic antibiotic I'm betting we start to see a whole lot of VRE in a few more years. :-(
But I also see people wearing scrubs while grocery shopping. I've got to say, I wonder what germs they may be crawling with as they pick over the produce. Then again... I also worry about the shoopers coughing and snotting all over the carts, the little kids who look like they haven't bathed in several weeks, ANYONE who is scratching themselves and/or picking at their skin... It's a pretty germy world. ;-)
I do my best not to bring Super Germs into the house. But I also realize that there's a lot of creeping crud out there in the community. Purel is my friend.
i think that letter is silly. first of all, we put gowns over our scrubs for patient contact (i work nicu) and secondly, if this were such a problem don't you think visitors would also be tracking in all those deadly germs? they don't have to strip and be deloused when they come into the hospital do they? until they do, i'll wear my scrubs into work.
the hosptials dont even want to put out the money to pay us adequately why would they provide scrubs for everyone?? we have very strict infection control policies in place in our unit, still the issue of wearing scrubs and street shoes in and out of the unit has not been addressed. i agree that the visitors bring in just as many (if not more) germs than the typical hospital employee does just as a result of general education about transmitting illnesses. if you wanted to get technical... anyone, in any job should change their clothes once they get to work to keep from spreading whatever nastiness they have been "exposed" to on the train, plane, etc. while commuting... remember that guy who coughed on you, or sneezed??? wonder what he had?????
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.
Most hospitals now days don't supply scrubs for the employees, unless they are OR or OB/Peds. I wear my scrubs to and from work. When I am involved in a procedure that I may be exposed to bodily fluids or airborn infections, I gown, glove and mask. I protect myself and those around me. I also wash my hands and arms many, many times during the day and before I leave. Yes, I am exposed to germs and then leave the building. But, how many visitors do you really think wash their hands when they visit or when they leave? At least I try. If you don't believe me, pay attention the next time you are in a public restroom at how many people actually wash their hands. Then touch the handle leaving the bathroom, or how many people in public cough and do not cover their mouths. At least in the hospital, we have gowns, gloves and masks to cover our scrubs. On the street, we have nothing to protect us from those entering the hospital. I guess I don't understand the whole protect the outside from the inside germs. I thought the outside is where the inside germs came from?!
Good grief, exactly what, as a Home Health Nurse, am I supposed to do while I am driving from patient to patient? change each time?? :angryfire Let's see...that would be between 5 to 10 scrubs and shoes a day! Uhmmm, I don't think any nursing career allows for that kind of scrub use.
As a rule though, I do not go shopping or run errands until I go home and change first. But, I have had to pick up one of the kiddos from school in an emergency without changing first. :chair:
According to OSHA, scrubs and work clothes may be worn to and from the workplace, IF the clothing is used for comfort or daily wear and NOT worn as PPE PPE must be removed before leaving the work area or workplace. :uhoh21: Everyone should check out and be familiar with OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standards and Regulations section (d)(3) Personal Protective Equipment. Come on, if it were a health hazard, OSHA would do something about it, don't ya think?
Oh Please, when I worry about germs on the bus, it is not the people wearing scrubs I worry about, it the wino with the purse on his head, or the 8 year old wiping his nose on the seat. Get real, people.
I just had a big lecture on infectious disease, and from now on, I'm leaving my germs at the hospital and walking in and out with my street clothes on. It's well worth getting to my clinical a few minutes early so that I'm not carrying around every disgusting, awful antibiotic resistant germ that can grab onto my clothes. Yuck!
The pants are good to sleep in if you have no comfy PJ's:rotfl: . I think they are better sleepwear then OR uniform:o 
truth672001
7 Posts
I know! I have even brought my own paper towel or wipes to put over the handle on the carts because it is quite disgusting. I realize we cannot change anyone else or anyone elses mindset so we must protect ourself the best ways we possibly can come up with to ensure a safe/healthy/happy/wealthy home life!