Wearing scrubs in public...

[HappyNurse2005]

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.

[LisaG21]

I am a new nurse, and I will be taking the train to work some days, and I plan on wearing my scrubs on the train, I will change my shoes though and I don't see anything wrong with that, any germs I have on my scrubs just from going into work will be no different than if I was my scrubs at home and bring them to work and change at work. a germ is a germ! :)

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

I've never worked in a healthcare facility that provided scrubs for any other than the OB and surgical departments. However, even though I wear mine both to and from work, I do NOT do my grocery shopping or run errands on my way home, as I've seen many other people do. That just seems gross to me. I also don't wear my work shoes anywhere but to work and back, and if I change departments during the course of the day or get my scrubs dirty, I'll go up to OB and borrow one of their scrub outfits to avoid cross-contamination between patient groups. That way, I can stay reasonably clean without having to change clothes four or five times a day, and I don't spread a bunch of germs around the local Safeway or track them into my doctor's office.

[LisaG21]

I've never worked in a healthcare facility that provided scrubs for any other than the OB and surgical departments. However, even though I wear mine both to and from work, I do NOT do my grocery shopping or run errands on my way home, as I've seen many other people do. That just seems gross to me. I also don't wear my work shoes anywhere but to work and back, and if I change departments during the course of the day or get my scrubs dirty, I'll go up to OB and borrow one of their scrub outfits to avoid cross-contamination between patient groups. That way, I can stay reasonably clean without having to change clothes four or five times a day, and I don't spread a bunch of germs around the local Safeway or track them into my doctor's office.

wearing your shoes to and frmo work tracks germs into your car and into your house....which then makes them everywhere!

[shodobe]

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

[casper1]

Scrubs are comfortabe. They hide multiple body flaws. It's like wearing your pajama's to work

[Kabin]

wearing your shoes to and frmo work tracks germs into your car and into your house....which then makes them everywhere!

Hospital germs are on a different level. Might be good to keep disinfectant in the car and spray one's shoes before entering the car.

[sunshine lea]

I definitely agree that scrubs are comfortable as well as hiding bodies that may be 'less than perfect'.I have done various nursing jobs from home health to prisons,LTC and lots in between and I always wore my own scrubs.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

A couple of times a week I spray workshoes with Lysol. I doo my regular shoes too, but that's because I have stinky feet. :)

When I road the train, when I lived in Atlanta, I didn't know what the next guy had. How many times do people cough on trains. Did everyone who touched the seat I'm in thorouglhly wash their hands?

I'm sure if nurses passing along deadly or germs that make people sick was a big problem we'd know about it by now.

[LisaG21]

A couple of times a week I spray workshoes with Lysol. I doo my regular shoes too, but that's because I have stinky feet. :)

When I road the train, when I lived in Atlanta, I didn't know what the next guy had. How many times do people cough on trains. Did everyone who touched the seat I'm in thorouglhly wash their hands?

I'm sure if nurses passing along deadly or germs that make people sick was a big problem we'd know about it by now.

THANK YOU! :chuckle

[fergus51]

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.

[tntrn, ASN, RN]

I wear my own scrubs, but I carry them in and carry them out. My shoes stay in my locker at work. That being said, we need to completely eliminate all visitors to all parts of the hospital because who knows what is being carried in on their clothes and their shoes which we then transport to others.

Germs are a part of life. There's no way we can get rid of them all and if we did, the good ones would be gone also. The best we can do is the best we can do: clean clothes, good hygiene, healthy living. Sadly, we can't force those rules on others who enter our facilities. That reality makes me just shrug my shoulders at times because I feel that some of the restrictions put on health care workers are quite futile, in the big picture :rotfl:

[angelladyclaire]

Has anyone thought about the fact that most germs don't live for that long outside of the host? This is why there hasn't been a problem with taking germs to and from the hospital on our scrubs. The germs that do survive usually require a patient to be in contact isolation in which case we're being very careful not to be contaminated in the first place :)