All Your Scrubs

Nurses are constantly called upon to perform all kinds of duties that range from caring for patients to cleaning up messes.  While they need work clothes that are comfortable and practical they can still look good when they go to work.

In years past, nurse’s uniforms were plain and white.  Women did not wear drawstring pants — those were just for the occassional male nurse.  Most nurses pants had an elastic waistband and were not always comfortable.   Today bright color solids and great prints have replaced the plain, boring white.  Various styles are now available for all sizes to provide both style and comfort.  

Nurses want to look professional and still be comfortable.  Patients notice what their nurses are wearing.  That is one reason it is important to have a wrinkle-resistant fabric.  Nursing is a physical job and demands a lot of bending and stretching.  The nurses uniform needs to be flexible and provide room for that.    

A nurse needs his or her uniform to be made of a fabric that is not stiff or scratchy.  It must definitely be stain-resistant and able to be laundered frequently.  Many of the newer fabrics are durable and retain their colors. Bright colors and prints are important to help cheer the ailing patient. 

Today a nurses uniform is far from the plain white uniform of years past.  In this most important of careers, we have come a long way in making medical apparel both colorful and fashionable as well as comfortable and practical.

With intent to become a science major in college, in almost all cases, you have a tough road ahead.  Beginner and intermediate level science courses are designed to filter out bad students, thus they’re much harder than necessary.  In addition, you will need to keep an assortment of supplies on hand at all time, including a lab coat, multiple textbooks, scientific tools, calculator, and all manner of writing utensils and more standard academic accessories.  Once you’re through the beginner and intermediate level science courses, you might even say that life becomes easier.  Though you tackle harder concepts, you won’t have the ridiculous amount of tests, practices in memorization, and busy work as you do in the earlier courses.

Just remember, with a quasi-science major, nobody wins.  If you aren’t eligible to move into the upper echelons of science, and are looking for a high earning career, turn to business or another field.  Majors like forestry and oceanography depend on research funds from outside sources, and there’s often little stability with the work. 

If you have chosen a career in nursing, you have many opportunities for specialization.  One of these areas of specialization is in the emergency room.  The need for emergency room nurses is at an all time high with no end in sight. 

Emergency room nurse jobs are very demanding and require you to use all your nursing knowledge and experience at certain times to care for your patients.  In the emergency room, all nurses and other emergency room professionals must pull together as a cohesive team in order to assure that the patient receives the best possible care.  A nursing job in the emergency room requires you to be at your best every day no matter how you feel, or what’s going on in your own life.

The pay scale for ER nursing jobs is usually very good and most of these jobs offer great benefits. There is a very high turnover rate in emergency room nurses due to the stress and high demands.  It is important that you take good care of yourself in order to take good care of your patients.  You should be sure to get plenty of rest and eat right so that you are alert for any emergency situation. 

While the stress and the trauma situations can be very demanding on the ER nurse, the rewards of knowing you helped save someone’s life can be extremely rewarding.  If you have the skills for this type of nursing, you should definitely consider it.  Most major hospitals have a continuing need for more emergency room nurses.

A group of more than 300 medical students dressed in their white lab coats rallied on Capitol Hill on Thursday afternoon calling on Congress for a greater emphasis on primary-care physicians and for more medical assistance to poor people.  They stressed that there are underserved people in every state in the United States. 

The group voiced their concern that too many people are either uninsured or underinsured.  This group of students marched chanting “Everybody in! Nobody out!” The marchers were dressed in white medical lab coats and armed with signs.

Kim Cunningham, spokeswoman for the American Medical Student Association stated, “The rally really excites the students. They are the next generation of medical physicians. You really need a strong primary care work force.”

The march started at the Navy Memorial-Archives subway stop and ending at the west side of the Capitol at Third Street Northwest.  Once they reached the Capitol Hill lawn, they joined with others for speeches.  After the rally, they dispersed to lobby lawmakers, mostly in the House and Senate offices spread around Capitol Hill.

The healthcare profession has gone from wearing the traditional white nurses uniform to wearing “scrubs”.  Originally, scrubs were the attire worn only by those in the operating rooms.  Today, almost all hospital employees wear some type of scrubs.

Today, any medical uniform consisting of a short-sleeve shirt and pants are known as “scrubs”. Scrubs may also include a long-sleeved jacket with no lapels that is waist-length.  These jackets generally have knit cuffs and are known as ”warm-up jackets“.

Most of the nursing staff in the United States and Canada wear some form of scrubs while on duty.  Many of the staffers in doctor and dental offices also wear scrubs for their daily uniform.  Support staff such as custodians and unit clerks also wear scrubs in some facilities.

 I’ve been a registered nurse working at a local medical center for about three years now.  Most of the time I receive long shifts, upwards of 12 hours, but since I only need to work three or four days a week, it fits my lifestyle.  Having most of the week off from work is great as it allows me to go out quite often.  But when I met my current girlfriend, my job almost caused a disaster.  I met Jackie on an online dating website, and we decided to go out on Friday night.  I was working that night, but only until 7, so I thought it would be fine to meet her at 8:30 for dinner.  That night the hospital was swamped with patients, and I had to stay until about 7:45.  The worst part was, I forgot my cell phone and didn’t have Jackie’s number so I had no way to contact her to say I was going to be late!

I place a lot of importance on first impressions, so I knew I needed to show up on time.  I wound up wearing my nurse scrubs to our first date, and I felt lame when I showed up and Jackie was well dressed and I looked like I had just come from work… which I did.  But after I explained it to her, we hit it off, and it all turned out fine.  She even said I looked handsome in my nurse scrubs after the date!

Hospital scrubs are available in a wide variety of styles and colors.  How do you decide what is best for you?  The first thing to consider is the demand of your employer.  Many employers are now requiring certain solid color scrubs depending on your position or department. 

While you may not like your employer to dictate what you wear to work, it could actually have a lot of positive points.  When all the employees are dressed in the same solid color, it gives the establishment a more professional appearance.  There is a uniformity and you do not have to worry about what to wear to work the next day.

In many hospitals, the color of the scrub can help the patient and his family identify which employees are RNs and which employees are support staff.  It can also be used to identify which department an employee is from so patients and families can identify an employee from X-ray or Physical Therapy versus an RN who is caring for patients in a particular area.

Many hospitals are requiring solid color nurses scrubs as opposed to print fabrics.  Many scrub manufacturers now feature matching solid color fabrics so that you can mix and match styles to have a varied wardrobe. 

Regardless of your choice of scrubs, you should always make every effort to dress professionally as well as comfortably.

While those in the nurses scrubs are busy providing care for all the patients who are sick or injured, they sometimes forget to take care of themselves.  Nursing requires strenuous physical activity and you must be constantly aware of the dangers.

The majority of injuries reported in the healthcare profession are head, neck, or back injuries by nurses related to lifting patients.   Federal guidelines suggest that workers should not lift anything above 50 pounds.  Obviously, most patients weigh much more than that.  And many times when the patient is sick, injured, or recently had surgery, they cannot offer much help and are very difficult to handle.

As a nurse, you should keep several things in mind as you go about your daily activities.  Whenever possible, you should push instead of pull. This puts less stress on your back and you have twice as much power.  Avoid reaching as much as possible by staying close to the bed or machine you are using.  Use both arms to prevent strain.

When you lift from floor level, you should  bend your knees and let your legs do the lifting.  You should lift from a squat with your back straight.  If you have to lift from waist level, enlist the help of another nurse or nurses aide on the floor. When working with a patient, make sure you put the bed rails or wheelchair arms down.  As you are moving a patient, be sure to explain what you are doing to your patient and to your co-worker who is helping you lift.

As you go about your daily activities of providing the best healthcare possible to your patients, be sure to remember your own health as well.