All Your Scrubs

All those with careers in the medical field are thankful that nurses uniforms have evolved in the past few decades.  Most hospitals and medical offices now authorize nurses scrubs as the official attire for those working in those areas.   

Different hospitals follow different attire policies.  In some hospitals, you are free to choose your own colors and styles. Some will provide you scrubs to be worn on the premises only (washed daily and reused). And still others will purchase scrubs for you.

The final decision usually rests with the authorities, though your views may not be ignored altogether. Some hospitals insist on a blue-scrubs-only policy in the operating room, in order to prevent patients from getting infected. One should also remember that wearing a tee shirt underneath one’s scrub, if it extends beyond the scrub, can increase chances of infection.

There are various styles of scrubs available in numerous colors and fabrics.  Whatever style you choose, it is quite different from the starched white nurses uniform of the 1960’s and earlier.

It’s interesting to note that many of the people who perform the most critical jobs – saving lives and helping to care for the sick – wear some of the most casual work clothes. This is no accident. By their very design, scrubs are meant to be slipped on in a matter of seconds so that doctors and nurses can go about their work without dealing with restricting clothes.

The typical set of nursing scrubs includes some pull-on pants with an elastic or drawstring waist, a loose v-neck short-sleeve shirt and some casual slip-on shoes. This ensemble is not limited to emergency rooms, however. Dental hygienists and veterinary assistants began to take their fashion cues from the straightforward human medical industry some years ago. As a result, scrubs are now prevalent in most health care fields.

Whether it’s a lab coat or a set of scrubs, there’s just something about doctors’ and nurses’ clothing that inspires trust. A family doctor acts as a close confidante – in many cases he was there when you were born. This creates a strong emotional bond and a trusting familiarity toward other health care professionals. When you see the clothes, you instantly think of all the time and schooling that went into this person’s medical education.

It’s probably for these reasons that advertisers have latched onto the idea of featuring “doctor” in television ads. A man or woman in medical uniform with a stethoscope around his or her neck just seems a bit more trustworthy – even if the product itself has no medical credibility. The fact remains that medical garb leaves an indelible impression in our minds – that of honesty and integrity.