lab coats/scrubs/steths

[Guest gimmeabreak]

Why do people use functional apparel for other than functionl purposes. Here at a generic hospital, secretaries run around in lab coats, orderlies wear greens (when officially supposed to have blue scrubs) and med studens/nurses go to cafeteria with all three: coat/greens/steth (and sometimes even sterile/disposable stuff). It seems only the doctors know of the aseptic principles; as they seem to have right things on at teh right time. About four blocks away, even a bunch of restaurants are often green and white during lunch time. I hope these actors aren't spreading the nosocomial germs by actually wandering in and out with dirty gear.

 

At least in this form, I think the cult of the physician wannabee is rather pathetic.

[Guest Liana]

I think the motivation is partly a desire for the "esteem" of being a physician (why do you think scrub pants were such a fashion trend a few years back?) but also partly for a functional purpose (ie, warmth).

 

I remember when I co-oped with admin and nursing staff in a hospital in high school, the secretary often wore surgical gowns as an extra layer to keep warm. As students, we were supposed to wear the pale blue scrubs of the cleaning staff, but when there were no mediums available, we occasionally wore the dark blues of the nursing scrubs, or if need be (and we could get our hands on them) surgical greens.

[Guest]

Personally, I wouldn't say that scrubs are really that dirty, considering they are worn (mostly) in a sterile environment (the OR), if anything, they should be concerned about bringing in contaminants from the outside world to the patients. I know at the hospital that I volunteer at, the surgeons mostly only want clean scrubs in the OR (ie straight from the laundry) and will chop your genitalia off if you wear your street shoes in there. I think after their cases are done, it doesn't really matter where they wear their scrubs.

[Guest Ian Wong]

Because it's comfy! And it allows everyone to see that you work in the hospital in one form or another. People wandering around in the OR areas without scrubs are either assumed to be patients (in which case they should have other hospital attire on, or otherwise be attached to a hospital bed or something) or are intruders to be shooed away or redirected to their original destination.

 

In every hospital that I've worked at, surgeons and anesthesiologists, and every other doc that wears scrubs will invariably wear them on the wards, to the cafeteria, into the bathroom, etc. Can you imagine tossing out your scrubs and changing into a new pair every time you went to the john?

 

I think the whole argument is rendered moot given that the person's hair and skin still doesn't get washed. If you were going to go off the deep end, and require scrub changes at every interval, it would only make sense that you also go have a shower first too. And then things get even more impractical.

 

Ian

UBC, Med 3

[Guest strider2004]

Forget changing scrubs. It's hard enough convincing doctors to wash their hands between patients. It's ironic that surgeons who are so picky about aseptic technique will walk around and touch patients wounds with bare hands and then see the next one. Oh well, they're not in infectious disease.