Workwear: succumbing to scrubs - bad/ok?

So yesterday at work I caved in and ordered a pair of scrubs for myself. I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing.

I'd say about 80% of people at my level wear scrubs, otherwise you have to wear business casual, which they specify means no jeans because you don't want to offend elderly people who may not be accustomed to being treated by a doctor in jeans. Other things that are also out: open toed shoes, anything too restrictive (as you need to be able to kneel on the floor, lean across a bed and even jump up onto a bed if necessary), anything low cut (as you bend forward a lot to examine patients), and anything too good (as there is a chance of getting blood or other bodily fluid on it).

I must admit that I sneak in my jeans anyway, since they are either black or very dark denim. My usual work "uniform" consists of either jeans/BR martins and a tunic top of some sort. Sometimes I wear casual dresses but anything that looks too put-togther does stand out as being dressed up amongst a sea of scrubs and sneakers. I know some people don't mind dressing up, but my style persona is casual, so it always feels weird and wrong somehow for me to be amongst the more dressy end of the spectrum.

Anyway I'm not sure why I caved in and ordered the scrubs. Partly its because I feel like I'm rutting with my workwear anyway, since I wear the same combinations over and over again. Partly I don't want to stand out too much all the time, especially on the quieter shifts like nightshift. And partly its laziness - wearing scrubs with a coloured LS tee and converse is a no-brainer, and super comfy too.

I've only ordered one set, so I don't plan on wearing them every day, but we'll see what happens. I'm interested in what the ylf consensus is on me adopting a non-compulsory uniform for myself. Am I being lazy and copping out to a less than fashionable option. Or am I being practical? Opinions please

tam

14 years ago

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

I don't see anything wrong with wearing scrubs in the hospital. With all these conditions you described you don't have much variety anyway. Just make sure you get scrubs in the best flattering color and save your good clothes for after work life!

taylor

Tam, Goodness.. the time you put in and on your feet you MUST be comfortable!! Wear scrubs with confidence and be proud of your chosen profession...save the funky, good and special clothes for days off and nights out!!!

You can make scrubs look fabulous! Add your Tam twist!!

Angie

Fashion Stylist

Such wisdom from, Taylor.

Of course you can wear scrubs, Tam! Wear trainers with scrubs if you have to.

Can you alternate between scrubs and business casual?

yublocka

I'm glad you guys don't feel like I'm copping out.

Sveta the scrubs will be a very dark navy blue, I had no choice in that. Its one colour for doctors and another for nurses. I guess that's another benefit, it makes it easily identifiable who you are to people that don't know you. I can handle navy blue I think!

And Taylor thanks for the go ahead. Thanks to the discovery of MeToos and the aforementioned BR martins, skinny jeans and tunics, I am already comfy at work, just a bit bored with wearing the same combinations over and over again.

Angie yes I do plan on alternating between the two. Especially if I plan on doing errands or going out striaght from work. I also plan on buying red and green cons to wear to brighten things up!

annagybe

I work in healthcare. I did my clinical training in place that was business casual under a lab coat. In my current setting I wear scrubs & sneakers. At the beginning I missed dressing up. My scrubs are hospital issue. Now I like it. I leave the gangrene, MRSA, VRE & c-diff at the hospital. All my clothes are now for off duty wear. If you do go to scrubs regularly I would suggest a separate laundry hamper.

Deb

Active Member

I think you're *so* fortunate to be able to wear what amounts to a comfy uniform at work ... makes getting ready a no-brainer, and you can re-direct your fashion attention and budget to clothes that are strictly for fun.

Maya

Anna has spoken and she definitely makes a compelling argument. I don't really know if I'd want my nice clothes covered in disease...

chewyspaghetti

I would be wearing scrubs if I were working in that environment, too.

Patty

Aww --don't mention MRSA--looks like my daughter might have community MRSA--again!!

I've wondered--can you mix tops and bottoms of scrubs? Say a neat t-shirt and bottoms but I'm lost as to what could be mixed with the tops. Do you wear a white coat to?

lyn*

lol; I hate scrubs. Scrubs make me look fat and gross, especially surgical greens. You guys are lucky - navy is a nice colour to wear.

I wear clinical clothes as much as possible I hope all the germs go onto my white coat!

Katiepea

Maybe you could add some rhinestone sparkles to jazz it up? I'm sure I had a bedazzler around my home somewhere I could send you.... <snort, chuckle!>

Seriously, though, with your line of work you have to be practical. The thought of wearing a nice top and then having to wash out someone elses bodily fluids at the end of the day kind of makes this notion lose its appeal for me.....

Just do me a favour and try not to succumb to the crocs with contrasting socks. Deal?

Lynne

Tam, you are lucky you don't work at our local hospital! I've mentioned it to Lyn before; ALL the staff (receptionists included) wear the same hospital issue one size fits all tshirts and pants as the patients. I kid you not! I suspect it has something to do with infection control? The only people wearing business casual are the visitors :). Will try to find a pic to show you...

Sharon

I think this is by far the most sensible thing to do. I can't tell you how many clothes I have had ruined at work. And as a bonus, it is actually tax deductible.

Sounds like the scrubs are getting the thumbs up. Yay!

Annag you are right about MRSA/VRE....I had forgotten about that argument as well!! Although I'm sure I'm colonised by them already hehe.

Patty I don't think I could mix a tshirt with scub pants...that would look weird. Although I have seen people wearing scrub tops with regular pants/jeans. Could be an option as well. No one in Australia wears white coats (except a few of the cardiothoracic surgeons here) - lucky cos white is too hard to keep clean!!!

KP keep the bedazzler on hold.....so far I'm thinking....No! Have to admit I have paired my crocs with socks and scrubs for theatre before. It can be handy having shoes you can throw into bleach!!!

Lynne your workwear sounds a bit unflattering. We had a choice of a few styles of tops and pants.....I even got ot order pants in a longer length.....fingers crossed!!

Sharon I forgot about it being tax deductible. Another good point - thank you!!

kimlee

Tam - A little over a year ago, my office (which is the business office) for the hospital began wearing scrubs in lieu of business casual. Since I was pregnant at the time, I chose to wear them as well. I loved them - as they were comfortable, practical, and saved me time getting dressed in the morning (no worrying/wondering what I was goign to wear). However, over time I grew tired of wearing the same thing -- and after my daughter was born, I went back to wearing business casual.

In your case, you are working in the clinical setting and I believe that scrubs are almost a necessity there. Anna makes a great point, that the germs and other yuck that you encounter will be on your scrubs, not the clothes that you love a cherish.

I do not think that you are being lazy but practical. I would be interested to see how you "style" your new scrubs.

Isabel

Sometimes, one has to be practical. I was recently in the hospital and I was amazed at the beautiful colors there are out there in scrubs ! ( Yes, I was checking out what they were wearing ! ) So I think that now, more than ever, you can really look wonderful and practical, you can also change it up every once in a while.

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