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Leaving aside the question of changing facilities... Where do the scrubs get washed, then? Do they need to bring a special bag to transport the scrubs so they

Leaving aside the question of changing facilities... Where do the scrubs get washed, then? Do they need to bring a special bag to transport the scrubs so they can wash them at home? Does the bag need to be washed, too? If they leave the scrubs in the lockers if they "aren't too bad" (ha), how are the lockers cleaned to ensure that they are sanitary when they put their street clothes in? How do you ensure they are sanitary when their street clothes are removed? How does all of this adapt to them changing to street clothes to eat lunch, like you suggest? Are you willing to pay for more doctors/nurses/etc. to cover the changing time for lunch?

el_nahual 6y ago
Ideally they would get washed at the hospital. Hospitals wash massive amounts of linens anyway, I can't imagine the additional expense being material. Mesh bag + name tag costs what, $1? And if for some reason the clinic doesn't wash linens, well, presumably the scrubs are being washed at home now, so that's always an option. The "special bag" you refer to can be gym bag or a disposable plastic bag. That is still miles less gross than the status quo. If a gym-goer can be expected to not work out in street clothes/shoes, surely similar standards of hygiene can be expected of healthcare practitioners!
thescriptkiddie 6y ago
This is anecdotal, but a friend of mine who works in healthcare once complained that hospitals used to (years ago) provide a cleaning service for scrubs and lab coats, but now the staff are expected to wash theirs at home.
- fhsm 6y ago
  True procedural scrubs are still washed by the hospital (really in most cases by a contract service provider). Scrubs you see (assuming you don’t work in a procedural space) are not procedural scrubs. They are just clothing. You can be forgiven for being confused as many of those suits are taken / borrowed / stolen from the procedural scrub supply. This problem is serious enough in some places that scrubs are distributed with a vending machine system that tracks your (limited) allowed balance of outstanding sets. A long time ago , when nurses and house officers worn uniforms and laundry was on site , non procedural clinical staff were wearing hospital laundered clothing. The uniforms, and the laundry service that went with it, went away decades ago though. What to wear instead, in non procedural spaces, wasn’t every really clarified. I suspect Grays Anatomy and Scrubs helped to sort it out for this generation (although it’s highly regional and reasonably local) as did the economic importance of procedures.

el_nahual 6y ago

Ideally they would get washed at the hospital. Hospitals wash massive amounts of linens anyway, I can't imagine the additional expense being material. Mesh bag + name tag costs what, $1? And if for some reason the clinic doesn't wash linens, well, presumably the scrubs are being washed at home now, so that's always an option. The "special bag" you refer to can be gym bag or a disposable plastic bag. That is still miles less gross than the status quo. If a gym-goer can be expected to not work out in street clothes/shoes, surely similar standards of hygiene can be expected of healthcare practitioners!

thescriptkiddie 6y ago

This is anecdotal, but a friend of mine who works in healthcare once complained that hospitals used to (years ago) provide a cleaning service for scrubs and lab coats, but now the staff are expected to wash theirs at home.

fhsm 6y ago
True procedural scrubs are still washed by the hospital (really in most cases by a contract service provider). Scrubs you see (assuming you don’t work in a procedural space) are not procedural scrubs. They are just clothing. You can be forgiven for being confused as many of those suits are taken / borrowed / stolen from the procedural scrub supply. This problem is serious enough in some places that scrubs are distributed with a vending machine system that tracks your (limited) allowed balance of outstanding sets. A long time ago , when nurses and house officers worn uniforms and laundry was on site , non procedural clinical staff were wearing hospital laundered clothing. The uniforms, and the laundry service that went with it, went away decades ago though. What to wear instead, in non procedural spaces, wasn’t every really clarified. I suspect Grays Anatomy and Scrubs helped to sort it out for this generation (although it’s highly regional and reasonably local) as did the economic importance of procedures.