Which is worse: T-shirt with scrub bottoms, or khakis with scrub top?

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Which is worse?

  • T-shirt and scrub bottom (OB Jammies)

    Votes: 19 11.1%

  • Khakis and scrub top (ER Mullet)

    Votes: 152 88.9%
  • Total voters
    171
  • Poll closed .
F

ForbiddenComma

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Not that I've ever been guilty of either or anything. :smack:
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I've actually never seen anyone wear khakis with a scrub top!
 
i have seen ppl with cargos and a scrub top...on ER attendings and PA's, that is.
whatever the case, if ur a resident, if u wear a white coat on top, you can get away with anything.
 
Wouldn't do either but:

Definitely tshirt with scrubs bottom is okayish.

scrub shirt with khaki bottom is hilarious, we have a few mainly in cards, GI, or rads that do this.

My all time fav though is scrub top with a collared polo underneath so the collar is showing and then add the khaki bottoms. had one guy wear that everyday. Never ceased to crack me up.
 
I used to rock the t-shirt with scrub bottoms (IM). I don't think that scrub tops are comfortable at all. I don't like the scrub pants with a hoodie, and the hood is over the back of the white coat.
 
At my medical school, it was the IM people who wore scrub top with khakis. And it was the peds people who wore T shirt with scrub bottoms. Usually both combinations were while on call- normal street attire the rest of the time.

I never understood the half scrub look. After all, patients usually can't aim their body fluids toward whichever half of your body is wearing scrubs. For me it's all scrubs when I'm at high risk for being slimed, street clothes when risk of slime is low.
 
notinkansas said:
I never understood the half scrub look. After all, patients usually can't aim their body fluids toward whichever half of your body is wearing scrubs. For me it's all scrubs when I'm at high risk for being slimed, street clothes when risk of slime is low.
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I actually can understand this. Many people find scrub tops uncomfortable, and a cheap t-shirt which you can wear with scrub pants (but not slacks, as you'll notice no one is advocating the t-shirt/khakis look) has the same effect as the scrub pants-- i.e., if I get slimed with disgusting bodily fluids, I have no problem throwing it away. Now the scrub top/khakis look I don't understand, as khakis aren't nearly as disposable as t-shirts.
 
I always considered the scrub top with khaki pants the "ER Mullet". I've only seen ER attendings where them.
 
The purpose of wearing scrub tops with cargos is to get the pockets. I never did the khakis or cargos but I did do EMS pants. Now I wear Aviator scrub pants which have lots of pockets. Many of us are required to wear scrub tops that are embroidered since we don't wear white coats. I've seen the polo under scrub top thing (one of my partners does it) and it's because he has to wear the embroidered scrub top but he's most comfortable in a polo.
 
T-shirt/scrub bottom seems popular here on peds. As far as the ER mullet goes, good point on the cargo pants. That at least makes sense since scrub bottoms have just one sad little back pocket. Regular khakis, though... I just don't understand.
 
on my call days, i typically rock that cargo pants. It allows me to carry around my wallet and keys as opposed to having them in my scrub pants dragging my pants down. Then again, this was just for my preliminary IM year considering medicine residents aren't typically exposed to as much blood and gore as people in procedural specialties
 
I used scrubs tops with cargos during my CCU and ICU rotations and I was an IM resident. I just felt naked with scrbus bottom and very uncomfortable. I could care less what people thought of how i looked, i was the one 30 hours with the same clothe so i needed whatever I felt more comfortable in.
 
Scrub tops are uncomfortable? It's a shirt. Is this more of an issue associated with feminine anatomy that I wouldn't exactly know about?

EDIT: What I find totally dork-wad is the T-shirt under the scrub top. Can't pick one or the other?
 
The T-shirt is to put off laundry day for as long as possible. And nobody wants to see someone leaning over them in the ED with chest hair hanging out all over the place.
 
Hey, sometimes its just cold in the hospitals, and definitely in the ORs at times. The t-shirt under the scrub top is just an extra layer to stay warm in my case.
 
meathooks said:
The T-shirt is to put off laundry day for as long as possible. And nobody wants to see someone leaning over them in the ED with chest hair hanging out all over the place.
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Agreed. Chest hair is not meant to be popping out from the scrub top. Plus, it is pretty easy to sweat through scrub top without under shirt regardless of anti-perspirant deodorant.
 
EternalMD said:
on my call days, i typically rock that cargo pants. It allows me to carry around my wallet and keys as opposed to having them in my scrub pants dragging my pants down. Then again, this was just for my preliminary IM year considering medicine residents aren't typically exposed to as much blood and gore as people in procedural specialties
Click to expand...

That's a good point too. One reason I used to wear the EMS pants was because I could wear a belt with them. Then I could carry my phone, all the vairous pagers and all the crap in my pockets without walking around with my pants around my ankles. The scrub pants I wear now have a nylon belt that comes in them so it keeps them up.

jdh71 said:
Scrub tops are uncomfortable? It's a shirt. Is this more of an issue associated with feminine anatomy that I wouldn't exactly know about?

EDIT: What I find totally dork-wad is the T-shirt under the scrub top. Can't pick one or the other?
Click to expand...

I wear the T-shirt under my scrub top because my scrub tops seem kind of low cut and look way to 70s without a T.
 
the scrub top/khaki pants outfit is one of my biggest hospital pet peeves. it looks so asinine, i can't wrap my head around it. i've seen it worn by ER attendings, and occasionally, med and peds residents during clinic days.

i think the t-shirt/scrub bottoms look can be pulled off provided:

1) you wear your white coat
2) the shirt is clean and form-fitting

sort of ala dr. cox from scrubs.
 
I've worn the hoodie/white coat combo with scrubs before because I freeze during overnight call--plus, a hoodie comes off more easily than the long-sleeved undershirts that are forbidden in the OR, since it's hard to say, "Sorry guys, gotta whip off my shirt before we go evacuate that epidural." I often get mistaken as an OB or IM resident because of it, though.

There's a gen surg attending here who runs around in jeans with a scrub top. He doesn't seem to mind the quizzical looks that he receives, as I've unwittingly given him one before and he smiled knowingly at me in return. There are also a few ID docs who run around with their ties tucked inside their shirts. :laugh:
 
I do the t-shirt/scrub pants combo quite a bit. Solid color only, no prints or patterns.

There is an OB attending at my hospital who wears jeans + scrub top for deliveries as well as in the OR for sections. For the deliveries he puts on those plastic half-jumpsuit boot things that cover feet/legs and tie around your waist. It looks incredibly uncomfortable.

The all time hands-down worst look I have ever seen was at my medical school; we had a few neurosurg and gen surg attendings who apparently wanted to impress patients on rounds and look "professional", so they wore this gorgeous combination:

scrubs
dark leather loafers
blazer (usually the navy/brass button kind)

So bizarre.
 
Trauma (surg) team here always rocks the hoodie over the scrubs, many times sans white coat.

The scrub shirt can get itchy as well, which is one of the reasons I typically rock a white t underneath it...

A lot of the Rads residents at my place rock the scrub top and khakis... I guess since they don't have patient contact they can wear whatever they want...
 
Dr Magpie said:
I do the t-shirt/scrub pants combo quite a bit. Solid color only, no prints or patterns.

There is an OB attending at my hospital who wears jeans + scrub top for deliveries as well as in the OR for sections. For the deliveries he puts on those plastic half-jumpsuit boot things that cover feet/legs and tie around your waist. It looks incredibly uncomfortable.

The all time hands-down worst look I have ever seen was at my medical school; we had a few neurosurg and gen surg attendings who apparently wanted to impress patients on rounds and look "professional", so they wore this gorgeous combination:

scrubs
dark leather loafers
blazer (usually the navy/brass button kind)

So bizarre.
Click to expand...

i'm cracking up picturing it
 
jdh71 said:
Scrub tops are uncomfortable? It's a shirt. Is this more of an issue associated with feminine anatomy that I wouldn't exactly know about?

EDIT: What I find totally dork-wad is the T-shirt under the scrub top. Can't pick one or the other?
Click to expand...

Some scrub tops have too deep or too wide a V neck. With my pen, case log book, patient list, and ID weighing down one side I can sometimes treat my colleagues to a rather generous view of my assets. Not that anyone is going to complain of course. I might wear just a T shirt if it weren't for the fact I would lose my pocket. Sometimes I will wear a shirt underneath if the scrub top is really ill fitting. Otherwise I try to find an appropriately sized top and make sure my bras aren't ratty.
 
dpmd said:
Some scrub tops have too deep or too wide a V neck. With my pen, case log book, patient list, and ID weighing down one side I can sometimes treat my colleagues to a rather generous view of my assets. Not that anyone is going to complain of course. I might wear just a T shirt if it weren't for the fact I would lose my pocket. Sometimes I will wear a shirt underneath if the scrub top is really ill fitting. Otherwise I try to find an appropriately sized top and make sure my bras aren't ratty.
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👍

I do believe I approve
 
Some of us are ridiculously short. If I wear a scrub top it either stays outside my scrubs and reaches at least my upper thighs (which makes me look like a little girl who's mom let her dress up and play doctor) or gets tucked in and causes all sorts of uncomfortable (and unattractive) waist and ass-bunching. I haven't worn one since medical school unless I was going into an OR or cath lab, and until my workplaces start stocking something that sort of fits, I won't.
 
LOL, I've never heard it called "the ER mullet," but that's the only place I've seen it done.
 
TheProwler said:
LOL, I've never heard it called "the ER mullet," but that's the only place I've seen it done.
Click to expand...

At my program, it's the radiology department that is consistently guilty of this crime.
 
i'm a scribe for a family doc. the office manager told me i have to wear scrubs. personally, i think business casual would suffice. i decided to meet her halfway. some days i rock the ER mullet and other days i go for the scrub bottoms and t shirt. seems to work out just fine...and i don't get any weird looks! 🙂
 
witchbaby said:
Some of us are ridiculously short. If I wear a scrub top it either stays outside my scrubs and reaches at least my upper thighs (which makes me look like a little girl who's mom let her dress up and play doctor) or gets tucked in and causes all sorts of uncomfortable (and unattractive) waist and ass-bunching. I haven't worn one since medical school unless I was going into an OR or cath lab, and until my workplaces start stocking something that sort of fits, I won't.
Click to expand...

ass-bunching . . .
 
I do the cargo pants scrub top sometimes. My cargo pants are more comfortable than my scrubs and I like having extra pockets and pockets that I can zip/fasten closed to secure my wallet and cell phone. I only buy cargo pants on clearance so they are disposable as far as I'm concerned. Since I have started residency I have only wore this combo once in the ICU.

I don't pay attention much to what people wear in the hospital unless they look like they are dressed to go to a nightclub. 😀
 
HunterGatherer said:
I don't pay attention much to what people wear in the hospital unless they look like they are dressed to go to a nightclub. 😀
Click to expand...

on the countrary, this was one of the few diversions (along with purchase of a smartphone) that kept me from passing out during conferences, grand rounds, etc during the doldrums of intern year. some people just don't care enough about how they present themselves, and some care waaay too much.

along the lines of the ER mullet, i'm not sure what possesses some to 'mix and match' it up w/a green pair of scrubs and a blue top, or vice versa.
 
blanche said:
along the lines of the ER mullet, i'm not sure what possesses some to 'mix and match' it up w/a green pair of scrubs and a blue top, or vice versa.
Click to expand...

So what? I can tell you, as a guy that wears Brooks Brothers, that we don't care about the color of our scrubs, as long as it doesn't bother us on a first-look/primal level (like pastels or pink or purple). Otherwise, who cares? We don't ask before the shift, "do these scrubs match?"
 
blanche said:
on the countrary, this was one of the few diversions (along with purchase of a smartphone) that kept me from passing out during conferences, grand rounds, etc during the doldrums of intern year. some people just don't care enough about how they present themselves, and some care waaay too much.

along the lines of the ER mullet, i'm not sure what possesses some to 'mix and match' it up w/a green pair of scrubs and a blue top, or vice versa.
Click to expand...

The hospital laundry, for unknown reasons, has given me medium sized blue scrub pants, but large/XL blue scrub tops. Also, no one can tell me who, exactly, I should be complaining to. So rather than walk around in ginormous scrub tops, I wear medium GREEN scrub tops that I have saved from med school. No, I don't match, but I'm also not flashing people when I bend over.
 
I'm in the ER, and I sport the ER mullet. If I could get away with it, I'd wear polos and chinos, and white coat if required. But I have a feeling that if I tried to pull the polo + chino, I'd be required to wear the white coat, and my hatred of the white coat is huge. I need the pants with a real belt in order to carry these bad boys:

49000.jpg
 
The OB who delivered my second son wore scrubs with a white coat and snakeskin cowboy boots.
 
Another uncommon yet curious sighting is the MD wearing print scrub tops. You know, the kind with floral designs or Winneh the Pooh that are generally the province of the RNs. We used to have an ER doc who wore this kind of top everyday... and he was a guy! Blew my mind every time. :laugh:
 
ForbiddenComma said:
Another uncommon yet curious sighting is the MD wearing print scrub tops. You know, the kind with floral designs or Winneh the Pooh that are generally the province of the RNs. We used to have an ER doc who wore this kind of top everyday... and he was a guy! Blew my mind every time. :laugh:
Click to expand...

Hmm. Was he working in the peds ED? 😕 Although that's still a little strange.

Or maybe he was married to an RN, and just raided her closet whenever he had been too lazy to do laundry. :laugh:
 
Apollyon said:
So what? I can tell you, as a guy that wears Brooks Brothers...
Click to expand...

I thought you were in Hawaii...? If I lived there, it'd be Aloha shirts every day, baby! 😎👍

(Reyn Spooner button-down ones, just to keep it in the Brooks/J. Press sorta mode).
 
Aloha shirt and Brooks Brothers pants every day (well, cross them up with other dress pants, but the same idea).

I'm trying to think of the last time I wore a shirt with French cuffs (although there is a hospitalist who wears them - but no tie - each day he works).
 
ForbiddenComma said:
Another uncommon yet curious sighting is the MD wearing print scrub tops. You know, the kind with floral designs or Winneh the Pooh that are generally the province of the RNs. We used to have an ER doc who wore this kind of top everyday... and he was a guy! Blew my mind every time. :laugh:
Click to expand...
lol, there are two male nurses on the floor I'm usually on that wear printed tops, often with white scrub pants :laugh:
 
ForbiddenComma said:
Another uncommon yet curious sighting is the MD wearing print scrub tops. You know, the kind with floral designs or Winneh the Pooh that are generally the province of the RNs. We used to have an ER doc who wore this kind of top everyday... and he was a guy! Blew my mind every time. :laugh:
Click to expand...

Saw one today.

The anesthesiologist came walking toward me (new hospital, didn't know her) and I seriously thought she was the OR nurse or at most a CRNA (which almost led me to reschedule the case...on second thought after seeing those printed scrubs and hearing her complain about how loud my music was in the OR today, perhaps I should have).

I don't get it. There are rules people.
 
Winged Scapula said:
Saw one today.

The anesthesiologist came walking toward me (new hospital, didn't know her) and I seriously thought she was the OR nurse or at most a CRNA (which almost led me to reschedule the case...on second thought after seeing those printed scrubs and hearing her complain about how loud my music was in the OR today, perhaps I should have).

I don't get it. There are rules people.
Click to expand...


Just curious what the rules are you refer to?
 
Winged Scapula said:
Physicians do not wear printed scrubs.

(also physicians in the OR wear tucked in scrub tops but that's another topic).
Click to expand...

Is that really a rule at your hospital or just a social construct?
 
Some hospitals have dress codes in their bylaws. How much these rules are enforced depends on the hospital and the employment status of the doc (employees having to toe the line more so than private practice). That being said, there's never a reason to wear a printed scrub top. It's hard enough to deliver bad news to a patient, it's even harder when you're dressed like a clown.
 
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