Which specialties HAVE TO wear scrubs? Or definitely don't have to? (I don't like wearing scrubs.)

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Gauss44

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Title says it all... except that I may wear them anyway.
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Wardrobe potential is a very important criterion. :nod:
 
If you do joint reconstruction, you'll have to wear a space suit to work.
hip-replacement-surgery.jpg
 
It's generally a faux pax to wear scrubs in the office setting, and since most specialties have some form of clinic, you will have to wear business dress at some point. Beyond that, the surgical subspecialties typically wear scrubs in the hospital if they have cases that day. Many EM physicians also wear scrubs, though this seems more variable. At my institution, the in-patient specialties (e.g., medicine, peds) are allowed to wear scrubs when they're on call, but otherwise they're expected to wear business dress.
 
darkjedi said:
if I could get away with wearing only scrubs for work, I would be so happy.
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NickNaylor said:
It's generally a faux pax to wear scrubs in the office setting, and since most specialties have some form of clinic, you will have to wear business dress at some point. Beyond that, the surgical subspecialties typically wear scrubs in the hospital if they have cases that day. Many EM physicians also wear scrubs, though this seems more variable. At my institution, the in-patient specialties (e.g., medicine, peds) are allowed to wear scrubs when they're on call, but otherwise they're expected to wear business dress.
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This depends entirely on where you are. We do not dress up. Ever. Maybe its a Texas thing.
 
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In Texas you can wear scrubs at all times in any professional setting, we also do wear the white coat. A cultural shift away from formal clothing began in the late 1970's, first with the lack of wearing suit jacket, then foregoing a tie, then adopting the "casual Friday" attire for most business environments. We've worn jeans as a norm for a hundred years. There are exceptions where you still see suit-and-tie: law, politics, undertakers.
 
You probably will wear scrubs for anatomy lab.
 
Winged Scapula said:
I see you are in Texas where apparently its ok to be more casual especially if you're wearing boots.

You and @mimelim can come to the office (but not MY office) in your messy scrubs.
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I went to a big clinic today (kind of like Kaiser) and all the doctors wore a dress shirt with a tie and a lab coat. I guess they only wear their scrubs on operating days (duh). It depends on the locations.
 
First, most people prefer scrubs. It's like going to work in PJs. Second, you will be working with bodily fluids as a doctor. It's a messy job. You will get disgustings things on you you don't want to bring home with you. So you want a form of clothing you can just toss into a vending machine or laundry basket and get a fresh pair, and never see it again. Third, when on call, you might get a minute to take a nap and it's nice to be in clothes you can sleep in, like PJs. Fourth, you don't want to be making wardrobe decisions on days you have to be at the hospital at 5am, so it nice to have your "uniform" to just jump into. Just one draw string and you are set. No time for buttons. So yeah, you're going to learn to favor scrubs whenever you can.
 
Aerus said:
Wow, I want to be a doctor in Texas now....
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Doesn't everyone? The docs at the clinic I shadowed varied but they were AT LEAST business casual. One of the docs said ties can transmit disease since they are not regularly washed every day and chose not to wear one but he said he kind of just said that to himself to justify it.
 
Valid question, answer it don't criticize it. When I become a doctor I want to be looking fabulous. Scrub requirements better not mess with my white coat/tie game. Otherwise what's the point of med school
 
Avicenna said:
Valid question, answer it don't criticize it. When I become a doctor I want to be looking fabulous. Scrub requirements better not mess with my white coat/tie game. Otherwise what's the point of med school
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You are missing the point. Everyone wears white coats/ties to clinic etc. Only a few specialties are lucky enough to get to wear scrubs (those that are involved in the OR, for the most part) and the controversy is usually the school/hospital trying to make you wear business attire outside of the OR instead of just staying in scrubs. Most people I know would prefer to just wear scrubs if they have the chance. No specialty is going to require you to wear scrubs outside the OR as far as I know.

Also, after you actually get a white coat and have worn it more than once you may rethink wanting to wear it all the time. It's more of a pain than anything.
 
Avicenna said:
Valid question, answer it don't criticize it. When I become a doctor I want to be looking fabulous. Scrub requirements better not mess with my white coat/tie game. Otherwise what's the point of med school
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This sounds like a good optional essay premise to medschool to me, if not the personal statement. I heard Macy's School of Medicine is pretty snazzy.
 
Ha, my father wears scrubs around the house....even when he's not going into work that day; my mom wishes he had your problem.
 
Yeah, I know how comfy those suits can be? 😵
 
Lucca said:
Doesn't everyone? The docs at the clinic I shadowed varied but they were AT LEAST business casual. One of the docs said ties can transmit disease since they are not regularly washed every day and chose not to wear one but he said he kind of just said that to himself to justify it.
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That's actually a legitimate concern. There's been a recent push to stop wearing ties in hospitals.
 
99da1837_i-have-no-idea-what-im-doing-dog.jpeg

Most drama I ever had with a lab was on account of the damn thing's tail. They're like bull whips, they knock everything over and the dog has no idea what it's hitting with it. Do they even have nerves there or what? Like, dude, you just broke my ankle with that wagging, what the hell... They're super bad for laptops, beers, glasses containing just about anything, and things that live on coffee tables in general. If they weren't so friendly and cute, they'd be unforgivable creatures.
 
Lucca said:
Really? Wouldnt white coats face the same problem? Or does everyone just switch them out periodically.
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You can wash white coats as often as you want. Being silk, ties are almost never cleaned.
 
Mad Jack said:
99da1837_i-have-no-idea-what-im-doing-dog.jpeg

Most drama I ever had with a lab was on account of the damn thing's tail. They're like bull whips, they knock everything over and the dog has no idea what it's hitting with it. Do they even have nerves there or what? Like, dude, you just broke my ankle with that wagging, what the hell... They're super bad for laptops, beers, glasses containing just about anything, and things that live on coffee tables in general. If they weren't so friendly and cute, they'd be unforgivable creatures.
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Wow, this totally got posted in the wrong thread lol. Totally leaving it because it's way better in this thread than where it belongs.
 
histidine said:
That's actually a legitimate concern. There's been a recent push to stop wearing ties in hospitals.
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The problem is that while ties (and many other items such as coats, sleeves, badges, lanyards etc) are found to be contaminated with bacteria there is NO evidence that it causes disease. If you swabbed everything in a patient's room (including their own personal effects), you'll find everything is contaminated.

Once again, medicine wants to make the unscientific leap from correlation to causation just as we accuse patients of doing.

Ties contaminated? Ban 'em.

White coats contaminated? Ban 'em.

Shirt sleeves contaminated? Ban 'em.

Pretty soon you'll be rounding on patients naked.
 
Winged Scapula said:
The problem is that while ties (and many other items such as coats, sleeves, badges, lanyards etc) are found to be contaminated with bacteria there is NO evidence that it causes disease. If you swabbed everything in a patient's room (including their own personal effects), you'll find everything is contaminated.

Once again, medicine wants to make the unscientific leap from correlation to causation just as we accuse patients of doing.

Ties contaminated? Ban 'em.

White coats contaminated? Ban 'em.

Shirt sleeves contaminated? Ban 'em.

Pretty soon you'll be rounding on patients naked.
Click to expand...

Why do you scrub into the operating room? Why sterilize equipment? You'll never remove all pathogens, so why even try?

Scrubbing, sterilizing equipment, etc, are all deemed worth the cost on the hospital/surgeon's end to reduce bacterial infection on the patient's end. Maybe more research needs to be done to see whether tie use is an actual causative factor in bacterial infections. Either way, eliminating ties does not seem like a extremely burdensome or costly measure. And your domino theory of banning ties leading to naked surgery is ridiculous, though I'd be down for that.
 
histidine said:
Why do you scrub into the operating room? Why sterilize equipment? You'll never remove all pathogens, so why even try?

Scrubbing, sterilizing equipment, etc, are all deemed worth the cost on the hospital/surgeon's end to reduce bacterial infection on the patient's end. Maybe more research needs to be done to see whether tie use is an actual causative factor in bacterial infections. Either way, eliminating ties does not seem like a extremely burdensome or costly measure. And your domino theory of banning ties leading to naked surgery is ridiculous, though I'd be down for that.
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You're missing the point.

There is evidence that sterile equipment in the OR reduces operative infection rates.

There is no data to support the observation that ties are fomites capable of causing disease in humans.

I have no problem with eliminating ties, coats etc if others wish to, but let's not assume the action is evidence based.
 
Winged Scapula said:
You're missing the point.

There is evidence that sterile equipment in the OR reduces operative infection rates.

There is no data to support the observation that ties are fomites capable of causing disease in humans.

I have no problem with eliminating ties, coats etc if others wish to, but let's not assume the action is evidence based.
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I had also thought there was direct evidence that ties were an infection risk, but I looked it up after seeing your comments. . Here's some expert guidance on hospital infection control that says as much: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/675066

Ties are still kind of gross, though. Quote from the article: "Two reports found that up to 70% of physicians admitted having never cleaned their ties."
 
Winged Scapula said:
Ties contaminated? Ban 'em.

White coats contaminated? Ban 'em.

Shirt sleeves contaminated? Ban 'em.
Click to expand...

While I see your point, I wouldn't mind banning them anyways. 😉
 
breakintheroof said:
I had also thought there was direct evidence that ties were an infection risk, but I guess not. Here's some expert guidance on hospital infection control that says as much: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/675066
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Implying they're a risk is not the same as showing that bacterial counts from ties are causing patient disease. To quote the article itself:

"Because this topic lacks the level of evidence required for a more formal guideline using the GRADE system, no grading of the evidence level is provided for individual recommendations."

"HCP apparel can hypothetically serve as a vector for pathogen cross-transmission in healthcare settings; however, no clinical data yet exist to define the impact of HCP apparel on transmission. The benefit of institutional laundering of HCP scrubs versus home laundering for non-OR use remains unproven."

Again, if you swabbed everything in the patient's room, you'll find bacteria everywhere, including MRSA.
 
ruedjgtc said:
This sounds like a good optional essay premise to medschool to me, if not the personal statement. I heard Macy's School of Medicine is pretty snazzy.
Click to expand...

Macy's pfft cheap knock off brand I wouldn't even consider it a safety. My eyes are set on Calvin Klein, baby~
 
Winged Scapula said:
The problem is that while ties (and many other items such as coats, sleeves, badges, lanyards etc) are found to be contaminated with bacteria there is NO evidence that it causes disease. If you swabbed everything in a patient's room (including their own personal effects), you'll find everything is contaminated.

Once again, medicine wants to make the unscientific leap from correlation to causation just as we accuse patients of doing.

Ties contaminated? Ban 'em.

White coats contaminated? Ban 'em.

Shirt sleeves contaminated? Ban 'em.

Pretty soon you'll be rounding on patients naked.
Click to expand...
Don't be ridiculous. They'll spray us down with sterile body paint first.
 
"Which specialties HAVE TO wear scrubs? Or definitely don't have to? (I don't like wearing scrubs.)"

You likely** won't wear scrubs in psych (as you won't be swimming in fluids).
You likely* won't wear a white coat in psych (as patients, aggregated, don't seem to like it).
You likely* won't wear a tie in psych (as it is a strangling/leverage hazard).

Polo or shirt (top button unbuttoned) 'err day.

*Some still do.
**Maybe if you do ECT or if you're hanging out in the OR during a DBS procedure for whatever reason.
 
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I actually can't wait to have reasons for wearing nice business attire to work 🙂 If you aren't a professional, it really makes no sense to wear it otherwise here in Florida.

I also now understand why my dentist, who's from Texas, always wears scrubs. I always thought she was just too lazy to dress up.
 
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