Medical personnel wearing scrubs outside of work

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they are going in to work, fine. Leaving work, not so much.

This. I'm a nurse. Most of us wear street clothes in and change into scrubs at work. I do know some people who wear personal scrubs into work and then change into hospital provided scrubs there. So I suppose you could be seeing those people.

I'm a nurse too at a facility of about 7000 healthcare workers. Most do not wear street clothes in/out, they were their scrubs. Very few wear street clothes if any. They will wear gowns if caring for a contact precautions patient and people in designated areas such as OR or L&D do wear street clothes in as they get scrubs at the hospital that they are required to change into.

For what it's worth, unless the healthcare worker is rubbing themselves all over you or not washing their hands, this is really a non issue. Germs don't aerosolize off their scrubs.

The entire point of scrubs is to keep outside germs out of the facility, and facility germs from leaving the facility. That is the entire point of scrubs.

No, scrubs are not PPE and there is no regulation that requires people - other than in a few designated areas such as the OR - to change them at the beginning or end of a shift. And while scrubs do carry bacteria, hands are the most likely vector for spreading disease. Most hospitals do not provide staff with a place to change their scrubs. Are you licking someone else's scrubs? Is the person wearing scrubs rubbing themselves all over the place?

You are wrong. The entire point of scrubs is to keep germs from coming and going. There is no law that says we have to wash our hands either, and yet the point of washing hands is to keep germs from spreading. Scrubs are not simply a uniform. They serve a purpose.

There are plenty of physicians who wear regular clothes to work. You’re probably running into tons of them out and about after work, in restaurants, etc.

I (and many at my workplace - a mental hospital) wear scrubs because they are comfortable. We are not trailing germs all over town. And when I know I will be in a potentially germy situation, I wear my PPE.

Scrubs may have initially been used to keep germs from coming and going, but that just isn’t the case any longer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well heck, where I work we have public chain restaurants inside the hospital and I promise you no one is changing their scrubs to run to the (national sandwich shop chain) inside the hospital on their thirty minute lunch break.

Wearing of scrubs INSIDE the hospitals is understandable. We're talking about these workers exiting the hospital to PUBLIC spaces. There needs to be some new guidance on restrictions of wearing hospital scrubs or PPE outside of work areas. DO NOT WEAR THEM TO MY NEIGHBORHOOD STORES that we all go to. Who knows where you've been or had contact with?!? Maybe someone with Covid19 walked by you while you were coming out of the hospital...now you have active viral particles on your clothing.
By the way, some PP stated that viral infection does not happen from clothes...well, they also haven't shown it is transmissible on fomite surfaces. Does that mean we don't need to wipe down all door handles and surfaces??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they are going in to work, fine. Leaving work, not so much.

This. I'm a nurse. Most of us wear street clothes in and change into scrubs at work. I do know some people who wear personal scrubs into work and then change into hospital provided scrubs there. So I suppose you could be seeing those people.

I'm a nurse too at a facility of about 7000 healthcare workers. Most do not wear street clothes in/out, they were their scrubs. Very few wear street clothes if any. They will wear gowns if caring for a contact precautions patient and people in designated areas such as OR or L&D do wear street clothes in as they get scrubs at the hospital that they are required to change into.

For what it's worth, unless the healthcare worker is rubbing themselves all over you or not washing their hands, this is really a non issue. Germs don't aerosolize off their scrubs.

The entire point of scrubs is to keep outside germs out of the facility, and facility germs from leaving the facility. That is the entire point of scrubs.

No, scrubs are not PPE and there is no regulation that requires people - other than in a few designated areas such as the OR - to change them at the beginning or end of a shift. And while scrubs do carry bacteria, hands are the most likely vector for spreading disease. Most hospitals do not provide staff with a place to change their scrubs. Are you licking someone else's scrubs? Is the person wearing scrubs rubbing themselves all over the place?

You are wrong. The entire point of scrubs is to keep germs from coming and going. There is no law that says we have to wash our hands either, and yet the point of washing hands is to keep germs from spreading. Scrubs are not simply a uniform. They serve a purpose.

There is no regulation from either OSHA or CDC that scrubs may not be worn home from a healthcare facility. There is regulation, tons of it, about hand washing on healthcare, including auditing, tracking compliance, action plans for approval, holding people accountable. A single observation of a healthcare worker not performing hand hygiene during patient care is enough for a major citation from the Joint Commission.

There is no regulation for wearing scrubs home, again, other than in designated areas. There is regulation about wearing isolation gowns when caring for patients with known infections of resistant organisms. However, this rule may vary by facilities and some do not even use contact precautions for MRSA or VRE considering they are so prevalent.

In addition, some medical personnel wear scrubs though they do not have patient contact, and some medical personnel such as doctors do not wear scrubs (wear business clothes) though they do have patient contact.

The very patients who carry these infections walk among us, ride the metro with us, grocery shop, and serve you food. Maybe you are one of them who carry MRSA in your nose that you picked up playing tennis (as sports facilities are large vectors for this particular bug).

Bottom line, wash your hands.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well heck, where I work we have public chain restaurants inside the hospital and I promise you no one is changing their scrubs to run to the (national sandwich shop chain) inside the hospital on their thirty minute lunch break.

Wearing of scrubs INSIDE the hospitals is understandable. We're talking about these workers exiting the hospital to PUBLIC spaces. There needs to be some new guidance on restrictions of wearing hospital scrubs or PPE outside of work areas. DO NOT WEAR THEM TO MY NEIGHBORHOOD STORES that we all go to. Who knows where you've been or had contact with?!? Maybe someone with Covid19 walked by you while you were coming out of the hospital...now you have active viral particles on your clothing.
By the way, some PP stated that viral infection does not happen from clothes...well, they also haven't shown it is transmissible on fomite surfaces. Does that mean we don't need to wipe down all door handles and surfaces??

Just fyi, scrubs are not PPE. Wearing PPE outside of work areas isn’t even comparable to wearing your scrubs outside. That would be ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

If I saw someone wearing scrubs versus street clothes, I would generally AVOID the person wearing scrubs because statistically they had a higher chance to being around infectious patients

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well heck, where I work we have public chain restaurants inside the hospital and I promise you no one is changing their scrubs to run to the (national sandwich shop chain) inside the hospital on their thirty minute lunch break.

Wearing of scrubs INSIDE the hospitals is understandable. We're talking about these workers exiting the hospital to PUBLIC spaces. There needs to be some new guidance on restrictions of wearing hospital scrubs or PPE outside of work areas. DO NOT WEAR THEM TO MY NEIGHBORHOOD STORES that we all go to. Who knows where you've been or had contact with?!? Maybe someone with Covid19 walked by you while you were coming out of the hospital...now you have active viral particles on your clothing.
By the way, some PP stated that viral infection does not happen from clothes...well, they also haven't shown it is transmissible on fomite surfaces. Does that mean we don't need to wipe down all door handles and surfaces??

COVID is transmitted primarily from prolonged contact in an enclosed settings. Even among household contacts, transmission is under 15% per research. Passing someone with covid on their clothes is not going to give you the disease.

Also again, the very patients cared for by healthcare personnel walk among you! We don't ban them from leaving the hospital and they may be colonized for life for all we know. WASH your hands and chill out.

[Anonymous]

Yes, this strikes me as gross, but for two months I've been assuming that everyone that I encounter could be infected - and I act accordingly. If I were comfortable being in line, and comfortable that the people preparing my food were sort of socially distancing and hand washing, I'm not sure how much more concern someone wearing scrubs would add to the mix.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well heck, where I work we have public chain restaurants inside the hospital and I promise you no one is changing their scrubs to run to the (national sandwich shop chain) inside the hospital on their thirty minute lunch break.

Wearing of scrubs INSIDE the hospitals is understandable. We're talking about these workers exiting the hospital to PUBLIC spaces. There needs to be some new guidance on restrictions of wearing hospital scrubs or PPE outside of work areas. DO NOT WEAR THEM TO MY NEIGHBORHOOD STORES that we all go to. Who knows where you've been or had contact with?!? Maybe someone with Covid19 walked by you while you were coming out of the hospital...now you have active viral particles on your clothing.
By the way, some PP stated that viral infection does not happen from clothes...well, they also haven't shown it is transmissible on fomite surfaces. Does that mean we don't need to wipe down all door handles and surfaces??

COVID is transmitted primarily from prolonged contact in an enclosed settings. Even among household contacts, transmission is under 15% per research. Passing someone with covid on their clothes is not going to give you the disease.

Also again, the very patients cared for by healthcare personnel walk among you! We don't ban them from leaving the hospital and they may be colonized for life for all we know. WASH your hands and chill out.

You probably don't think wearing masks is effective...mic drop

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, this strikes me as gross, but for two months I've been assuming that everyone that I encounter could be infected - and I act accordingly. If I were comfortable being in line, and comfortable that the people preparing my food were sort of socially distancing and hand washing, I'm not sure how much more concern someone wearing scrubs would add to the mix.

Right and this is true all the time, not just for coronavirus. Your friends, you yourself, people you encounter, may be colonized with who knows what. You just never thought about it till coronavirus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well heck, where I work we have public chain restaurants inside the hospital and I promise you no one is changing their scrubs to run to the (national sandwich shop chain) inside the hospital on their thirty minute lunch break.

Wearing of scrubs INSIDE the hospitals is understandable. We're talking about these workers exiting the hospital to PUBLIC spaces. There needs to be some new guidance on restrictions of wearing hospital scrubs or PPE outside of work areas. DO NOT WEAR THEM TO MY NEIGHBORHOOD STORES that we all go to. Who knows where you've been or had contact with?!? Maybe someone with Covid19 walked by you while you were coming out of the hospital...now you have active viral particles on your clothing.
By the way, some PP stated that viral infection does not happen from clothes...well, they also haven't shown it is transmissible on fomite surfaces. Does that mean we don't need to wipe down all door handles and surfaces??

COVID is transmitted primarily from prolonged contact in an enclosed settings. Even among household contacts, transmission is under 15% per research. Passing someone with covid on their clothes is not going to give you the disease.

Also again, the very patients cared for by healthcare personnel walk among you! We don't ban them from leaving the hospital and they may be colonized for life for all we know. WASH your hands and chill out.

Based on your observations...why institute the stay at home order. If infection is not via casual contact then we should all be allowed to open businesses and go to large crowds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well heck, where I work we have public chain restaurants inside the hospital and I promise you no one is changing their scrubs to run to the (national sandwich shop chain) inside the hospital on their thirty minute lunch break.

Wearing of scrubs INSIDE the hospitals is understandable. We're talking about these workers exiting the hospital to PUBLIC spaces. There needs to be some new guidance on restrictions of wearing hospital scrubs or PPE outside of work areas. DO NOT WEAR THEM TO MY NEIGHBORHOOD STORES that we all go to. Who knows where you've been or had contact with?!? Maybe someone with Covid19 walked by you while you were coming out of the hospital...now you have active viral particles on your clothing.
By the way, some PP stated that viral infection does not happen from clothes...well, they also haven't shown it is transmissible on fomite surfaces. Does that mean we don't need to wipe down all door handles and surfaces??

COVID is transmitted primarily from prolonged contact in an enclosed settings. Even among household contacts, transmission is under 15% per research. Passing someone with covid on their clothes is not going to give you the disease.

Also again, the very patients cared for by healthcare personnel walk among you! We don't ban them from leaving the hospital and they may be colonized for life for all we know. WASH your hands and chill out.

You probably don't think wearing masks is effective...mic drop

I do but this isn't just a question about coronavirus, and we're talking about things transmitted by touch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well heck, where I work we have public chain restaurants inside the hospital and I promise you no one is changing their scrubs to run to the (national sandwich shop chain) inside the hospital on their thirty minute lunch break.

Wearing of scrubs INSIDE the hospitals is understandable. We're talking about these workers exiting the hospital to PUBLIC spaces. There needs to be some new guidance on restrictions of wearing hospital scrubs or PPE outside of work areas. DO NOT WEAR THEM TO MY NEIGHBORHOOD STORES that we all go to. Who knows where you've been or had contact with?!? Maybe someone with Covid19 walked by you while you were coming out of the hospital...now you have active viral particles on your clothing.
By the way, some PP stated that viral infection does not happen from clothes...well, they also haven't shown it is transmissible on fomite surfaces. Does that mean we don't need to wipe down all door handles and surfaces??

COVID is transmitted primarily from prolonged contact in an enclosed settings. Even among household contacts, transmission is under 15% per research. Passing someone with covid on their clothes is not going to give you the disease.

Also again, the very patients cared for by healthcare personnel walk among you! We don't ban them from leaving the hospital and they may be colonized for life for all we know. WASH your hands and chill out.

You probably don't think wearing masks is effective...mic drop

I do but this isn't just a question about coronavirus, and we're talking about things transmitted by touch.

Where have you been the last 6 weeks? Antarctica? This very subject is about Covid19 and the fact that healthcare workers are wearing their uniforms out in public. They need to change if they leave the hospital...don't be lazy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well heck, where I work we have public chain restaurants inside the hospital and I promise you no one is changing their scrubs to run to the (national sandwich shop chain) inside the hospital on their thirty minute lunch break.

Wearing of scrubs INSIDE the hospitals is understandable. We're talking about these workers exiting the hospital to PUBLIC spaces. There needs to be some new guidance on restrictions of wearing hospital scrubs or PPE outside of work areas. DO NOT WEAR THEM TO MY NEIGHBORHOOD STORES that we all go to. Who knows where you've been or had contact with?!? Maybe someone with Covid19 walked by you while you were coming out of the hospital...now you have active viral particles on your clothing.
By the way, some PP stated that viral infection does not happen from clothes...well, they also haven't shown it is transmissible on fomite surfaces. Does that mean we don't need to wipe down all door handles and surfaces??

COVID is transmitted primarily from prolonged contact in an enclosed settings. Even among household contacts, transmission is under 15% per research. Passing someone with covid on their clothes is not going to give you the disease.

Also again, the very patients cared for by healthcare personnel walk among you! We don't ban them from leaving the hospital and they may be colonized for life for all we know. WASH your hands and chill out.

Based on your observations...why institute the stay at home order. If infection is not via casual contact then we should all be allowed to open businesses and go to large crowds.

Coronavirus still can spread by asymptomatic individuals or by symptomatic individuals through respiratory droplets. But the degree to which it's transmitted by passing somebody who happens to have coronavirus on their clothes is slim to none. If you touch them and touch your nose without washing your hands, sure. If they stand next to you without either person wearing a mask while you wait in a long checkout line, sure.

But passing a healthcare provider who happens to have coronavirus on their clothes and you don't even touch them? No.

It

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well heck, where I work we have public chain restaurants inside the hospital and I promise you no one is changing their scrubs to run to the (national sandwich shop chain) inside the hospital on their thirty minute lunch break.

Wearing of scrubs INSIDE the hospitals is understandable. We're talking about these workers exiting the hospital to PUBLIC spaces. There needs to be some new guidance on restrictions of wearing hospital scrubs or PPE outside of work areas. DO NOT WEAR THEM TO MY NEIGHBORHOOD STORES that we all go to. Who knows where you've been or had contact with?!? Maybe someone with Covid19 walked by you while you were coming out of the hospital...now you have active viral particles on your clothing.
By the way, some PP stated that viral infection does not happen from clothes...well, they also haven't shown it is transmissible on fomite surfaces. Does that mean we don't need to wipe down all door handles and surfaces??

COVID is transmitted primarily from prolonged contact in an enclosed settings. Even among household contacts, transmission is under 15% per research. Passing someone with covid on their clothes is not going to give you the disease.

Also again, the very patients cared for by healthcare personnel walk among you! We don't ban them from leaving the hospital and they may be colonized for life for all we know. WASH your hands and chill out.

You probably don't think wearing masks is effective...mic drop

I do but this isn't just a question about coronavirus, and we're talking about things transmitted by touch.

Where have you been the last 6 weeks? Antarctica? This very subject is about Covid19 and the fact that healthcare workers are wearing their uniforms out in public. They need to change if they leave the hospital...don't be lazy!

Don't touch them and you're good.

[Anonymous]

People wearing scrubs out and about look lazy and dirty. Sorry.