Medical personnel wearing scrubs outside of work

[Anonymous]

What are everyone’s thoughts on medical personnel wearing scrubs in public places? Yesterday went to a Chipotle for take out and saw some healthcare workers wearing scrubs in line. Nearest medical facility was a block away and is an urgent care center. I respect healthcare workers and front line workers at this juncture of the most unprecedented pandemic in history BUT I am also concerned that wearing scrubs or PPE outside of the workplace is inappropriate. How do we know that their scrubs do not harbor Covid19 viral particles? They should at least change into street clothes. Just my 2 cents on this topic

[Anonymous]

Completely inappropriate and disgusting even before COVID.

[Anonymous]

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

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Weird, reactionary assumption.

My SIL is a vet tech and wears scrubs. Some of my coworkers in a social work wear scrubs by choice - no patient contact, just easier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Weird, reactionary assumption.

My SIL is a vet tech and wears scrubs. Some of my coworkers in a social work wear scrubs by choice - no patient contact, just easier.

NP. These days we have to make certain assumptions in order to protect our own health. There's a major hospital near our neighborhood plus many urgent care clinics and other medical offices. In OP's situation frankly I would turn around and leave and just suck up the fact I was paying for takeout I didn't get. I know: Those could be people on the way TO work or people who work in a vet office or social work etc., etc. Doesn't matter to me because there is no way I can know that, short of quizzing them, so yeah, I have to assume the worst and not the best in that situation.

That response will get blasted on this site but since our family has vulnerable members, we're already isolating almost entirely; I'm not screwing it up by thinking I should just be nice, assume the best and figure that no medical worker would ever wear dirty scrubs in public. I'm sure most would not. But I'm not going to bet on it.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

I’m a research scientist in a biomedical field.
That had ALWAYS been a pet peeve of mine!
Disgusting. I don’t walk around with my lab coat on.

[Anonymous]

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.

Also, those same patients they take care of with germs that freak you out such as MRSA, Etc, they go to stores too. They also get Chipotle, or maybe your Chipotle is server is colonized with MRSA or VRE as they are so common. Wash your damn hands and chill out people.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a research scientist in a biomedical field.
That had ALWAYS been a pet peeve of mine!
Disgusting. I don’t walk around with my lab coat on.

+ 1 So many lazy people, or people who miss the point entirely.

[Anonymous]

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?

[Anonymous]

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.

[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 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.