Used to be you’d only see Marcus Welby, MD in them after surgery. Most of the time doctors wore white lab coats or suits, and nurses wore little nursing uniforms with cute hats. Now, rest assured 95% of the people you encounter in ANY health related field, be it on man or animal, will be sporting a new pair of Scrubs. I don’t have a problem with scrubs. It is just difficult for a lay person to know exactly what said scrub-wearing person does.
Are you my internist or the plastic surgeon? Or, heaven help me, someone incorrectly scanned my armband, and I’m in the line-up for a colonoscopy. Yes, I blame much of this confusion on scrubs.
Looking to the layman’s answer to anything, Wikipedia, offers the following as the definition or explanation of modern scrubs:
Today, any medical uniform consisting of a short-sleeve shirt and pants is known as “scrubs”. Nearly all patient care personnel at hospitals in the United States wear some form of scrubs while on duty, as do some staffers in doctor, dental, and veterinary offices. Support staff such as custodians and unit clerks also wear scrubs in some facilities.
After serious thought, I’ve decided to request Medical and photo ID of personnel requesting access to my body.
I’ll tell them to pretend they are checking in at the doctor’s office.
First of all, love this post…funny AND thought provoking. Secondly, saw a man in said scrubs in
a restaurant yesterday…a strange sight to see at lunch at the Long Horn restaurant. A very short
and very rotund man…BIZARRE!!
Ridgely,
You really are so funny, but did you see this article yesterday: Hospital garb harbors nasty bacteria, new study says: http://on.msnbc.com/pDSsxg via @msnbc
Also, in the hospital where I lived in Newport Beach the color of your scrubs was the indicator of your position. Doctors – pale blue, nurses – green, techs – dark blue….the only problem with that system is when you are sick you have trouble remembering which profession goes with which color…and forget if you happen to be color blind.
My mother was a registered nurse. Everyday she went to work in her white freshly starched uniform, her cap (which signified which nursing college one graduated from), white stockings and her lapel pin from her nursing college! Oh, yes, she had a nurses black or very navy blue cap. Very dramatic. I loved it.
One more thing, from my tech side: Your tweets about this post are not hyperlinked to your post. I tested it in IE8 and the latest version of FF. If you click on the tweet it just takes you to your Twitter profile!
Have a good weekend,
Judy
Judy Helfand recently posted..The Help – Why Not Be Part Of The Living Proof
Funny :)
Darlene- I’m glad you enjoyed it- glad you commented… made my day!
Judy- On my way to read the article… having all kinds of technical problems- click on STR on Google takes you back to Google search ;-( First chat this am will be with blue host ;-)
I forgot about the white hose- my best friend’s mom was a nurse- I just think it added to the whole professional look, but I’m sure the nurses today would not like to wear hose everyday, besides the hats;-)
Thanks for taking the time to stop by and chat- you always make me feel loved.
ridgely
I know- amazing where we see people in scrubs… thanks for letting me know this made you smile- this is what keeps me going ;-)
Uh, oh, I wear scrubs of all colors all the time…cooler, mostly cotton, and cheap at Wal-Mart. I wear t-shirts or blouses not the scrub tops. So far no one has mistaken me for any kind of health professional…well maybe the psy ward.