By Josephine Reid
Uniform scrubs have surely progressed over the years when it comes to how they've been worn. After World War 1, It would take a couple of decades for medical uniforms to evolve into hospital scrubs. Hospital scrubs were popular for surgeons at first and that is where they began. However, it was the efficiency that gave a reason for everyone in hospitals to begin to wear them.
Nurses first began using uniform scrubs during the 70’s and 80’s. The major cultural shift during that decade caused scrubs to become the main uniform for the medical staff. The pants and shirt were easier to move in which meant more patients could receive treatment.
There is also a color code many hospitals go by to differentiate between different departments within the hospital, especially in a large hospital. It is easier for the other doctors, nurses, physicians and so on. It is definitely easier for patients and visitors. It is easier and quicker to notice the color of uniform scrubs than to look for a name tag, especially in a large hospital where not everyone knows everyone else in other departments.
In hospitals that do not require their employees to dress by a color code, it can be fun to wear a color or a pattern you really like, but it becomes confusing because one might confuse a nurse for a resident, for example. Or maybe a patient has no idea who helped him or her, and the only thing you know is “he or she was wearing purple scrubs.”
You typically see surgeons in green or blue scrubs, and nurses that deal with infants in pink. Of course, this varies from hospital to hospital. Not all hospitals have a color coding system for their hospital scrubs. And those with a system will likely not have the same one as another hospital.
