By Elizabeth Ortiz

You can see uniform scrubs in hospitals as well as in stores near hospitals. Some medical professionals go get lunch or even pick up their children while wearing their scrubs. There’s been a long debate about whether or not this is safe. Should you wear scrubs publicly?

Many of the nurses uniforms come into contact with different kinds of germs, both good and bad. “There’s been a very rapid and scary increase in the abundance and frequency of infections of antibiotic resistant bacteria,” said Biologist Jonathan Eisen of UC Davis to NBC.

One place that has these organisms are medical care facilities. That’s where people go when they are sick – hospitals. This increase in infections and antibiotic resistant bacteria is suggested to be due to nursing uniforms. Scrub uniforms and healthcare uniforms are easy to contaminate. The biggest concern with scrubs outside of the hospital is carrying germs out. Hospital uniforms can cause bacteria from inside the hospitals to get out to susceptible people.

Staff Reactions

Some nurses state that they do not believe it is a problem to use their uniform scrubs outside of work. Some medical professionals may be hungry and have a time restraint so they do not have time to change. Another hospital employee stated that on days when he doesn’t have procedures scheduled, he feels that it’s okay to wear his scrubs outside of the hospital. Some employees do not have multiple scrub uniforms because they can get expensive in nurse uniform stores.

“There is really limited evidence, lack of data on the role of attire, and the role of scrub attire, and the transmission of organisms in healthcare settings,” said Julia Sammons, medical director of the department of infection prevention and control at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to NBC. Many staff want robust evidence in order to stop using their medical clothing out in public.