Scrubs (clothing)

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Scrubs, sometimes called surgical scrubs or nursing scrubs, are the sanitary clothing worn by physicians, nurses, dentists and other workers involved in patient care. Originally designed for use by surgeons and other operating room personnel, who would put them on when sterilizing themselves, or "scrubbing in", before surgery, they are now worn by many hospital personnel.

Their use has been extended outside hospitals as well, to work environments where clothing may come into contact with infectious agents (veterinarians, midwives, etc.). Scrubs are designed to be simple (with minimal places for contaminants to hide), easy to launder, and cheap to replace if damaged or stained irreparably. In the United Kingdom, scrubs are sometimes known as theatre blues.

The spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has increased the use of scrubs but can give wearers a false sense of security that they are "clean" when in fact they are as easily contaminated as any other clothing.^[1]