How Medical Uniforms Have Changed

Nursing Pajamas

Arguably, the field of medicine has existed since the beginning of time. Even the earliest of civilizations developed some type of system for coping with ailments. Of course these early methods of healing were very primitive, but through trial, error and advances in science, healing professions evolved their methods to match the medical practices that exist today. Although medical practices have existed since the beginning of time, the standard medical uniform is a relatively new addition to the field of medicine.

Nursing Pajamas

Today, the majority of, if not all, medical professionals adorn medical scrubs while working in hospitals and other medical facilities. Historically, however, the medical scrub is a relatively new phenomenon. At the beginning of the 19th century, doctors would perform surgical procedures in their street clothes. If a doctor was seen in clothing covered with blood and other bodily fluids, he would be perceived as having a fluid medical practice. It makes sense, however, that many doctors would not like ruining their clothes by staining them with the bodily fluids of others. Doctors who were concerned about protecting their clothing began wearing butcher's aprons when performing surgery. Eventually, some type of surgical uniform was designed to replace the aprons. Initially, the surgical uniform was white. White, however, can lead to eye strain and fatigue. In addition, the sight of blood on white material can be difficult for many people to stomach. For that reason, surgical scrubs were designed in the standard green color that we often associate with medical television shows such as M.A.S.H. The benefits of wearing medical scrubs became well known and the uniform began to be worn by all doctors and not simply surgeons.

Today, doctors are not the only medical professionals that wear scrubs. Virtually all medical staff working in hospitals and doctor's offices wear some type of scrub uniform. Even nurses have evolved from their traditional uniform to medical scrubs. Historically, nursing uniforms consisted of the standard dress, apron and cap. This uniform is highly identifiable by most people and was worn by nurses until the 1990s. Today, nursing uniforms are usually only seen in the United States when worn as costumes at Halloween. During the 90's nurses began wearing scrubs identical to those worn by doctors. The trend took off and the majority of nursing professionals in the United States wear scrubs instead of the standard nursing dress.

With both doctors and nurses wearing medical scrubs as uniforms, it was only a matter of time before other hospital professionals followed suit. The popularity of medical scrubs today is likely due to their convenience, comfort and availability. Medical scrubs allow professionals to protect their personal clothing and a uniform takes away the time consuming task of planning an appropriate outfit for the day. In addition, scrubs are comfortable and synonymous to wearing pajamas. Today scrubs have expanded and include a variety of styles including Landau scrubs and Metroscrubs. Different brands of scrubs offer a broad variety of choices. For example, Metro scrubs can be found in various colors including green, blue, pink and yellow.

How Medical Uniforms Have Changed
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