scrubs
I would design scrubs like a magicians hat.......what ever you need would just be in the pocket or up your sleeve at any given moment, like tah dah!!!..... instead of down the hall or at the bottom of your nursing bag!

more pockets that are reinforced so they don't tear off as easily.........and as inexpensive as possible because they are all for work

scrubs ideas
Hi. I'm glad you are taking us nurses into consideration in your designs. Scrubs have to work really hard- but we don't want anything bulky. Somehow they have to be light weight, wrinkle proof and heavy duty at the same time. We have to run around a lot and don't want to be all sweaty at work. As far as pockets, it would be good to put extra pockets anywhere you can think of that will not get in the way. They have to be deep enough so that when we bend over (and we move A LOT) stuff won't fall out- but not so deep that everything wil be lost in them. At least one pocket should be exclusively for pens that has a plastic type liner so that the pens cannot leak through. Keeping in line with the popular trends, it is better to have a little flare on the pants bottom and some style in the shirt as well. Nothing tight at all. The neck area has to be loose and so does the arms- we have to bend and lift and really move our arms a lot. Drawstrings are good or some kind of adjustable straps for the waist but elastic waists don't fit everyone and sometimes, if they are even a little snug, at the end of the shift you can have a backache. Some really cushiony socks would be good too- again breathable. Our feet take a beating. A lot of us nurses like to look nice at work or at least the best we can in our work clothes. Many nurse spend a lot of money on cutsey clothes but I don't think "cute" is as important as FUNCTION. Remember, these are working clothes! Here's some stuff I like to carry on my body: Highlighter, black pens (2), red pen, small calculator, papers (reference papers that are card sized and also folded papers for the day), scissors, hemostat, syringes for flushing IV's, calipers, and my lipstick and money. Don't forget we need to attach our badge at the top somewhere and don't make it right over our boob! Put a little extra piece of fabric somewhere up high onthe shirt for a badge to attach that will not be in the way or when we bend be in our face or the patients face if we are bent over him/her. That's all I can think of for now. I sure hope this helps. Good luck to you. I'll be looking for these scrubs! LOL

scrubs
Another thing you could think about, is some kind of heavier reinforcement for the bottom of the pockets, so that pens, scissors, etc wouldn't be able to poke a hole in them or break thru the stitching at the bottom. Also, a snap on dickey or something to keep patients from being able to look down your top when you are starting IV's or doing patient care would be nice!

srubs
Redisign scrubs, man that woudl be great!! Material that is strong, lightweight, warm and doesn't need to be ironed. reinforce all pockets, keep necklines from gaping open, 3/4 sleeves with a pen slot like flight suits, inner pocket with snap for keys and money. and since we are not all the same siaze or age design them to be tailoredd to a lot of people. attractive would be nice, but not necessary.

Nursing Scrubs
After reading all the previous replies, I will write
that I agree with the input already provided.

I am a floor nurse on a maternity floor (antepartum, postpartum and newborn nursery).

What works for me are scrubs that:
have a long life span (many washings)
do not require ironing
are lightweight
are spacious - allowing easy mobility
are reasonably priced
can be tied at the waist (elastic is uncomfortable)
is genuinely available in petite length (I'm 5.2"
and have had to hem all the petites I purchase)
have an abundance of spacious/reinforced/
sufficiently deep pockets.

Pockets are a high priority for me in
the selection process. I carry, pens,
highlighters, scissors, tape, gauze,
money, car keys, and varied differing
pieces of folded papers in my pockets
throughout any given shift. I also use
the pockets to temporarily transport a
very long list of varying "things" that I am
taking to a patient's room, e.g. bottles of baby
formula, baby bottle nipples, cans of juice,
infant pacifiers, (well the list is quite long).
If...
there were some way to design a pocket
where bending over (we nurses do this
a lot) did not present the outcome where
everything seems to fall out on to the
floor - this would be MIRACULOUS!!

I strongly agree with the suggestion for
adding a cloth tab to the scrub top for
use in clipping our ID tags. I wear mine
clipped to a necklace/rope type thing.
It is one more thing around my neck
as I also drape my stethoscope around
my neck. It would be great if this 'tab'
were loop-like and not only a piece of
cloth to clip the ID to. In this manner,
it would enable me to clip the ID tag
into the cloth loop and not just clip it
on to the surface of the cloth tag.

I think I can speak for most of the nurses
I work with, when I say that although we
do indeed care about the actual "stylish
look" of our scrubs - it is not the highest
priority. Most of the time, we are so
busy and so caught up on the actual work,
that functional and practical supersedes
our desires for "beauty".

Re design uniforms
I think it is great you are asking nurses for input. I would rather have a rounded neck opening than the v neck that is available on most scrups. also mor petite size pants with roomier waists. I am also always catching my pockets on the arms of chairs, doorknobs or othe objects that stick out when I am rushing by.

design uniforms

Uniforms must be economically affordable, roomy, lots of pockets, easy to care for, durable and stain resistant with moisture barrier.
I am a large woman and I like my uniforms loose and not form fitting, like some seem to be although its the same size of others I wear.
Colors need to be broad as well as sizes, considering most people, nurses in general are overweight like myself. (sorry for you "unlucky " ones who are thin). Pockets need to be deep. I personally think there should be area on the waist or leg(like a wide belt loop) to carry cell phone/pager, place to hang the stethescope, sizzors, clamps and roomy pockets for notepad and various writing utensils. Not to mention alcohol or antiseptic wipes, bandaids, etc. I suppose it will have to be geared to what tools you need on you. :wink:

Scrub redesign
Thank you for coming to nurses to see what it is we need as far as scrubs go.

I like elastic in the waist band. So much easier to get off as we are always limited in our time to use the bathroom.

Tops, LOTS OF POCKETS, deep with plastic linings to prevent leakage. We use walki-talkies in our facility and there really isn't any place to attach them. How about an epaulet on the shoulder or just below the shoulder a tab where it could be attached. This could be either on the front of the uniform or on the sleeve. Also, agree with having the neckline open, but not so low as to provide a show for the patients. Aprons are nice to hold things, but get in the way when you have to bend down.

New Scrubs
Hello,
I have been sewing my own scrubs for 6 years. I like lots of pockets. I layer my pockets on my shirts and pants.I start with a small pocket for alcohol pads and layer about 4 pockets an each side of my shirt. Then I makes a pen pocket on my left shoulder and put a tab on the right shoulder for my name tag. I put side pockets on my pants usually 4 layers of pockets on each side. I could draw it for you but I do not know how to do it on this site.
I am usually the topic of discussion because of my scrubs. I do not bring anything to work that doesn't fit in my pockets.

I would love to help design new scrubs! Alot of people have given you great in put I too would have to agree that pockets are essential! I tend to wear tops with two and bottoms that have at least two if not more! I am petite and I would love to see scrub tops designed to fit smaller shorter people! I have had to hem my scrub tops they were so long!I have found a couple of styles out there but that is it! So think of all different shapes and sizes as well when your re-designing!

designing scrubs
I AGREE WITH THE OTHER NURSES REGARDING POCKETS. I ALSO LIKE ELASTIC IN THE WAIST. YOU MAY CONSIDER VELCRO ON THE POCKETS TO HOLD THEM CLOSED SO YOU SUPPLIES DON'T FALL OUT, VELCO ALSO ALLOWS QUICK AND EASY ACCESS. THE NECKLINE CAN'T BE TO LOW. THE SLEEVES NEED TO BE A LITTLE SHORTER FOR THOSE NURSES THAT SCRUB FOR SURGERY BUT NOT OPEN SO WIDE THAT HER BRA SHOWS. PLEASE CHOOSE FABRIC PATTERNS WITH GOOD TASTE,I'M TIRED OF ALL CUTSIE OR WILD PATTERNS. IT WOULD BE FUN TO HAVE SOCKS THAT MATCH THE PATTERN IN THE SCRUBS. IT WOULD BE FINANCALLY HELPFUL IF PATTERNS COULD BE MIX-MATCHED WITH DIFFERENT COLORED PANTS; THEREFORE, VARYING YOUR WARDROBE.

a suggestion for the pockets......possibly adding some elastic at the tops of the pockets to keep them from gaping open when we bend over.....???
I'm no seamstress so not sure how this would work :wink:

It would be helpful if you used a fabric that was resistant to stains from ink. I can't tell you how many uniform tops I have ruined over the years because I either forgot to recap a pen or a pen leaked in my pocket

cute and comfy scrubs
8) I'm so glad to hear that someone out there is finally thinking of use nurses at work and how we would like to wear scrubs that are cute and comfy! Yes, I agree that all pockets that would hold pens should be reinforced in case the pens break and I am also big on the idea of making sure that when we do have to bend over a patient that they don't get a free show One thing I usually have to wear is a white undershirt under my scrub tops so that when I do sweat (which is ineveitable) it's absorbed into my cotton white t-shirt verses my actual scrub top. I don't want to have body odor that's noticeable nor do I want to stain the scrub tops from perspiration. If you could design a scrub top that already has a cotton liner sewn from the inside that would be great and it could match the color of the scrub top. I think there would be a lot of nurses out there who would appreciate that in the pants as well for warmth in the cold days. One thing that has always bothered me about my dickies pants is that whatever I seem to put in my pockets (and there are a lot of them) the stuff is always poking me when I sit down, maybe you could design them so that wouldn't happen. I know your not asking about socks, but if you designed extra padded socks that would be great too. I'm not talking about padded all the way around like in thick socks but just on the soles of the feet. I would also love to see stain resistant and wrinkle free easy care scrubs too. Is it possible to get all these things into one outfit? I hope so. I also need scrubs that are breathable! I think that a special place to hold your stethoscope would be killer too. I hate the way that rubber feels next to my neck skin, but say you had designed something on the side of the pants leg to velcro hold it or even around the neck but where it only lays on the material of the scrub top and not on the nurses neck.....that would be much more comfy! Good Luck and thanks!

scrubs
Hi! Thanks for asking nurses! Things that I like or would like in scrubs: Deep pockets!
The pocket-in-a-pocket design on many scrub tops, it would be great if you could add Velcro to the top of the inner pocket (where I usually stash keys, money, etc.) to keep items from falling out, and put pen loops in an outer pocket with a leak/puncture resistant bottom.
If the tops could have a bit of flare at the bottom or at least longer slits at that hem, that would be great: some of us have a little extra junk in the trunk and it's annoying to have to keep pulling your shirt back down over your butt all shift, but a bigger shirt would be too big.
Lightweight, breathable fabric is a plus when you're working up a sweat. Too many decoratives, like fancy ties, just get caught on the doorway or the bed and torn.
I really like the idea of a loop for your ID too!

For pants, definitely waist tie! Elastic doesn't always fit comfortably and tie waists accomodate more sizes.
The best pants I have ever worn are my EMS pants and I often wore my lighter weight BDU style pants in the ER (where we had to wear navy blue bottoms anyway). Look at these for design ideas in pants, many have well placed pockets for scissors, tape, stethesope, tubex, etc. and the BDU styles have adjustable tabs for an easy fit.

Thanks! Please post when you have have a design for us, it would be interesting to see what you come up with!

JenLen, LPN, EMT-P

Re: Nursing Scrubs


it is great to get sharing informations above.i am manufacture medical uniforms, i love these, it helpfull for me much in design working, and do scrubs, and uniforms.
pls contact us if you have inquiry for scrubs and uniforms, we always serve you in best way.

If you remember in history about a cobblers skirt with pockets all around all for different items the shoemaker needed, that same thing could be made as a scrub skirt for both men and women. Pockets for everything.

I’m not sure if this topic is still going but what a great idea and hope that someone hears my calls for better scrubs!

I would make some green and blue plaid ones and then I would also incorporate purple into them as well since those are my 3 favorite colors!
I also would like to see you start making the pants shorter so I don’t have to get mine hemmed all the time!

Plenty of pockets so I can have even more places to put a pen only to lose it every time I stop somewhere! But that would be a good idea!

I totally agree with busiacam – elastic waist is the best!

I could go on and on but another thing is that I am always cold and am always layering! I usually have to wear a sweater or something under them that is appropriate so my arms are covered. It doesn’t matter how hot the day is outside, I work in a hospital that they keep very cold! I don’t know if they make them already but why not make some of the tops with the arm lining in them? That would be a big plus for me and I would buy all of them!