Despite the fact that I am completely squeamish about all things medical (I even faint at the sight of blood sometimes!) a lot of people don't know that many of the lousy jobs I've held over the years have been in the medial field. Don't worry - I wasn't performing surgery or anything... that would've been scary, haha! But I'm way too familiar with medical offices than anyone with my fear of blood and stuff like that should ever be...
Usually my responsibilities were restricted to 'safe' stuff like making appointments and answering the phones, but that was at 'people' doctors. Working for veterinarians was usually a whole other story. Sometimes I had to clean out cages and prepare fecal tests (let's just say it was the job was overall... shitty). Puppies and kittens are cute. The stuff that comes out of them? NOT SO CUTE.
But every once in a while I did get stuck holding down a squirmy cat while the vet drew blood or petting a dog as it came out of anesthesia post-surgery. Scary... and sometimes gross. Although my responsibilities varied from job to job - and from day to day - one thing was always the same. The uniform. Yep, I'm talking about scrubs.
At the 'clean' jobs (the people jobs) the scrubs I was required to wear were purely... ornamental. They were for show only. I guess they just wanted us to all match... or maybe they didn't trust us not to come to work dressed inappropriately (I am prone to showing excessive cleavage when left to my own devices). Or maybe it was a 'just in case' policy. It's not your job to treat patients - and we would probably get sued if we let you - but god forbid someone bleeds or pees on you by accident at least you didn't ruin any real clothes. Don't worry, no one ever did... at least no people ever did.
As I already said, the 'not-so-clean' jobs (the animal jobs) were... not so clean. So the scrubs were absolutely a necessity.
Did I mention that they made me buy my own scrubs? They didn't even provide them for me. And since every office had their own separate, different 'theme' going on, every time I started a new job, I had to buy a new pair of womens scrubs. If I was dealing with children or animals, I wore those ridiculous scrubs with cartoon characters or puppy paw prints. If I was dealing with adult human beings, it was respectable solid colors only.
Over the years, I've held so many jobs like this that I've become somewhat of an expert at buying nursing uniforms. So for those of you who work in this industry... here are a few tips:
- Wear the right size! It sucks to have to constantly pull up your pants while you're trying to look professional and treat patients. And if your scrubs are too snug you'll look - and feel - ridiculous.
- If you're able to pick your own colors (that is, if you don't have to follow the office dress code) make sure you pick a color that doesn't make you look washed out or sickly. Patients do not feel like they're being taken well care of if their doctor/nurse/technician looks sicker than they do.
- The better you look, the better you'll feel and the better you will do your job... and the happier your bosses and patients will be.
- On the same note - you need to be comfortable. How can you take care of others if you're not feeling good? When possible, look for all cotton scrubs or anything else that won't be itchy and annoying.
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