Surgeons, hospital nurses and nursing assistants typically wear scrubs at work because of the apparel’s comfort and flexibility. They like brands such as wonderwink scrubs because so many styles, colors, and patterns are available. This can be particularly appealing when the workplace tends to be a bit chilly and they need to wear something beneath the scrubs. Nobody will see light-colored tights under the scrubs, but long-sleeved t-shirts or Henley-style shirts are visible.

Layers

Scrubs are generally made of thin fabric, which is important since medical personnel may work in warm conditions. In addition, with these employees being on their feet much of the time, they tend to get warm at work anyway. It’s easy enough to layer scrubs over other clothes when the environment is cool.

Warm Environments

Health care practitioners in an operating room usually don’t need to wear clothes under the scrubs. Those in an emergency room may find the extra clothing uncomfortably warm when things get hectic. Nursing home personnel often must deal with an environment that isn’t air conditioned except by optional window devices in individual rooms.

Chilly Settings

Yet there are many other health care workers wearing scrubs who are going to feel cold if they don’t have long sleeves and some type of long pants on underneath. The temperatures at which medical facilities keep their thermostats vary a great deal. Some hospitals tend to feel chilly, for example. Workers wish they could wear a sweater, but they soon find that wearing long-sleeved shirts under the scrubs solves the problem.

Discretion

There is another factor to consider as well. When the facility requires certain workers to wear specific colors, those workers may worry about the fabric having a see-through quality. A light white fabric is the main example. The workers don’t want patients, colleagues, and visitors to be able to see their underwear.

Women choose to wear tank tops or sleeveless shirts under the scrubs if they work in a warm environment. Affordable packs of men’s white t-shirts are a satisfactory choice for women too. Men and women alike might decide on lightweight sweat pants or yoga pants. They could even wear jeans, although many medical workers find the construction too constricting.