Choosing the Right Medical Wear

Medical wear can be divided into three main categories: clothing for healthcare professionals, patients and visitors, and laboratories and clean rooms.

• Clothing for healthcare professionals:
  • Medical coats
  • Scrubs
  • Surgical gowns
  • Medical aprons (protect only the front of the body)

• Clothing for patients and visitors:
  • Patient gowns are usually open at the back, for bedridden patients, or those who are hospitalized.
  • Medical underwear: for patients undergoing urology or gastroenterology examinations, etc.
  • Visitor coats

• Clothing for laboratories and clean rooms:
  • Medical/lab coats
  • Protective coveralls: designed to protect the whole body, including the head and feet, when handling chemicals or contagious agents.

Dickies Medical lab coat

When choosing scrub uniforms, it’s important to consider certain criteria, such as practical aspects, the available options, color, style, size, and composition.

• Practical aspects/options: Several features can greatly contribute to the comfort of healthcare professionals and help facilitate their tasks:
  • Good thermal protection against the cold and heat.
  • Breathable fabric to prevent perspiration.
  • Enough pockets (side, chest, with or without dividers) to keep a pen, cell phone, tape, and other small everyday items close at hand.
  • A practical closing system, for example with buttons (avoid zippers).
  • Customizable (colors, patterns, sizes).
  • Fabric that is easy to wash and iron.

• Color: This criterion is particularly important if the healthcare facility has adopted a color system. In most establishments, the colors of uniforms vary according to the services and functions performed, making it possible to quickly differentiate between health professionals, which can be crucial in emergency situations. For example, green and blue are colors often assigned to operating room surgeons and anesthesiologists, pink to midwives, and white to nurses.

• Size, style, and model: Clothing should be available in different sizes and models so that each professional can choose the one that best suits their body. The pants can have a narrow, straight, or flared leg, and an elastic waistband, offering healthcare professionals maximum comfort in their preferred style. As for tunics, although there are tighter models, most have a wide cut to allow greater freedom of movement. Short sleeves may be advisable for hygiene reasons, particularly to avoid contact with the fabric and surfaces or patients. However, in laboratories, long sleeves should be worn to protect the arms from possible chemical splashes and serious injuries.

• Material: As far as fabric is concerned, healthcare professionals generally prefer clothes with a polyester-cotton blend, as they have good thermal properties and are comfortable. In addition, they release few particles, which reduces the risk of transmitting germs and bacteria. They are also very resistant, withstanding a high number of washes, which is a great advantage since hospital scrubs must be washed after each use.

Pastelli Uniforms medical scrubs

A surgical gown is used by professionals in operating rooms and for minor surgeries. There are several criteria to consider when choosing a surgical gown, such as its material, the weight of the fabric, or the standards and certifications, as well as a few other less important characteristics.

• Material: The material most commonly used to make surgical gowns is SMS, a non-woven polypropylene fabric. It is a flexible, light, silent, and resistant material. There are also surgical gowns made of cotton, viscose, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polyester, but they are rarer.

• Weight: The average weight of surgical gowns is between 45 g/m² and 55 g/m², although it can be higher for certain models.

• Standards and certifications: Standards and certifications define the design and manufacturing requirements as well as the testing methods for medical wear so that it guarantees the safety of the wearer. They specify, for example, the degree of waterproofness or antistatic properties that the garment must have.

• Other features:
  • Woven or non-woven material
  • Sterile or non-sterile clothing
  • Unit price, number of units per package, etc.

GIMA surgical gown

You should choose protective coveralls based on various criteria, such as the sphere of use, the level of protection required, ergonomics, durability, and the thermal protection it offers against the cold.

• Sphere of use: You may need protective coveralls to work in the following environments:
  • Laboratories
  • Clean rooms
  • Pharmaceutical industry

• Degree of protection required and standards: The coveralls must offer:
  • Protection against chemical products
  • A sufficient degree of waterproofing
  • Antistatic properties

• Ergonomics:
  • Easy and quick to put on
  • Zippered pockets
  • Integrated hood with or without drawstring

• Durability:
  • Abrasion resistant
  • Tear resistant
  • Puncture resistant
  • Fire resistant

• Protection against the cold: If the suit is intended for outdoor work, make sure it offers adequate protection against the cold, rain, or other difficult weather conditions.

• Available options:
  • Size availability (from XXS to XXL)
  • Color availability

3M protective coveralls