DavidThe life of a healthcare worker is filled with surprises, unexpected events, and shocking moments that leave you on the edge of your seat. However, there’s a topic that many individuals within the industry forget about while making during their daily rounds through the hospital: scrubs, scrub caps, and accessories.
These items are, without a doubt, the elements that keep us protected in the face of danger. Although scrubs are easy to replace and quick to come by, managing one’s personal arsenal of materials without spending a fortune is challenging. Whether you’re just starting as a nurse or you’ve been working with patients for decades, here are five ways to save money buying scrubs, scrub caps, and accessories.
1. Second-Hand Goods
Let’s be honest with ourselves for a moment: the life of a healthcare professional is filled with bodily fluids, chemicals, and grossness that we’d otherwise like to forget. As we help patients recover from their injuries and maintain their health, these contaminants make their way onto our scrubs and scrub caps.
Knowing this, spending a fortune on scrubs and top-tier products is counterproductive. If a nurse you’re familiar with is transitioning into another field, or you know of a friend who’s tossing out their leftover scrubs, now’s the chance to strike pay-dirt! Second-hand scrubs are cost-effective, easy to replace, and more importantly, let us get our jobs done without second-guessing our attire.
2. Take Advantage of Sales
Many nurses are familiar with sales on electronics, civilian clothing, food, and accessories for day-to-day life, but we often forget that specials and savings apply to healthcare accessories and products. Just like the sales events we see around the holidays and seasonal changes, medical equipment fluctuates in price throughout the year. Located below are some events and special occasions that drop the price of scrubs and accessories for nurses:
- Christmas
- Seasonal Changes
- Black Friday
- Cyber Monday
- New Year
As a rule of thumb, always keep a steady rotation of fresh and clean scrub and accessories like scrub caps available for every workday throughout the week. Before clicking “checkout” on your favorite website to buy scrubs, search Google for specials, savings, and coupon codes!
3. Simplicity Saves Money
As healthcare workers, we’re all guilty of buying cute and fun scrubs to wear around the hospital. Although these pieces of clothing are great conversation starters and help us feel confident while interacting with our patients, they drain our bank accounts in the blink of an eye.
The next time you shop for scrubs and accessories, skip the products that contain intricate colors, patterns, faux animal print, and captivating imagery. These products are, on average, marked up 15% to 20% higher than items with basic colorways. While this price increase may seem trivial, over the years, it takes a toll on your hard-earned funds.
4. Take Care of What You Have
If you’re spending copious amounts of cash on scrubs and medical accessories, we encourage you to take pride in the materials you already possess. Rather than flinging your scrubs across the house after a long shift or tossing them aside aggressively, delicately clean and repurpose your existing scrubs.
Most nurses find their scrubs are ready to be replaced after a 4-to-6 month period, but we find that the lifespan of scrubs, when properly cleaned and maintained, is close to a year. The next time you spend hundreds of dollars on scrubs from the store, find unique ways to refurbish your existing collection.