Nurse Scrubs hasn't been around that long, but she has been around long enough to know a little history. And history is always fun!
Until the 20th Century doctors didn't wear anything special in terms of a medical uniform when they were in surgery except maybe a butcher apron. Doctors wore regular everyday clothes. Of course, they always washed their hands but it may not have been until after they finished the procedure! Surgery today is neat and clean – back then doctors who performed a lot of surgery took pride in being covered with blood stains.
Around a hundred years ago we began learning how important protection from germs is. When surgeons first began wearing gowns and masks it wasn't to protect the patients, it was to protect themselves from the patient's germs.
Finally they discovered more about the risks of infection and began wearing gloves and masks. They also adopted the use of sterilized gowns and drapes in the operation room. They knew they had to be clean and their medical wear had to be perfectly clean so they sterilized their medical uniforms and scrubbed their hands to protect their patients from infection. When they had to “scrub up” they also had to wear those special medical clothes that stood up to the heavy cleaning. That's when surgical scrubs got their name.
Enter colorful scrubs
At first everything was white. This made it look clean. Look at some old pictures of operating room teams and you'll they're all dressed in white. Now we wear all kinds of colors and patterns. Why the change? Eyestrain. All that white made the doctor's eyes get tired fast. Green was a good color because everything stood out against it except blood stains. Stains don't show well on scrubs unless they are a very light color.
The birth of scrubs
Around thirty of forty years ago, the medical scrubs you see today became common. Once in a while they'd be called “greens” but the name “scrubs” is what stuck.