coolest surgical caps

[rockdoc]

Whenever I go to the or, I always notice the colorful surgical hats the techs and nurses wear. I started wearing my own, too, starting as a third year med student, since the disposable paper hats always make that irritating crunching sound when I move my head, and they're also a bit itchy. Contrasted with my flowery caps, I think the men crew have the cooler caps around. One of my plastics attendings wears a black cap with a bright yellow biohazard symbol on the forehead. An anesthesiologist before wore a cap that looked like the Karate Kid's bandana.

Does anybody else have unique/badass caps?

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[TXSurgResident]

Hats:
Buffalo Bills x2
Texas Longhorns
Spongebob x2 (for Children's)

Have seen a great photo of a resident in his Red Sox hat operating with an attending in his Yankees hat.

 

[Asdf77]

At the risk of this turning into everyone listing their fav sports teams, i'm going to be buying a Packers and Badgers cap.

 

[Pir8DeacDoc]

I have a cool Wake Forest cap that I rock (undergrad alma mater).

Considered getting an Atlanta Braves cap but that wouldn't go over too well in Northern NE where everyone is a Yanks or BoSox fan.

 

[Castro Viejo]

My caps are cool 'cause they're free from the device reps.

 

[Blade28]

I just use the plain ol' blue paper caps or bouffant hats.

 

[SocialistMD]

I like to think of it as advertising my future sell-out.

I don't understand wearing the bouffant caps, either. I will tell you, though, that I have seen more than one orthopod waltzing around wearing one. The best is when it is in combo with the cowboy boots.

 

[smq123]

Bouffant caps?! God, only the General Surgeons . . .

Speaking of caps: Anyone got a good web link to a store that sells them? I just don't feel like hunting down the OR nurse (employed by every hospital in America) that makes them, then hoping she finishes before I rotate out . . .

The only guys that I've met that wore bouffant caps were either going into ortho or were ortho interns. One of them mumbled something about the paper caps not fitting around his "huge head."

I've heard a few people say that the bouffant caps are "easier and faster to put on." The paper ones don't look that complicated to me.

There are a few websites that sell cloth caps:

http://www.sassyscrubs.com/surgical_cap.html#view_top
http://www.surgicalcaps.com/viewcaps.htm
http://www.scrubcap.net/category/college-mascot-scrub-caps/
http://sparklingearth.com/
http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/

Some of them may be a little bit girly...if the word "sassy" didn't already warn you of that fact. Sparklingearth and blueskyscrubs don't look too bad, though.

I don't understand wearing the bouffant caps, either.

At least you guys get to choose! I have pretty long hair (past my shoulders) and a fair amount of it. I don't have any choice except to wear the bouffant cap.

I hate those bouffant caps SO MUCH that I even (briefly) considered cropping my hair so that I could wear the paper caps. I figured it was a little drastic for a 12 week rotation, though....

To make matters even better, I have so much hair that one bouffant cap isn't enough to control it - I get to wear TWO. I usually tried to pin my hair up and out of the way, but a lot of times it would just slide right out of the pins - and my ponytail would end up dragging the cap off the top of my head.

 

[SoulRFlare]

I don't understand wearing the bouffant caps, either. I will tell you, though, that I have seen more than one orthopod waltzing around wearing one. The best is when it is in combo with the cowboy boots.

Don't let the fancy french sounding term for this piece of headgear fool you--we all know it for what it really is: a lunch-lady beret

 

[SocialistMD]

At least you guys get to choose! I have pretty long hair (past my shoulders) and a fair amount of it. I don't have any choice except to wear the bouffant cap.

One of the ENT residents from my intern year refuses to wear them. She pulls her below-shoulder length hair up and tucks it under the regular scrub caps and it works fine for her. Give it a shot.

 

[smq123]

One of the ENT residents from my intern year refuses to wear them. She pulls her below-shoulder length hair up and tucks it under the regular scrub caps and it works fine for her. Give it a shot.

Thanks for the suggestion.

I've tried that too. I can't get my hair to coil into a small-enough bun to fit under the cap. The first time I did, the hat sat on top of my head like a beanie - which was worse than the bouffant cap. The other times I've tried it, my hair slides right out of the bun and falls out of the cap - if I can get the cap to even fit without cutting off circulation to my head.

(Any other suggestions are welcome, though!)

Oh well. That's partly why they make cloth caps for women, I guess.

 

[SocialistMD]

Bouffant caps are for women and men who wish they were women, which is why I was unsuprised to hear the General Surgeon say he prefers them . . .

Yeah, but he wants to do CT, a subspecialty that is trying to remove itself from general surgery. You can't count him against the rest of us. Plus, other than cardiology, where do you see as many golden stethoscopes?

 

[Kubed]

I don't understand wearing the bouffant caps, either. I will tell you, though, that I have seen more than one orthopod waltzing around wearing one. The best is when it is in combo with the cowboy boots.

I have to back socialist on this one. One of my ortho attendings helped me see the way. He said "son, this is the bouffant cap, and it shall set you free."

 

[DrA]

Anyone care to explain to the uninformed what's so bad about bouffant caps?

 

[Winged Scapula]

Anyone care to explain to the uninformed what's so bad about bouffant caps?

Nurses and other female types wear them so the guys think they are sissy.

Liks smq, I don't have a choice...my hair won't fit under the regular caps and I look <even more> stupid in them.

 

[MossPoh]

Anyone care to explain to the uninformed what's so bad about bouffant caps?

Well, bouffant caps look goofy, but they were so much more comfortable for me.

Now that you guys mention it, I only see ortho attendings and nurses wearing them...Oh and an ob/gyn but I think we all get that one.

 

[DrA]

Nurses and other female types wear them so the guys think they are sissy.

Liks smq, I don't have a choice...my hair won't fit under the regular caps and I look <even more> stupid in them.

Oh ok. I never noticed that before. I know a surgeon who wears them and after this thread I have to try not to smile the next time I see him with it.

 

[smq123]

Well, bouffant caps look goofy, but they were so much more comfortable for me.

I think a pre-med on pre-allo had shadowed a surgeon and wore the bouffant cap. He twisted the back part up, so that the cap fitted snugly against his head, after he saw a male scrub tech do it. He said that it "looked better that way - like a doo-rag!"

Um, no.

I've never seen a doo-rag made out of pale blue spun nylon. And I doubt that wearing such a thing on your head will win you any cool points or boost your "street cred."

 

[MossPoh]

I think a pre-med on pre-allo had shadowed a surgeon and wore the bouffant cap. He twisted the back part up, so that the cap fitted snugly against his head, after he saw a male scrub tech do it. He said that it "looked better that way - like a doo-rag!"

Um, no.

I've never seen a doo-rag made out of pale blue spun nylon. And I doubt that wearing such a thing on your head will win you any cool points or boost your "street cred."

I fess up to being a premed, but I think I might shoot myself if I ever said it looked like a doo-rag. Hell, I'd probably beat myself up if I ever wore anything that was close to a doorag. Do the bouffant caps protect against nappy hair? If so, my jew fro has never noticed.

Of course, I'm not cool enough to earn street cred either.

 

[taXi]

Don't let the fancy french sounding term for this piece of headgear fool you--we all know it for what it really is: a lunch-lady beret

I wear a bouffant when working with mice and my french PI always pokes fun by saying I look like I am in "food services."

 

[rockdoc]

I've always wondered though, are interns allowed to wear cloth scrub caps, or is this frowned upon? I'm realizing all the unwritten rules in surgery, and don't particularly want to overstep my boundaries come July.

 

[Castro Viejo]

I think it's sort of culture dependent. Where I am now it's frowned upon for all but senior residents (3s and up) to wear a cloth cap. It's sort of stupid, I agree, but the gasps some people make when an intern walks into the OR with a cloth cap are just too funny. Some of the chicken-without-a-head interns never seem to get it, so they're constantly walking around with cloth caps. It's seen as arrogant around these parts. Perhaps precocious is a better word? Dunno.

For myself I wore disposable caps until I got a free cloth one from a device rep. Since then, I've worn nothing but device/drug rep caps. Why spend money on one? It'll invariably get soiled somehow. Whether it's poop or blood, do you really want to just throw that into your laundry and slap it back onto your head? Nah...

I love the New York Yankees, but not enough to spend the $8.95 it'll cost me to buy one of them caps.

 

[Blade28]

Yeah, but he wants to do CT, a subspecialty that is trying to remove itself from general surgery. You can't count him against the rest of us. Plus, other than cardiology, where do you see as many golden stethoscopes?

Appreciate the backup, dude.

I should add that I hate the line it leaves across your forehead.

I love the New York Yankees, but not enough to spend the $8.95 it'll cost me to buy one of them caps.

Why don't I just buy you one the next time they win the World Series?

Oh yeah, that's right, you'll probably be retired by then.

 

[Castro Viejo]

Why don't I just buy you one the next time they win the World Series?

Oh yeah, that's right, you'll probably be retired by then.

I'm gonna kick your a$$.

 

[Samoa]

I can't stand the bouffant caps. My hair always slides out of them and hangs in my face. And of course you can't brush it away without contaminating yourself. All in all, very irritating.

I have long hair, so I just twist it up and wear a regular cap. If you tie the cap tightly, it holds really well.

One time a nurse manager in the OR tried to give me grief for not wearing a bouffant (I was a student at the time, of course), and I pointed out to her that far less of MY hair was showing under the surgeon cap than any of the men around me who were wearing one. And what's more, if I shed any hair during the operation, it was far less likely than theirs to fall out of the cap and onto the sterile field.

One advantage of cloth caps: they have more room for long hair than the paper ones in the same style.

 

[Blade28]

I'm gonna kick your a$$.

 

[smq123]

I can't stand the bouffant caps. My hair always slides out of them and hangs in my face. And of course you can't brush it away without contaminating yourself. All in all, very irritating.

Which is why, under threat of death (those circulating nurses are mean!), I was forced to wear two bouffant caps. Two caps effectively keep your hair from sliding anywhere, and keeps it out of your face.

I have long hair, so I just twist it up and wear a regular cap. If you tie the cap tightly, it holds really well.

How are you twisting your hair up? I can't get it in a small enough bun to fit under the regular cap. I've tried any number of ways, and it just doesn't work.

Well, one time it DID work, but the cap was so tight that it cut off circulation to my forehead, which got pretty painful.

 

[ExtraCrispy]

Which is why, under threat of death (those circulating nurses are mean!), I was forced to wear two bouffant caps. Two caps effectively keep your hair from sliding anywhere, and keeps it out of your face.



How are you twisting your hair up? I can't get it in a small enough bun to fit under the regular cap. I've tried any number of ways, and it just doesn't work.

Well, one time it DID work, but the cap was so tight that it cut off circulation to my forehead, which got pretty painful.

I've found I can easily get my below-shoulder hair into the paper caps if I braid each side, then coil the braid at the top of my head & clip it. Braiding takes up some of the "slack," so you have less to coil into the bun at the end. I do this right after I get out of the shower, usually on call days when I know life is going to be crazy.

Unfortunately, I still wind up going for the bouffants, even though they look ridiculous, b/c I haven't figured out how to get my BANGS safely under the paper caps, without looking like a cockatoo after the case.

 

[Blade28]

How are you twisting your hair up? I can't get it in a small enough bun to fit under the regular cap. I've tried any number of ways, and it just doesn't work.

Is your hair that long? Curly? Thick?

 

[smq123]

Is your hair that long? Curly? Thick?

Sort of on the long side - well past my shoulders. And it is pretty thick (not curly), and there's just a lot of it. Plus it's fairly slippery, so it tends to fall out of a bun pretty fast.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Is your hair that long? Curly? Thick?

I can't do it either...mine isn't that long but I have a lot of it (ie, thick) and since its layered I can't braid it effectively either (and also without looking like some maiden).

 

[TXSurgResident]

My wife (plastics resident) also despises bouffant caps, but has too much hair for the tie ones. She has ordered a few from this web site

http://www.greenscrubs.com/

They make ones call "super tie" caps that have extra room in the back for your coif without making you look like a paeds recovery room nurse (for better or worse ). They should arrive this week, so we'll see how they work out.

 

[Blade28]

Sort of on the long side - well past my shoulders. And it is pretty thick (not curly), and there's just a lot of it. Plus it's fairly slippery, so it tends to fall out of a bun pretty fast.

Ah, gotcha!

I can't do it either...mine isn't that long but I have a lot of it (ie, thick) and since its layered I can't braid it effectively either (and also without looking like some maiden).

A maiden? Like one of those medieval ones? Awesome!

 

[smq123]

I can't do it either...mine isn't that long but I have a lot of it (ie, thick) and since its layered I can't braid it effectively either (and also without looking like some maiden).

I did usually braid it first, just because the spun nylon of the bouffant cap would give any of my hair in the pony tail incredible static cling.

I'm impressed that you can keep your hair layered, though. I always start out with my hair in layers, but then something comes up (Step 1, surgery rotation), and I can't keep getting it cut as regularly as I should, so the layers eventually grow out. It ended up being a good thing for surgery, though.

So yeah...(now that this conversation has gotten really girly)...so at what level did you feel comfortable wearing a special cloth cap? PGY-3? PGY-4? Only as a chief?

 

[Winged Scapula]

I'm impressed that you can keep your hair layered, though. I always start out with my hair in layers, but then something comes up (Step 1, surgery rotation), and I can't keep getting it cut as regularly as I should, so the layers eventually grow out. It ended up being a good thing for surgery, though.

Well now its a relatively new thing. I'm not sure I cut my hair at all during residency. Hair clips became my friend. But now that you mention it, I was just thinking today that I need to get it cut again, the layers are looking a bit sloppy and I realized I was wearing the clips a lot again.

So yeah...(now that this conversation has gotten really girly)...so at what level did you feel comfortable wearing a special cloth cap? PGY-3? PGY-4? Only as a chief?

I think this is highly program dependent. I probably started wearing them around PGY-4 or so, but it wasn't because we had any rules about it (other than yeah, interns shouldn't be wearing them). But even now, sometimes I still wear the paper ones...either because I've forgotten my cloth ones or the band on some of them give me a HA.

I still miss my camo one I had in residency...I have another but its sewn different and too poufy. I look like I'm wearing a toque.

 

[Samoa]

Sort of on the long side - well past my shoulders. And it is pretty thick (not curly), and there's just a lot of it. Plus it's fairly slippery, so it tends to fall out of a bun pretty fast.

My hair's pretty thick also. I actually like it longer, because when it's too short, I can't get it to hold well. It also doesn't hold well when it's dry. So either I wash it in the morning and wear it up all day, or I make quick trip to the bathroom and splash some water on it. It helps if I've put some gel in it that morning.

I only wear the bouffant if I'm in too big a hurry to mess with my hair, or I've forgotten my ponytail holder.

 

[Kubed]

At a local Buffant Cap Anonymous meeting....

(Stands up)

Hello everyone, my name's kubed, I'm a guy, I have short hair, and I rock the bouffant cap

(everyone)

Hello kubed

 

[SocialistMD]

Hello everyone, my name's kubed, I'm a guy, I have short hair, and I rock the bouffant cap

Nobody "rocks" the bouffant cap. That's like saying you rock these shorts:

Nobody rocks those.

 

[Kubed]

Nobody "rocks" the bouffant cap. That's like saying you rock these shorts:

Nobody rocks those.

Maybe it's due to my killer legs, or maybe it's due to my new found sense of being able to accomplish anything (thank you em).... but I could rock those shorts

 

[SocialistMD]

...maybe it's due to my new found sense of being able to accomplish anything (thank you em).... but I could rock those shorts

I don't know if you intended this statement to be as funny on as many levels as you did, but thank you.

 

[nonesuchgirl]

I've found I can easily get my below-shoulder hair into the paper caps if I braid each side, then coil the braid at the top of my head & clip it. Braiding takes up some of the "slack," so you have less to coil into the bun at the end. I do this right after I get out of the shower, usually on call days when I know life is going to be crazy.

Unfortunately, I still wind up going for the bouffants, even though they look ridiculous, b/c I haven't figured out how to get my BANGS safely under the paper caps, without looking like a cockatoo after the case.

IDK how long your bangs are, but either twisting and clipping them back or using those no-slip headbands keeps mine off my face.

 

[redbeans]

I think this is highly program dependent. I probably started wearing them around PGY-4 or so, but it wasn't because we had any rules about it (other than yeah, interns shouldn't be wearing them). But even now, sometimes I still wear the paper ones...either because I've forgotten my cloth ones or the band on some of them give me a HA.

Ours seems to be not just program-dependent, but OR-specific. The CV rooms in the heart institute don't allow the techs to wear cloth scrub caps or the anesthesiologists to wear cloth jackets over their scrubs (other than sterile gowns backwards) because of their sterile rules, but the paper caps aren't sterile either.... I guess you could have pet hair or external germs potentially blowing around the room.

One time a nurse manager in the OR tried to give me grief for not wearing a bouffant (I was a student at the time, of course), and I pointed out to her that far less of MY hair was showing under the surgeon cap than any of the men around me who were wearing one. And what's more, if I shed any hair during the operation, it was far less likely than theirs to fall out of the cap and onto the sterile field.

I also got grief from a nurse for wearing the cap instead of the bouffant, even though my hair is shorter than many of the shaggy guys and the only rule I'd been told was caps if "above the ears". Bouffant bias.

 

[Samoa]

Yeah, that same nurse tried to tell me the hair above the ears thing was a JCAHO rule. I politely reminded her that JCAHO has a website listing all their rules, and could she please show me the rule in question?

She didn't expect a lowly med student to know that much about JCAHO.

 

[Kubed]

I don't know if you intended this statement to be as funny on as many levels as you did, but thank you.

Compleatly intentional, and I do what I can

 

[jbean]

For women or men with long hair, the best caps are the "big hair" ones from Sparkling Earth:

http://www.sparklingearth.com/products.asp?category=100027

It looks like the smaller paper caps from the front, but holds all your hair in a ponytail in the back. And lots of different kinds to choose from.

Love them!

 

[dpmd]

One of the techs here has long hair and she uses a bouffant/paper cap combo. She uses the bouffant to control the back part of her hair so that it is covered, but not squished against her head (she wraps it a bunch of times around her bun to hold it tight), then uses the cap to cover the rest of her head. She looks good in it.

I, on the other hand, am usually too lazy or rushed to do anything more than just stick the bouffant on. I have long hair and tend to shed so I need something with more coverage.

 

[lura]

At my institution there is no unwritten rule that residents can't wear their own cloth scrub hats at any level. Folks from intern level all the way up to chiefs have their own, no one seems to care. I have noticed that the majority of attendings just wear the paper hats or lunch-lady hats. I personally have my own caps - when all you are wearing is the same blue scrubs day in day out, it allows just a little bit of individuality.

 

[BlondeDocteur]

My problem: Very long hair, nearly to waist. Quite blonde and obvious anywhere in the PACU/ OR suites. Like avatar (though minus Valkyrie scowl and buxom Renaissance Faire dress).

Cloth caps: not allowed for students; don't have room for hair; also look like toques; also look like nurse; also look like ob/gyn; also not at all sexy

Bouffant caps: allowed for students; also don't have room for hair; also not at all sexy

So I can get yelled at for not covering my hair *and* not wearing the socially appropriate cap, or just for not covering my hair.

/And g&* d&*n it, if I can't be sexy in the OR, where can I be?

 

[TXSurgResident]

My wife got her caps from this place and loves them. The super tie ones from this place have more room in the back for the ladies and the hippies.

http://www.greenscrubs.com/


I also have no disclosures to report for this post.

 

[techsurgeon]

I just wanted to make sure/confirm that since it is frowned upon for interns to wear custom scrub caps that it is absolutely out of the question for med students to wear them too?