They’re in all medical institutions in the US. Did a group get together years ago and assume that this shade was the most psychologically pacifying? Seems kind of weird that hospitals that weren’t affliated with each other would agree to this. How did this come about?
And if this is true…why do I only remember green ones?
They aren’t always pale blue. I’ve had navy blue, light blue, various greens, white, gray, striped/printed, and even pink OR scrubs over the years, all provided by the hospital.
'Kay then, why is it that the scrubs are always blue on hospital shows?
I don’t know if I’ve learned this somewhere in the last 52 years, or just figured it out for myself, but I believe the blue/green shades are used because blood spilled on on them will look like dark stains. Whereas white or yellow would highlight the bloodiness of the stain.
As for why blue is preferred on television, it is because green clothes would tend to create unflattering green reflections on the actors’ skin.
White and pink scrubs are meant to be unattractive, so that you will not wear them outside of the hospital (in the white-scrub hospital, a sign in the locker room said "can you see your underwear?). Scrubs that are too dark do not show bloodstains, which is a minus because you want to know if you have been bled on. Yellow makes people look jaundiced, etc.
In the hospitals I’ve been in lately, each department has a different color. They just went locally with a “uniform” rule, so you can no longer wear your Spongebob scrubs.
Even on the show (granted we’re just on season 3), only the medical residents wear blue. Surgical wears green and I think the nurses wear pink.
Probably because blue is a nice soft tranquil color and could help calm patients.
In the hospital where I work, Shock Trauma scrubs are light pink and General OR scrubs are dark blue.