What Do the Different Scrub Colors Mean For Nurses & Doctors?

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Plus, find out the meaning of maroon scrubs & other unique colors

Co-authored by Meg Harrell and Dev Murphy, MA

Last Updated: April 1, 2026 Fact Checked

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Medical Scrubs Color Code

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Why are there different colored scrubs?

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Is every hospital the same?

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History of Scrub Colors

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If you've been to a hospital before (or you've just been bingeing The Pitt), you may have noticed that different healthcare workers wear different colored scrubs—and you probably wondered if there was a reason for that. Turns out, there actually is! In this article, we'll explain why hospital scrubs come in so many different colors, and what those different colors mean. Keep reading for everything you need to know.

What do common colors of scrubs usually mean?

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An illustration depicting the different scrub colors and their meanings.

Blue: Clinical support staff, medical assistants, surgical staff, nurses, etc.
Green: Surgeons, surgical support, etc.
White: Lab staff, pharmacists, physicians, nurses, etc.
Pink or Purple: Pediatricians, women’s health, oncologists, etc.
Red or Maroon: Emergency services, respiratory therapists, etc.

Section 1 of 4:

Medical Scrubs Color Meaning (Chart)

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Scrubs Color Code
Color	Associated Medical Staff	Associated Departments	Associated Emotions & Ideas
Light blue	Clinical support staff (including surgical teams), Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), medical assistants; sometimes used for general nursing staff and/or used interchangeably with dark blue	CNA teams, medical-surgical, Operating Room (OR), general floor support	Calmness, serenity
Dark blue	Surgical staff, nurses	Medical-surgical, ICU, primary care	Stability, peace
Green/teal	Surgeons, surgical support (Operating Room, as well as Pre-Op and Post-Op)	Operating Room, endoscopy, ER/ED, Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU)	Calm, good health, luck
Black/gray	Administrative staff, imaging and security teams, technicians, specialist clinicians, dentists	Admin, security, cath labs, radiology, environmental services, dentistry	Power, death
Red/burgundy/maroon	Emergency services, Occupational Therapists (OTs), Respiratory Therapists (RTs)	Emergency (ED/ER), phlebotomy, trauma, specialty therapist and diagnostic units	Passion, confidence, warmth, danger
Pink/patterned	Pediatricians, women’s health specialists, Labor and Delivery (L&D) teams	Pediatric settings, child life units, L&D, Obstetrics and Gynecology offices, women’s health settings	Calmness, nurturing, softness, motherhood
Purple	Oncologists, women’s health specialists, pediatricians	Oncology, specialty units	Spirituality, imagination, royalty
Brown/pale yellow	Psychiatrists, therapists	Psychiatric, therapy	Warmth, cheerfulness (yellow)
White	Lab staff, pharmacists; physicians, nurses (historical)	Laboratories, diagnostics departments	Cleanliness, innocence, purity

Section 2 of 4:

Why are there different colored scrubs?

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Different scrub colors help to identify different departments and roles. Hospitals are busy places, and things can get confusing fast. But knowing that a certain color symbolizes a specific type of role or department can help keep things more organized by making it easier and quicker to identify medical professionals and their duties.
- Curious what patient gown colors mean? We've got an article on that, too!
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Certain colors also offer calming psychological benefits to patients. Color psychology is the study of how colors affect us and our emotions. Color psychologists posit that different colors elicit different emotions in people, ranging from positive to negative.^{[1]
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Research source} Hospitals sometimes employ color psychology when assigning specific colors to certain departments and roles.
- For instance, pink is often associated with calmness, softness, femininity, and motherhood, making pink scrubs a natural choice for pediatric and maternity wards in many hospitals.^{[2]
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- What does your favorite color say about you? Take this quiz to find out.

Section 3 of 4:

Does every hospital follow the same color code?

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No, while many hospitals adhere to the same color code, some don't. There's no hard and fast rule about what colors different medical professionals can wear. While many hospitals follow the guide above, any facility can implement its own color code—or none at all.
- In some hospitals, medical professionals are permitted to wear whatever colors they want! So if you work in a hospital without a color code, feel free to choose your favorite color scrubs, or pick one that evokes the emotion or idea you'd like to express with your outfit.

Section 4 of 4:

The History of Scrub Colors

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Historically, physicians wore regular clothes while nurses wore nuns' habits. Doctors historically showed up to work in their street clothes, even when they had to perform surgery. They would sometimes wear an apron, but otherwise, they wore no uniform. Early nurses were typically nuns, so they worked in their habits—including a robe, a head covering, and an apron.^{[3]
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- It was nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale who introduced the first standardized nursing uniform during the Crimean War in the 1860s (well before the implementation of physicians' uniforms): a full-length, long-sleeved blue dress, white apron, and white bonnet.^{[4]
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- The first nursing uniform is an iconic symbol of the noble profession. For other traditional emblems, check out "Common Symbols of Nurses (& Where They Came From)."
The 1940s brought new awareness of wound infection and the necessity of a sterile operating room. Thus, standardized medical scrubs were introduced, appearing as gowns or drapes that covered the surgeon and medical staff while operating. The first scrubs were white, to symbolize cleanliness.^{[5]
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Eventually, different colored scrubs became the norm. Over time, it was decided that white uniforms showed blood and other stains too easily—and bright white was deemed too much of an eyesore to patients. So in the '60s and '70s, O.R. attendants began wearing green scrubs, which were less vibrant but still high-contrast.^{[6]
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- Over the decades that followed, other scrub colors were introduced. Now, every time you go to the hospital (which, we hope, isn't very often), you get to see a whole rainbow of medical professionals! 🌈