Scrub colors and safety: rethinking role identification in critical events (1 July 2026)

Summary

This article argues that while colour-coded scrubs can help identify healthcare staff, relying on scrub colour alone is an unreliable way to distinguish roles during emergencies.

Drawing on a patient safety incident, the author describes how clinical students wearing the same colour scrubs as licensed professionals created confusion during a cardiac arrest response, making it difficult to identify who was qualified and who still needed to attend. The article highlights that colour cues are vulnerable to errors caused by stress, poor lighting, visual overload and differences in colour perception.

Instead, it recommends stronger, layered approaches to role identification, including clearly labelled staff badges, predefined emergency response roles, designated team leaders and structured communication techniques such as callouts and check-backs.

Related reading on the hub:

• Patient safety starts with knowing who is in the room