321 Reusable Scrub Caps in Medical Training: A Sustainability Initiative

Abstract Aim Despite growing sustainability practices among healthcare professionals, medical students are required to wear single-use scrub caps during surgical placements, creating significant environmental waste. Beyond environmental benefits, named reusable scrub caps have been shown to improve communication, inclusion, patient safety and teamwork within surgical settings. However, medical students are often excluded from such initiatives. This project seeks to explore the impact of providing reusable, named scrub caps to medical students for the first time. Method During the third term, medical students on the surgical pathway were each provided with two reusable scrub caps to use throughout their surgical placements. To address any safety concerns, a set of guidelines were. Students were asked to track their usage of the scrub caps and reflect on their overall experience. Feedback and responses were collected through an online questionnaire designed to gather both quantitative data and qualitative insights. Results The initial results of the pilot are encouraging. All 28 participants consistently wore their reusable scrub caps, and feedback from both students and clinical staff has been overwhelmingly positive. There is a strong perception that the future introduction of named scrub caps could further enhance communication, strengthen teamwork, and create more meaningful teaching opportunities in theatre. Conclusions The pilot trial has been a success, and we are now in the process of obtaining ethical approval for a full-scale study of 180 medical students in named, reusable scrub hats. Our long-term goal is to implement this initiative across the entire medical school and ultimately share our findings nationally.