Student doctor’s sustainable scrub cap success

Medical student Sophie Lawrence has visited Parliament to outline her work
Medical student Sophie Lawrence has visited Parliament to outline her work on reusable scrub caps for student doctors

Student doctor’s sustainable scrub cap success

Medical student Sophie Lawrence has visited Parliament to outline her work

A medical student is leading work for students to wear reusable scrub caps – and her impact has already been celebrated in the Houses of Parliament.  
Sophie Lawrence from the University of Plymouth saw that scrub caps – an essential requirement in theatre to keep hair out of the way and maintain hygiene standards – were usually reusable for staff, while student equivalents were single-use and disposable.  
Determined to reduce waste, she suggested that students wear reusables, and her move couldn’t have been better timed. Working at the time with hospital staff at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, she was introduced to EcoNinjas, a company that provides eco-friendly scrub caps with clip-on names. 
Now they’re joining forces to measure the effectiveness of the scrub caps among student doctors, and have already travelled to Westminster to outline their work to MPs.  
Medical student Sophie Lawrence has visited Parliament to outline her work on reusable scrub caps for student doctors
Medical student Sophie Lawrence has visited Parliament to outline her work on reusable scrub caps for student doctors

I’ve always been passionate about sustainability, and thought about how we could do things differently in a theatre environment. I noticed that staff had reusable scrub caps and we had disposable ones, and I just thought, why?

When measured over a lifecycle, reusable scrub caps have a 56-61% lower carbon footprint than disposables, and there’s a money-saving opportunity for medical schools by purchasing reusable hats as a one-off, rather than having to buy disposable ones.  
I had to make sure students would actually wear reusable cotton ones, so carried out a short trial to make sure they remembered to bring them and found them comfy enough. It definitely worked!

Medical student, Sophie Lawrence 

Improving student experience and patient safety

Sophie is now leading an upcoming trial, alongside newly qualified doctor and Plymouth graduate Rickie Down, to explore the effectiveness of putting names and roles of medical students on the hats, with the help and support of the University.  
The aim, in addition to sustainability, is to improve students’ experience and inclusion in theatre environments, while acting as a safety initiative ensuring that everyone is aware of who is a student, who is staff, and therefore what roles each person can take on.  
Diagnostic Radiography students at the University of Plymouth are also being included in the trial, showing the impact beyond medicine alone. 

While you’re part of the team in surgery, it’s important someone recognises you as a student straight away, and also really useful for the student to see who else is in the room.

When I was introduced to the orthopaedic team in Somerset, I saw they were conducting a trial on using clip-on names on scrub caps – it just felt like one of those serendipitous moments where like-minded people met and started to discuss plans. 
EcoNinjas were invited to Parliament and kindly invited me to help underline the reach that this project could have.   
It was fantastic to outline the work we’d done so far to MPs, and if our next trial – which includes Radiography students too – is successful, there’s no reason why it couldn’t be rolled out across the whole NHS. 
It could save thousands of pounds in waste costs, while improving the theatre environment for everyone involved.

More information

Medicine student next to a skeleton model
Study medicine at Plymouth
Diagnostic Radiography Supporting Documentation
Study diagnostic radiography at Plymouth
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