Chicago Med Fans Have A Burning Question About The Scrubs

Chi-Hard fans of NBC's hit drama "Chicago Med" love nothing more than posing and answering questions concerning the medical minutia depicted in the long-running series. After any given episode, viewers are eager to jump online with queries and opinions about everything from complex surgical procedures to the show's intense emotional scenes to the scrubs worn by the first responders at the fictional Gaffney Chicago Medical Center.

As any card-carrying fan of the show likely knows, and as defined by MedicineNet, scrubs are the basic uniform worn by anyone "scrubbing in" for surgery, other medical procedures, or general patient care. In addition to clearly identifying a doctor or nurse, modern scrubs are made of special, densely woven fabrics designed to keep a patient's bodily fluids from contaminating the wearer's skin (per MedClean). So, with the above in mind, what hotly debated question do fans have about the scrubs worn on "Chicago Med"?

Even a casual watcher of "Chicago Med" is sure to notice that different staff members wear specific colors of scrubs. Observant fans might also note the color of the scrub seems to be tied to the individual's professional job designation. But who wears which color? And why?

The issue was addressed recently by Redditor u/ebroges3532 in a discussion on the show's subreddit titled "Crockett Marcel's Scrubs." The original poster wonders why Dr. Marcel (Dominic Rains) always appears in black scrubs while his colleague Dr. Archer (Steven Weber) always wears burgundy, even though both are surgeons. On the same thread, commenter u/skieurope12 stated that while they are both surgeons, Dr. Marcel isn't assigned to the Emergency Department, while Dr. Archer is. Another user, u/slimcargos, explained, "It's def[initely] colored coded in hospitals. My mom's a nurse, and she told me diff[erent] colors means diff[erent] positions." 

As detailed on the hospital uniform supply site Grey's Anatomy Scrubs, some hospitals may have a dress code requiring job-specific uniform colors. At the same time, other facilities may leave the choice up to the individual or their department. So, while "Chicago Med" fans concur that scrub colors denote professional positions on the show, this practice can't be described as a fast and firm industry standard.