The Best Scrubs for Interns and Residents Working 24+ Hour Calls
Nobody tells interns that scrubs become a problem somewhere between the second admission and the fourth cup of coffee, but they do.
We all start the day fine, feeling and looking (more-or-less) professional. Then the hours stack up. You sit on the edge of a bed to talk to a patient, or lean forward over a computer that’s way too low. You stand back up and tug at your waistband without thinking about it. Then you do it again.
By the time you’re cross-covering at 2 a.m., you’re aware of every single thing your scrubs are doing wrong.
Interns and residents live in their scrubs in a way most people don’t. You’re not wearing them for a shift. You’re wearing them through pre-rounds, missed meals, overheated hallways, freezing call rooms, and that half-hour “nap” that never really works. Sometimes you’re still in the same pair when the sun comes up and the unit smells like bad coffee.
So when you pick your scrub uniform, you really need to make that decision count.
Finding the Best Scrubs for Interns and Residents
Interns love to ask, “What are the best scrubs?”
Residents usually ask something closer to, “Which ones don’t drive you insane?”
That difference matters.
When you’re early in training, you think scrubs are about fabric and fit in the abstract. Once you’ve done a few long calls, you realize the real question is whether your clothes add work to a day that’s already overloaded.
That’s why most lists of best scrub uniforms miss the point. They’re written around first impressions. Interns and residents live in second, third, and fifteenth impressions.
This is what I think really matters from that perspective.
Comfort & Breathability: The Obvious Stuff
Most of us think about comfort when choosing scrubs, less about breathability.
That is, of course, until you’re in the middle of a night call, struggling to get by when you’ve already been hot, cold, and sweaty over and over again.
The wrong fabric feels fine early, then turns clingy once you sweat. You sit to chart, stand up, and everything sticks for half a second too long. It sounds minor. It’s not, when it happens a hundred times in one night.
The right scrubs brands know breathability is part of comfort, like Dolan. Products like the Mayfair V neck stays feeling airy and light all day long, without making you look unprofessional, or forcing you to worry that your shirt is going see-through.
For pants, the Palos wide-leg makes a noticeable difference during long calls. The airflow is real. When you’re moving between overheated units and freezing workrooms, that extra room and lighter feel matters more than people expect. They don’t trap heat, and they don’t cling once you’ve been awake too long. Straight-leg options like the District High-Waisted pants can be just as good.
“They breathe, they don’t pull, and I stop thinking about them halfway through my shift.”
Stretch & Structure, Side by Side
Stretch sounds good when you’re buying scrubs. You squat in the mirror, take a few steps, think, okay, these move. And they do, for a while. The problem is what happens after you’ve been sitting for three hours charting, then stand up fast because your pager goes off.
Cheap stretch doesn’t come back.
By the middle of a long call, you start to feel it. Knees get baggy. The seat loosens. You don’t consciously think, wow, this fabric lost its shape. You just start adjusting. Constantly.
Interns notice this faster than anyone because you sit more than you expect to. Charting, orders, notes, handoffs. Then suddenly you’re on your feet again, moving fast. Over and over. Fabric that can’t recover makes that transition miserable.
Dolan’s CORE collection makes a real difference here, with four-way stretch that actually bounces back. Pants like the Hope 11-pocket jogger don’t just “stretch out” over time, they adapt with you.
You can sit forever, stand up, load the pockets, and the pants still feel like the same pair you put on that morning. They don’t sag into something else by hour sixteen.
Stretch without structure feels great at first. Stretch that actually recovers is what keeps your scrubs from turning into another thing you have to manage when you’re already exhausted.
Wrinkle and Sweat-Resistant Fabric
There’s a weird pressure on interns and residents to look at least functional, even when you’re very much not. No one expects you to look like a model., but there’s a big difference between “tired” and “my scrubs look like I slept on the floor.” Wrinkles tip you into the second category fast.
No fabric can totally prevent wrinkles, or stop you from sweating. But some can bounce back from creases faster, and dry quicker when you need them to.
“If I sweat, it dries very quickly.”
I love Dolan’s CORE collection again for this. All of the products are wrinkle resistant, breathable, antimicrobial, and moisture-wicking. The FLEX collection is great too, if you’re looking for super-strong wrinkle resistance. I don’t think I’ve noticed wrinkles in my Restore FLEX pants once.
Plus, it’s worth remembering that the best scrubs for interns and residents should actually be designed to keep you looking professional, no matter what. Tops like the Echo 2-pocket top from Dolan are great at that. You look sleek, and well put-together, even when life feels chaotic.
“They still look professional after a full shift, even when I feel anything but.”
Fit & Length: Surprisingly Overlooked
You’d think no-one would have to be told that the best scrubs for interns and residents have to fit well. Really though, most of us are so busy trying to just “get through the day” that we’ll put up with anything. We overlook how annoying it is to have poorly-fitting clothes, until hour 10 on a shift.
Length in pants is one thing that I think gets ignored too much. Pants that are half an inch too long start dragging on the floor and tripping you up. Joggers that are too short make you bend over constantly to re-adjust the bottoms.
That’s why I’m so thankful for Dolan, with their options for tall scrubs and petite scrubs alike. Lengths ranging from 25 to 36 inches, free hemming for shorter girls. You can’t ask for more.
“I have been searching for scrubs that fit my short frame. I am under 5’ tall and even petites are too long. These are perfect and so comfortable.”
Fit options matter too. You’re not just “standard” or “plus size”. Curve scrubs are ideal if you need extra room around the hips or thighs without looking like your wearing someone else’s clothes. They’re also great if your weight fluctuates a lot, which, let’s be honest, tends to happen when we’re dealing with extra stress.
Pockets & Practicality
Intern pockets aren’t decorative, neither are the ones that residents use. They’re doing real work.
Phone. Badge. Scissors. Pen that actually writes. Pen that doesn’t. Maybe a folded patient list that’s already outdated. Sometimes a second phone. By the time you’re on call, you’re basically wearing a tool belt and pretending it’s fine.
This is where a lot of scrubs give up. It’s not that they don’t give you enough pockets, but those pockets are placed weirdly, or start dragging your clothes down when you add a tiny bit of weight.
What works better is boring, thoughtful placement.
The Echo 2-Pocket Top keeps its pockets lower, which sounds like a small thing until you’ve worn it on call. Weight sits where it should instead of dragging the neckline forward. The front stays flatter. You don’t end the night feeling like your top is slowly collapsing under the load.
For pants, this is where the Hope 11-Pocket Jogger makes sense for interns who carry everything themselves. The pockets are spread out, not stacked in one spot, so the weight doesn’t yank the waistband down every time you walk fast. You can sit, stand, and move without that constant micro-adjustment.
Durability: Your Scrubs Need to Last
Residents and interns don’t mean to destroy scrubs. They just don’t have the margin not to.
Laundry happens when it happens. Sometimes that’s after a call. Sometimes it’s two days later. Sometimes scrubs get washed three times in one week because you only own a few sets and you’re exhausted. No special cycles. No separating colors. Whatever detergent is closest. Done.
That’s when cheap scrubs start telling on themselves.
The fabric gets thin in places you didn’t notice before. Knees soften. Waistbands lose their backbone. Colors fade into something you don’t remember buying. And suddenly you’re rotating one “good” pair and a couple you’re quietly hoping survive the rest of the month.
Dolan’s CORE scrubs don’t have this problem. They’re built to withstand lots of washing, without losing color, or stretch. That’s worth shouting about.
Your District High-Waisted pants stay reliable no matter how much you wash them. Your Alpine Dolman top stays looking professional, sleek, and feeling comfortable.
“They’ve held up perfectly after several washes. No fading or shrinking!”
What Residents & Interns Actually End Up Wearing on Call
Interns and residents don’t build outfits. They build defaults.
After enough bad calls, you stop experimenting. You stop rotating pieces just to “mix it up.” You wear what didn’t annoy you last time. Then you wear it again. And again. Eventually it’s just the thing you reach for without thinking.
That’s the goal, whether people realize it or not.
A call setup works when you can grab it half-awake and know exactly how it’s going to feel later. Not how it looks. How it behaves. You already know the day is going to be long. You don’t want surprises layered on top of that.
For a lot of interns, that ends up being one top that doesn’t stretch out or cling when you’re sweaty and exhausted, and one pair of pants that can handle sitting forever, then moving fast, without sliding or twisting. Nothing fancy. Just predictable.
I’ve watched interns and residents alike default to the same pairing night after night because it didn’t fight them. A structured V-neck like the Mayfair that still looks the same at sign-out as it did during rounds. A professional-looking pant like the District that breathes when units are hot and doesn’t stick when you stand up after charting for hours.
You end up buying the same sets over and over, just because they work.
“I initially bought 1 pair to try, and upon wearing them once I bought 2 more. 10/10!”
The Best Scrubs for Interns and Residents are Simpler than They Seem
Intern year teaches you fast what doesn’t deserve your attention. Life as a resident can do the same thing. You learn pretty quickly which scrubs are worth your time.
The professionals that end up looking the least rattled at the end of long calls aren’t magically better rested. They’re just not dealing with extra nonsense. Their pants stay where they put them. Their tops don’t stretch out by morning rounds. Their scrubs look roughly the same at sign-out as they did when they put them on, even if they feel wrecked.
That’s the real difference with outfits from brands like Dolan.
When your clothes stop giving you reasons to notice them, you’ve made a good choice. And during intern year, that kind of consistency is worth more than most people realize.
