scrub nurse

American  

noun

1. a nurse specially trained to assist surgeons in the operating room and serving as part of the surgically clean medical team handling instruments during an operation.

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Etymology

Origin of scrub nurse

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

She worked as a receptionist, went to school to become a scrub nurse and modeled before landing her breakout role in 2006 on the NBC drama “Friday Night Lights.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2023

Mary Dellinger, the scrub nurse to Lefrak’s right, handed him scissors.

From Washington Post • Sep. 30, 2019

As we uncovered the patient, the scrub nurse, one with whom I hadn’t worked before, said, “You on call this weekend, Doc?”

From The New Yorker • Jan. 11, 2016

So I asked the scrub nurse to phone the dean of the medical school, who I knew would back me up.

From New York Times • Mar. 8, 2010

The senior scrub nurse knew the senior surgeon's methods so well that he rarely had to ask for an instrument.

From Time Magazine Archive