scrub in

scrub in (third-person singular simple present scrubs in, present participle scrubbing in, simple past and past participle scrubbed in)

1. (healthcare) To thoroughly wash one's hands and forearms in preparation for performing a surgery.
   • 2007 September 11, Mary Lou Parks, "O Lord Have Mercy!": Finding Our Way As Student Nurses in the 1950s, Dog Ear Publishing, →ISBN, →OL, page 83:

     There were no booties to wear over their shoes, and they wore scrub caps on their heads only if they were going to scrub in for a procedure. When you scrubbed in for surgery you couldn't touch anything after you finished scrubbing.

   • 2008 August 18, Lee G. Bolman with Terrence E. Deal, Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice and Leadership, 4th edition, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, →ISBN, →OL, page 99:

     Members of the transplant team scrub in and go about their respective duties.

   • 2009 August 26, Thomas F. Sellers, Jr., What's Up, Doc?: A Lifetime in Medicine: 1946-1990, Bloomington: iUniverse, →ISBN, →OL, page 43:

     When we were assigned to a surgical patient, we were expected to “scrub in” on his or her patients’ surgery when it occurred. […] To “scrub in” on a case meant one was to be part of the operating team, which might consist of one or two advanced residents and a second year resident or intern or two.