Our scrubs for theatre are provided by the hospital, but we have our own footwear.
There is quite a bit of leeway in what we’re allowed to wear, but it has to be worn only in theatre. If you want to wear shoes from outside, then you need to wear shoe covers over the top. These are made of blue paper with elastic bands, and look silly, so most people who work in theatre regularly have their own theatre shoes.
Anaesthetists and technicians tend to wear sneakers, Birkenstocks, or crocs. I used to wear crocs but I usually ended up stubbing the very grippy toes into the floor and tripping up – very embarrassing. I don’t like sneakers as I hate hot feet so instead I wear Birkenstocks now.
Nurses tend to wear proper orthotic scrub clogs, mostly because they get paid for by the hospital as a perk (very extravagant).
Surgeons tend more to gum boots for obvious reasons.
If you think this is bad, you should see a Caesarean section theatre. The liquor from around the baby is a couple of litres and all comes out at once when the scalpel cuts through the last layer of tissue around the baby (umm amniotic sac? Trying to remember…) That’s why obstetricians wear enormous gum boots, and always try to make sure the table is tipped away towards the hapless assistant.