Can psychiatrists wear scrubs?

[prone2xl]

The reason I ask is purely curiosity and out of a desire for comfort. I've seen docs wearing button down shirts and khakis and scrubs in the university setting, but what would stop you from wearing scrubs and a white coat when you're done training and on your own? I think the scrubs and white coat look is professional as is business casual with white coat. Even in an outpatient setting I don't see why you couldn't wear personalized scrubs if you wanted to. Am I wrong here or will I forever be banned from wearing scrubs again as a psych?

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[psych72]

The reason I ask is purely curiosity and out of a desire for comfort. I've seen docs wearing button down shirts and khakis and scrubs in the university setting, but what would stop you from wearing scrubs and a white coat when you're done training and on your own? I think the scrubs and white coat look is professional as is business casual with white coat. Even in an outpatient setting I don't see why you couldn't wear personalized scrubs if you wanted to. Am I wrong here or will I forever be banned from wearing scrubs again as a psych?

on one of my interviews, the attending was an ER Psych consult physician for the program and he wore scrubs. I think it looks fine. But in an outpatient setting, I would just do scrubs if u wanted to without white coat, it tends to intimidate some pts in my experience with rotations.

i love scrubs too btw!

 

[Bartelby]

I think you would look ridiculous in scrubs as an outpatient psychiatrist.

 

[splik]

think of it like this: it would extremely unusual for a surgeon to be wearing scrubs in an outpatient clinic (and many surgical residencies expressly forbid their residents from wearing scrubs in clinic), what would it be like for a psychiatrist to wear them? patients would think you were a nurse or a medical assistant (typically the only ones wearing scrubs in clinic) and your colleagues would think you had a personality disorder.

if you want comfort wear a t-shirt. personally i typically wear a suit, but if i am feeling lazy or can't cope with wearing a shirt I will wear a t-shirt. It is perfectly fine as long as it is a simple t-shirt. wearing a polo shirt is another option and i do this occasionally too.

 

[birchswing]

You should go full-on Dr. Oz and wear scrubs and purple gloves for no reason. People seem to like it.

 

[Nasrudin]

I'm on psych ED. Scrubbin. What you have to ask yourself...is how much is it worth for my balls to be cool. And then just do that.

I'm gonna see if I can make it in scrubs off this rotations. We'll see how it goes.

 

[michaelrack]

It's been a while since I've done it, but I like to wear a scrubs top and Dockers.

I am an inpt psychiatrist (and most people I work with know that I am also boarded in IM), so I can get away with it.

 

[wolfvgang22]

Can Psychiatrists Wear Scrubs? Why not?

 

[Ceke2002]

Just from one patient's point of view, it would depend on how 'medical' the scrubs looked. I'd be fine if my Psychiatrist wore something like what Wolfvgang has pictured above (although he's male so I'm going to go ahead and assume perhaps something a little more on the masculine/gender neutral side of the fashion spectrum would be preferable for him), and of course if you can refashion medical looking scrubs into an ultra comfortable non scrub looking outfit, then go for it.

However, if my Psychiatrist wore medical/hospital looking type scrubs at our first meeting, it would have made me extremely uncomfortable unless he had a good, reassuring explanation for why he was wearing them (I associate scrubs on Doctors with potentially needing to rush off at a moment's notice, possibly for a life or limb threatening emergency, so yeah, it would freak me out a bit because I'd be sitting there a) feeling like I was keeping him from something important, and b) expecting him to run out of the room at any second).

If my Psychiatrist randomly turned up in medical scrubs now my first thought would probably be something like, 'You're wearing scrubs? Huh, that's odd', immediately followed by 'Oh god, there's been an Emergency...quick scan for blood stains, did somebody die, was it a patient, did someone get hurt, oh no, is my Doctor okay? Wait, what if his wife's having another baby, and they've had to do an emergency Caeserean, and that's why he's in hospital scrubs, and if he's not at the hospital then something could be really wrong, ****, quick how do I respond to this? Maybe I should stop just standing here looking like a rabbit in the headlights and offer assistance...okay, breathe, just breathe'

 

[OldPsychDoc]

In the ER or on call, fine.
In clinic, never. (Heck, I had an attending threaten to send a resident home for wearing jeans....)

 

[Ceke2002]

In the ER or on call, fine.
In clinic, never. (Heck, I had an attending threaten to send a resident home for wearing jeans....)

Now that I've actually started paying some sort of attention, the standard 'uniform' at both clinics my Psych works at seems to be 'smart casual' - neat jeans, casual button up shirts (always tucked in, may be short sleeved for summer), and comfortable dress shoes/loafers. Winter time the Attendings and Residents/Trainees may wear a neat pullover over a long sleeved collared shirt, or very occasionally a fleecy windcheater if it's particularly cold. I think my Psychiatrist may have since relinquished some of his director role at one of the clinics, but prior to that as long as those who were working under his supervision were reasonably neatly attired he seemed to focus more on proper conduct with patients (greeting them in an appropriate manner, walking them out to reception at the end of session, etc).

 

[Shikima]

Needs to be an episode on - http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/what-not-to-wear/

 

[Armadillos]

It's been a while since I've done it, but I like to wear a scrubs top and Dockers.

The dentist look, I like it

Brings a good point up, at least for men I'm pretty sure its a myth that scrub pants are so awesome. First off their pockets generally suck. And at hospitals I've worked at the material doesn't seem to breathe very well so I always feel really gross after 8+ hours wearing them compared to wearing a comfortable pair of khaki pants.

 

[NickNaylor]

At my institution the residents that are on call almost always wear scrubs. However, I've never seen an attending where scrubs. At the "worst" they wear slacks and a button-up, collared shirt regardless of the context they're working in.

 

[Nasrudin]

You need cotton well worn scrubs for proper scrotal accommodations. I'm surprised this must explained.

I just asked my attending if I could get away with scrubs off the ED scene...the answer was emphatic and not uncertain..."...uh....NO!"

So I guess it's all ties and slacks in the shrink game, outside of call and ED.

 

[MacDonaldTriad]

Our ECT guy seems to always forget to take the little booties off after he leaves the PAR. He seems to think it is cool that a psychiatrist has a reason to be in a sterile environment. I think it just looks silly. I don’t see any surgeons wondering around in booties.

As far as white coats, wearing them seems to be inversely related to confidence. The youngsters used to rationalize that they needed the pockets, but with EMR and smart phones, I don’t see them walking around with pocket references anymore. Maybe they make some sense on CL.

As far as scrubs in the clinic, this equals laziness pure and simple. “Maybe they are post call”, ever notice how the same people are always post call?

 

[Nasrudin]

Of course I'm also surprised I need it explained to me. Except that for rules I don't like I often act like I need it explained a dozen times until "I get it."

 

[notdeadyet]

I'd have more respect for folks who wore a tee shirt and jeans than scrubs in an outpatient setting. I think both are a bad idea, but at least teeshirt/jeans is honest.

I mostly do emergency psych and inpatient work and wear "work slacks" and dress shirts without ties. The only folks I know wearing scrubs on these units are junior residents.

There's just no reason to, if you know what you're doing. Even in our extremely high volume psych ER, I'm not getting fluid on me regularly, because I take measures for this (if I were regularly getting doused, this would be a sign I need better training). The setting on the floor can be (ahem) less than sterile, hence the "work slacks" (I also have "work shoes"). But there's no need for scrubs. Frankly, if there were, I'd need to wear them in my community clinic, where no one does anyway.

Scrubs are fine if you're doing invasive/procedural work, but otherwise they aren't needed. Wearing them is not conducive to a therapeutic relationship on any unit. I get that they are fun to wear when you start residency but this pretty quickly fades. The main reason for scrubs is for residents who are sleeping in the hospital. For the rest of us.... no.

 

[Armadillos]

the whole scrubs thing is sorta a sham anyways now given that most folks wear them into and out of the hospital. You can wash cheap dockers just as easily as a pair of scrub pants

 

[OldPsychDoc]

You need cotton well worn scrubs for proper scrotal accommodations. I'm surprised this must explained.

I just asked my attending if I could get away with scrubs off the ED scene...the answer was emphatic and not uncertain..."...uh....NO!"

So I guess it's all ties and slacks in the shrink game, outside of call and ED.

Pondering the reference to 'scrotal' and 'shrink' in the same posting...

 

[MacDonaldTriad]

Pondering the reference to 'scrotal' and 'shrink' in the same posting...

Maybe we should migrate this over to the “Where are the real men” post.

 

[smalltownpsych]

The midlevels at our hospital wear scrubs and white coats a lot more than the doctors do. It is all about trying to gain status, but it seems to me that feeling the need to fake that your status is higher actually lowers it. At my hospital, I am a "doctor" and not called a midlevel as my degree is the highest in my field, but I am clearly not a medical doctor. What is ironic is that I get treated with more respect and "status" in a medical setting than I have in mental health settings in the past where I had the highest credentials. I imagine if I started wearing scrubs and a white coat and threw a stethoscope around my neck, I would probably lose quite a bit of that though! These days, I only play doctor with my wife.

 

[smalltownpsych]

Pondering the reference to 'scrotal' and 'shrink' in the same posting...

Those scrubs do look like they might allow things to get a bit chilly down there.

 

[Nasrudin]

Inappropriate clinicalization of comfort. I'm a west Florida kid. I didn't wear pants until my 20's.

 

[erg923]

The title of this thread just reminds me of this...

 

[wolfvgang22]

I am reminded of this legendary thread from 2004, when I first started coming to SDN: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/pee-pee-on-my-scrubs.143702/

 

[hamstergang]

Those scrubs do look like they might allow things to get a bit chilly down there.

It's all in the underwear.

 

[Shikima]

During my training time, I'm reminded of when I had an attending tell me not to take my white coat off because it was unprofessional.

 

[Nasrudin]

It's kind of odd. Both how monochromatic pajamas are considered a professional signifier. But also why a piece of cloth around your neck and some dockers is vastly superior.

 

[thoffen]

During supervision, one of my colleagues who happened to be an attractive woman brought up how she doesn't wear a wedding ring out of fear of what patients might think of her, particularly because it is quite flashy. Of course this was at the expense of not realizing the fantasies patients might have of working with a young attractive woman.

Point is, people are going to be thinking things about you regardless of how you dress, and what they are thinking about you matters a great deal. Personally I find it best to work within a standard professional attire framework.

 

[Thruster]

Become a talented physician and wear whatever the F you want as long as it feels right to you. Who cares what anyone else thinks/may think as long as your patients are happy with your treatment and you're paying the bills.