Other OT-Related Information What to Wear to Volunteer?

[WantToBeAnOT23]

Hey guys! I am an undergrad who is going to start volunteering at Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago soon (WOOO!!!!!) and they recently got rid of the scrubs they had for volunteers to wear for a short time. We are now required to wear "buisness casual" (no jeans, leggings, athletic pants) but also are asked to wear closed toed shoes. Any idea what to wear? I think most of the people there wear gym shoes but idk what to wear with them to not look weird?

Also if anyone else has volunteered at RIC let me know if you liked it/if it helped you get into grad school/if there's anything you think I should know about it! They say it's the best in the country so I'm SO excited!!!

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[OT20162017]

Any idea what to wear? I think most of the people there wear gym shoes but idk what to wear with them to not look weird?

When I interned this summer, the staff also did not wear scrubs. I didn't have a dress code besides closed toed shoes, but I wore khakis and a plain shirt and then I wore a more casual sneaker (nothing too sporty so it didn't look too bad with the khakis).

 

[painthorse]

At one of my volunteer sites we wore black slacks and gym shoes. Weird combo but it worked with everyone doing it. Can you look at their website and try to look at pictures? That's what I would do. If not don't worry about it, and wear khakis or black slacks the first day and then adjust to what everyone else is wearing.

 

[OTfromIT]

Congrats on the volunteering gig!
I really enjoy volunteering at RIC - I have been there a year and a half, and I am also working as a rehab aide on the weekends.
It is a great environment as an inpatient site - you get to observe the interactions between doctors from Northwestern Memorial, nurses, therapists, and families. Another thing I liked about RIC was meeting the other volunteers - the people I started with and became friends with all got into good PT and OT schools; it's a nice kind of cohort for support. In terms of getting into OT school, I took full advantage of the opportunity to get involved as much as I could and I received a solid letter of recommendation.
As far as clothes - I usually wear a pair of casual khakis, a short-sleeve polo (they used to hand out green ones as "uniform" shirts), and decent-looking gym shoes. Wear that the first couple of days and then you can see what other people have on. You can wear other types of shoes, but if you are on a floor, you'll be on your feet the entire shift, so just make sure they are comfortable.
Word of warning: You will be dealing with some patients that are sick enough that you will have to clean up using bleach - so even though you might be very careful, don't wear clothes that you can't afford to get bleach on.

If you have any specific questions or have questions about the different floors, feel free to shoot me a message.
Have fun!