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Started by ilovegrapesoda
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ilovegrapesoda said:
I'm shadowing a surgeon on Friday and he said to where anything I want because they have scrubs for me that I'll change into in the morning. So what do I wear?? I realize this is a stupid question.
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If you know for sure that you're solely going to be the OR, then street clothes are fine. If there's a chance that you might go to clinic afterward it would be good to bring/wear some business casual attire. When he says "anything [you] want" I'd take his word for it.
 
Just look respectable, you should have that down by now. The last time I went to shadow a surgeon I wore jeans and a v-neck. Literally the first thing you do when you get there is change into a pair of scrubs.
 
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ilovegrapesoda said:
I'm shadowing a surgeon on Friday and he said to where anything I want because they have scrubs for me that I'll change into in the morning. So what do I wear?? I realize this is a stupid question.
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I shadowed a surgeon and all the nurses and doctors came in to the locker rooms wearing jeans or sweats. Although I wouldn't recommend you wearing sweats just to look somewhat decent. But in all honesty I agree with aSagacious and say Street clothes are perfectly fine.
 
Even though you are changing into scrubs right away, you can't go wrong with the collared shirt/khakis combo. Dress like you give a damn, because if you show up in street clothes it gives off the impression that you don't really care.

Edit: I'll add this. Bring a different pair of shoes with you. Something comfortable. Dress shoes and scrubs are not a good combo.
 
aSagacious said:
If you know for sure that you're solely going to be the OR, then street clothes are fine. If there's a chance that you might go to clinic afterward it would be good to bring/wear some business casual attire. When he says "anything [you] want" I'd take his word for it.
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So if you felt like arriving in your underpants, you'd take his word for it?
 
idontwatchgreysanatomy said:
Even though you are changing into scrubs right away, you can't go wrong with the collared shirt/khakis combo. Dress like you give a damn, because if you show up in street clothes it gives off the impression that you don't really care.

Edit: I'll add this. Bring a different pair of shoes with you. Something comfortable. Dress shoes and scrubs are not a good combo.
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Comfortable shoes are the most important thing.

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Unless they explicitly tell you you're going to be going in the OR/wear blue/green scrubs, wear business casual, generally no tie since that can be a carrier of disease. The only reason to wear a tie is if it is going to be under a suit or white coat where it will be tucked in, even then it is iffy.
 
Definitely wear business casual. I also shadowed a physician and was instructed to dress nicely even though I would be changing right away. At least some staff is going to see you walk in and you are going to be making impressions right off the bat
 
It appears that some here believe surgeons don't see patients outside of the operating room.

Ignore those who tell you to show up in jeans or something extremely casual. You'll be exceedingly embarrassed if you end up rounding on patients on the floor or seeing patients in the office with him.

If you were shadowing me, I would tell you to wear business casual clean clothes and to bring an extra pair of comfortable shoes for the operating room. I'd imagine nearly all of my surgical colleagues would expect the same thing.


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Winged Scapula said:
It appears that some here believe surgeons don't see patients outside of the operating room.

Ignore those who tell you to show up in jeans or something extremely casual. You'll be exceedingly embarrassed if you end up rounding on patients on the floor or seeing patients in the office with him.

If you were shadowing me, I would tell you to wear business casual clean clothes and to bring an extra pair of comfortable shoes for the operating room. I'd imagine nearly all of my surgical colleagues would expect the same thing.


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I'm the kind of gal that rounds and sees patients in clinic in scrubs, so it wouldn't matter if someone showed up in jeans. However, I could see someone saying wear whatever but meaning business casual because after all it is a workplace. A nice dark jean with a nice shirt might fly, ripped or worn jeans with a tank top would not. Gym attire is another thing to avoid (at least until you are all done with training and you can get away with it like I go on occasion-partly hidden by my white coat). Basically, if you show up in a full on suit the worst that will happen is that the surgeon is going to think it is cute how eager you are to make a good impression, versus how much of a slob they think you are if you show up too casual. Somewhere in between is safest even for a surgeon like me where only your arrival and departure is going to let me see what you are wearing.
 
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Biz casual is the way to go! You never know what might happen. For the surgeon I shadowed, they asked if I wanted to eat lunch with the residents. And then I got to attend one of the resident meetings where they presented some of their cases. I was glad I brought a blazer and slacks.
 
If the surgeon told you that you can wear anything you want, then you will in all likelihood be able to get away with wearing anything reasonable (Jeans + t shirt).

However...

If you want to play it safe (and really, you should), I would wear what people have suggested here: slacks, a button up collared shirt, and comfortable shoes (tennis shoes are fine as long as they are clean). Tie is optional, but probably isn't necessary.

I have had surgeons that I've shadowed in the past tell me that on a particular day, I would only be shadowing in the OR, so I would change into scrubs immediately upon coming in and wouldn't change out until I left. On that day, I wore jeans and a sweatshirt. However, if you haven't been explicitly told that, it's probably better to play it safe and wear business casual.
 
DRsmartypants said:
Nah too casual, what you need is an ankle length white coat, embrodied with (BS, MD, Candidate), and have a staff with the bell attached and steth hanging from it.
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It's so quiet in the library everyone just heard me LOL pretty hard. Funniest thing I've read all day. I'm dying lolool.
 
I work for a surgeon. He expects a shirt and tie, because that's what his residency director demanded of everyone outside of the OR. I've seen him send people home to change who underdressed. If you wear a tie and it's not appropriate, you can take it off. My $0.02.
 
When I shadowed at 6:00 am, I would roll in in my pajamas. Granted, I knew the doc well, but if you're changing it won't make a difference.
 
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