Bow ties?

[zep]

I'm just curious, but does anyone wear a bow tie to clinic? These seem to get a negative rap for being 'old-school', but I personally think they look pretty good, and perhaps even a little more sanitary than a regular tie. Any thoughts on this?

cheers

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[macdown]

I'm just curious, but does anyone wear a bow tie to clinic? These seem to get a negative rap for being 'old-school', but I personally think they look pretty good, and perhaps even a little more sanitary than a regular tie. Any thoughts on this?

cheers

Only if you are wearing a tux. You want to be respected by your patients, not pittied for you lack of fashion sense.

 

[Allygator89]

There is one guy in our class that wears a bow tie.... Its okay. Unless you are a fashion king or queen, worry about what you are wearing and not everyone else...

🙂

 

[Kev (UK)]

I equate men wearing a bow tie to work with eccentricity 😀 An eccentric lecturer can be amusing but an eccentric clinician? That always causes me to become gravely concerned!

 

[curlycity]

If I saw someone with a bow tie, I would think, "Oh my God, ... this horrific gash in my leg is STILL killing me!" I doubt I'd worry too much about what folks are wearing if I were a suffering patient ... but for my two cents, I think bow tie says to most people: "From the South," or "Over 55 years old." But then again, why not get bow ties in patterns you like and make it your thing, like some people wear fashion glasses? On the other hand, medicine isn't really always the place to have a 'thing.' Depends on the area. Maybe a 'thing' would be a nice humanizing touch, maybe it would get you bad performance reviews from your more formal peers.

On a side note, I've seen this med student who has a truly humongous, afro-shaped, bright orange (well, bleach-blond that went orange) goatee. All I could think was, "If he was going to do a pelvic exam with that wooly monstrosity waving around ..." I can't believe he thought that was an appropriate 'thing.'

 

[Wrigleyville]

The goal is to dress so that you look professional, not dress so that your clothes draw your patient's attention away from you. I'd avoid the bow tie.

 

[rah223]

I think it really depends on where you are. My pediatric endocrinologist used to wear a bowtie, and all his patients loved it. It showed that he was relaxed to the parents, and what little kid doesn's like a bow tie. 😛 So if you're working in peds, I think it's totally appropriate. Otherwise....I don't know...

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

If you think you will feel comfortable wearing a bow tie, then by all means wear it. Its not so much "what" you wear but "how" you wear it (i.e. carry yourself).

Personally, I love the bow tie. You do NOT need to wear a tux to wear a bow tie and since when did bow tie = eccentric. Bow ties are a sign of sophistication and class. Every fool on the street can wear a tie, but only a real man can wear a bow tie!

DOCTORSAIB

ps...fashion, especially mens wear, is one of my hobbies..🙂

 

[azzarah]

We have 1 attending and 1 student who wear bow ties. If that's what you like, go for it! I think they look kinda cool!

 

[zep]

Only if you are wearing a tux. You want to be respected by your patients, not pittied for you lack of fashion sense.

One word: WOW.

maybe it would get you bad performance reviews from your more formal peers.

If this would occur because someone was wearing a bow tie, I would be absolutely horrified! I know that greater medical society would like all to conform to their unstated fashion bylaws, but from what I see, a lot of doctors wear bow ties, especially some of the older, more stately ones. The only people that seem to be chastised for wearing them are younger students and residents, and I doubt that it is reflected in their evals; usually just a bust here and there from fellow students.

The goal is to dress so that you look professional,

I don't want to split hairs here, but you don't think a bow tie looks professional? Interesting.

If you think you will feel comfortable wearing a bow tie, then by all means wear it. Its not so much "what" you wear but "how" you wear it (i.e. carry yourself).

Ding ding ding. Alas, reason prevails. Exactly dude - the people I have seen wearing bow ties appear to be confident individuals.

By the way, I did not post this because I wear a bow tie or becuase I am looking for support so that I can start to wear one (if I wanted to, I certainly would not throw myself into this lions pit looking for sympathic encouragement ). I just know that people typically poke fun at students that wear them and I am curious as to why. Post on...

 

[Wrigleyville]

I don't want to split hairs here, but you don't think a bow tie looks professional? Interesting.

It is certainly possible to look professional in a bow tie, but it is also possible to look like an unemployed rodeo clown. I just think they look out of place on younger people -- it will certainly draw attention and be the first thing everyone notices about you when you walk in a room. That could be good or bad I suppose.

 

[zep]

It is certainly possible to look professional in a bow tie, but it is also possible to look like an unemployed rodeo clown. I just think they look out of place on younger people -- it will certainly draw attention and be the first thing everyone notices about you when you walk in a room.

Yea, your right. That's a good point.

Check this out: a little history

 

[Garuda]

It's perfectly acceptable for doctors to wear bow ties. In most hospital departments, you'd be hard pressed to find a fellow who doesn't regularly wear them. I think if you chose to wear a bow-tie, zep, you'd be in good company.

 

[thewebthsp]

Working in a hospital for a year you can pick off the med students. Back straight, nervous, look, and very well dressed 😀

For a moment I thought it'd be cool if when I was a med student I'd wear some crazy tie or a bolo tie or something like that. Then I realized I would look really fatuous and silly.

I'd stick with the conservative, blend into the crowd look, with a solid but not attention grabbing tie...

The resident on the other hand (worn long white coat, scrubs and huge bags under the eyes) is a very different phenomenon in the hospital. One I admire 🙂.

 

[principessa]

I think bowties are underrated. I once had a professor who wore them with jeans, though, and I thought that was pushing it.

On a side note, what sort of clothing is appropriate for women to wear in clinic? If a tie is necessary to look professional, then we're out of luck. Are khaki's okay? Enlighten me.

 

[Garuda]

I think bowties are underrated. I once had a professor who wore them with jeans, though, and I thought that was pushing it.

On a side note, what sort of clothing is appropriate for women to wear in clinic? If a tie is necessary to look professional, then we're out of luck. Are khaki's okay? Enlighten me.

Please post some pictures of yourself. Then I can advise you on what you should wear. 😀

 

[GeneGoddess]

I had a classmate who only wore a bowtie, never a necktie. And, honestly, it just "fit" him.

With regards to female dress: no skirts above the knee and khakis are fine. My school has a rule about no DENIM. Khakis aren't denim.

 

[Jaded Soul]

Are bowties an East Coast thing? I've never seen anyone--student, resident, or attending--wearing one at any hospital or clinic I've rotated through.

 

[johnhobbes]

I see nothing wrong with bow ties, although it does seem like it takes a certain kind of person to wear them well. I think if bow ties became the norm, many of those currently wearing them would switch to the long tie. Some people just enjoy not looking like everyone else, & thats a good thing from my perspective. Patients are used to seeing the usual train of white coats in ties when they visit the doc. A bow tie could suggest that its wearer is a creative & original thinker & somehow not another drab product of the modern medical establishment.

A fourth year I know wears them quite often & he was worried that people wouldn't take him seriously when he started. But he said he always liked them better than the long ties & decided to just be himself and where them. Apparently he does get ribbed about it from time to time, but he claims that his patients, especially the older folks, love it.

Personally, I've never enjoyed wearing ties of any sort. I opt for the more comfortable polo, open-collared shirt or sweater whenever I feel the situation will allow it.

 

[16846]

How do people feel about "Bolo Ties"...?

I think this would be a good compromise...

I just can't stand wearing neckties, they drive me crazy!

 

[raspberry swirl]

in my opinion, i think bow ties are weird-- on anyone. doctor, teacher, whatever you are, i dunno, i guess its just a personal thing, but i can't stand them. i think they look ridiculous. and as far as bolo ties go, i'm not even sure what they are, but if they're those weird western cowboy ones, the answer is a resounding NO. the last time i checked a hospital or dr's office was not the set of a western movie.

you can never evoke any reaction with your standard professional neck tie. and they look handsome. why would you want to mess with that? when i see a bow tie i think of clowns. huge turn off, both socially and professionally. but maybe thats just me 😳

 

[DrRichardKimble]

in my opinion, i think bow ties are weird-- on anyone. doctor, teacher, whatever you are, i dunno, i guess its just a personal thing, but i can't stand them. i think they look ridiculous. and as far as bolo ties go, i'm not even sure what they are, but if they're those weird western cowboy ones, the answer is a resounding NO. the last time i checked a hospital or dr's office was not the set of a western movie.

you can never evoke any reaction with your standard professional neck tie. and they look handsome. why would you want to mess with that? when i see a bow tie i think of clowns. huge turn off, both socially and professionally. but maybe thats just me 😳

Has any student at LECOM ever worn a bow tie to class? If so, what was the reaction of the administration to it, I'm curious.

Last week, when I was on campus getting my photo ID taken, I was wearing a blazer and tie. I was told "You don't have to wear a blazer, just the tie"... I said, "oh, I like wearing the blazer" and the response was "really, you can take the blazer off, just the tie is fine" and I finally said "really, I prefer to wear it". It was an interesting exchange, I suppose you had to be there to experience it.

 

[thewebthsp]

Don't get too comfortable. Remember there are shorter and longer coats for a reason. Usually profs wear blazers in medicine...

Weird, but true.

 

[mjl1717]

Im glad this q has come up,its always been in the crevices of my mind since at times I like style and other times I may be drab.

1) Id say it definitely shows style, class, and elegance and most RINKY DINK
med students are far far removed from these attributes.
2) I think its OK without discounting youself from PGY 1 on up.
3)But as a med student wearing a bowtie could make your fellow colleagues
feel insecure, and make them think about carrying their own cross.
4) It could be worn as a student-but its not what ya wear but how you wear
it.
5) This the heirachy-pond scum, prions, one celled organisms, multicellular organisms, fish, bony fish, reptiles, mammals.

I dont know what a bolo tie is/ The only Bolo I knew passed and was a friend of Bruce Lee

 

[Trisomy13]

how about we skip the tie and wear suspenders?



i know this brings nothing to light except for perhaps a glimpse into the layers of my personality disorders, but i find myself fighting a strong desire to punch someone in the face when they are wearing a bow tie.

blame it on the clowns.

 

[16846]

in my opinion, i think bow ties are weird-- on anyone. doctor, teacher, whatever you are, i dunno, i guess its just a personal thing, but i can't stand them. i think they look ridiculous. and as far as bolo ties go, i'm not even sure what they are, but if they're those weird western cowboy ones, the answer is a resounding NO. the last time i checked a hospital or dr's office was not the set of a western movie.

you can never evoke any reaction with your standard professional neck tie. and they look handsome. why would you want to mess with that? when i see a bow tie i think of clowns. huge turn off, both socially and professionally. but maybe thats just me 😳

We Are The Borg! You Will Be Assimilated! Resistance Is Futile! 🙄

 

[stinkycheese]

I think bowties are underrated. I once had a professor who wore them with jeans, though, and I thought that was pushing it.

On a side note, what sort of clothing is appropriate for women to wear in clinic? If a tie is necessary to look professional, then we're out of luck. Are khaki's okay? Enlighten me.

I think khakis are fine if they're a good fit... not baggy like so many styles today. My favorite "lounge around" pants are khakis and they are monstrous sized with a drawsting-- cleary I don't wear these to the hospital-- but regular fit khakis would be good. Also, any sort of dress pants. When I worked in peds, there was this female fellow who wore neon-green warm-up pants and weird clips in her hair and this big honeybee necklace... it was weird, even for peds clinic, but she got away with it because, well, it's peds. The rules are definitely different down there. None of the male docs ever wore ties, and the women wore comfortable, loose-fitting clothing. Very cool.

 

[thewebthsp]

Well work is not, in my opinion, a place to be "unique", except in your actual performance...

On the wards, we'll know almost nothing on a practical level (unless we were nurses or something before)... think about how you would feel if an underling talked like he knew what he was talking about (and didn't) and/or was trying to get noticed by wearing weird stuff. It would make me (if I were the older resident/attending) question why he/she was trying to get attention.

Even if we DO know something, we're not supposed to correct the resident in front of the attending. It's more than just learning and knowledge, it's also getting used to the hierarchy of medicine.

In any event I think the best advice is just to respect your team. Also, dress code is different for residents or fellows 🙂.

 

[periodic]

Some support for bow-ties or no ties at all..a med student?s study that found neckties may often carry harmful germs.

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/06/21/prsa0621.htm

I kinda like bowties but I?d probably look like a goofball, myself, with one. I had a PI, an old guy who tottered around in his bowtie and that was awesome.

About dress code in general, I?m reserving judgment to see whether I think dressing up is really necessary as a clinician. But Mayo?s got pretty strict rules about it, and they seem to know their stuff.

http://hbswk.hbs.edu/pubitem.jhtml?id=3380&t=marketing

?Mayo also understands that the way employees present themselves sends a signal to patients. Patients don?t encounter doctors in casual attire or white coats. Instead, the more than 2,800 staff physicians wear business attire, unless they are in surgical scrubs, to convey professionalism and expertise. It?s a dress code that some outside Mayo have called ?pretentious,? yet we?d argue that it?s no more pretentious than, say, the dress code for airline pilots. Airline passengers don?t want to see their pilot in a polo shirt, and patients feel the same way about doctors. In effect, Mayo Clinic doctors?just like service workers in many other industries?work in a uniform; it?s a visible clue that communicates respect to patients and their families.?

 

[Fermata]

Mayo has that policy because of tradition.

 

[periodic]

Mayo has that policy because of tradition.

I don?t know too much about them, but Mayo seems like too innovative and results-oriented a place to keep something around solely because of tradition. It may be tradition, but the policy seems to have additional value that they recognize.

 

[Fermata]

I don?t know too much about them, but Mayo seems like too innovative and results-oriented a place to keep something around solely because of tradition. It may be tradition, but the policy seems to have additional value that they recognize.

Seriously. I remember the second year from Mayo on the board even saying that during surgery....they always glove up a certain hand before the other because that's how the Mayo brothers did it.

I think Mayo is a phenominal school, but tradition is something you'd better be comfortable with if going to school/working there.

 

[Rogue_Leader]

Don't forget the suspenders. If you're going to do it, go all the way 🙂

 

[LuckyMD2b]

I just do without. I am not aware of an any evidence base that suggests that ties (of any sort) are beneficial. In fact, there is experimental evidence that neckties spread disease and anecdotal evidence that bowties frighten people with fashion sense. So why wear either?

An attending did ask me once, "Don't students wear ties anymore?". I said, "I don't". And that was that. I don't need a tie to signal that I am a professional.

The main threat of spreading disease in hospitals is that practitioners aren't washing their hands enough, not neck ties.

The way you present yourself to your patients is about professionalism. It shows that you care about your interactions with patients, and some old school folks expect their doctors to look "presentable." I'd prefer for my docs to look professional instead of like they just roled out of bed in their PJ's I'd rather be in a tie than those ugly, no size fits anyone scrubs.

 

[ColoMD]

How do people feel about "Bolo Ties"...?

I think this would be a good compromise...

I just can't stand wearing neckties, they drive me crazy!

Clearly, bowties are debatable...but bolo ties are out of the question. If you aren't at a Texas funeral, leave the bolo tie at home.

 

[funkless]

The rule is: you may only wear a bowtie if it matches your skirt, Nancy.

j/k

--Funkless

 

[16846]

Clearly, bowties are debatable...but bolo ties are out of the question. If you aren't at a Texas funeral, leave the bolo tie at home.

****ing archaic traditionalistic bull****.

 

[ColoMD]

Don't forget, the field of medicine is a very traditional one. Challenging the standards of professionalism in the field is tough, especially as a medical student. Seriously, how many people want a doctor to come walking in with a bolo tie?

 

[16846]

...Seriously, how many people want a doctor to come walking in with a bolo tie?

The same could be said for how many people want a Woman/African American/Jewish/Handicapped/Osteopathic doctor?

My opinion, if a patient has a problem with the gender/ethnicity/religion/capability/or dress of a physician then I'm not interested in treating such a narrow-minded and ignorant individual. I would encourage that patient to see another doctor, or go somewhere else for the treatment they need/want if it irritates them to such a severe extent.

If an individual holds a recognized degree that allows them to practice medicine, passed all the USMLE steps, as well as having obtained a license to practice medicine in that state/district/commonwealth with no limitations or sanctions, then nothing else should make a damn bit of difference! If a doctor wants to have steel rods protruding from the top of their head, more power to them, as long as it doesn't compromise the safety or health of the patients, no one should give a ****.

Regarding ties, they are completely useless pieces of fabric. They serve no practical purpose at all, except maybe to make it easier to hang oneself at the end of a particularly nasty shift. It's an archaic tradition that should have been killed a long time ago.

If a patient actually thought that a patterned/colored piece of fabric around ones neck alters that individuals ability to render care, I would be inclined to order a psychiatric evaluation to r/o delusional or magical thinking.

 

[Rod Farva]

Go ahead and wear the bow tie, if you want to look like a complete douchebag.

 

[lady bug]

The dean of my med school wears a bow tie to work everyday! I suppose any kid also wearing a bow tie would get brownie points.

 

[starayamoskva]

Hmmmm let's think about this logically. Regular tie, leaning over patient, tie drags across the sheets/sputum/pus. Bow tie, leaning over patient, tie stays right up where it belongs. I think I would go with the MRSA free bow tie.
Stop giving the guy a hard time, if he wants to wear a bow tie, let him wear one. We have a guy in our class who wears a bow tie and looks very distinguished.

 

[kchan99]

In one of the earlier posts in this thread, someone wrote about fellows in a certain department wearing bow ties often. Will someone please identify this department?

Some of my observations on ties:

I have seen pictures of Eric Kandel (Nobel Prize in 2000) of Columbia University Center for Neurobiology and Behavior/New York State Psychiatric Institute with bow ties. I don't think he was wearing a tux when he was photographed.

A college professor of chemistry, whom I had for freshmen chemistry, frequently wore bolo ties with the whole Western outfit to lecture. He is a Nobel laureate. I went to college in upstate New York.

 

[automaton]

anyone who wears a bowtie is a farkin tool. no exceptions.

 

[Fermata]

anyone who wears a bowtie is a farkin tool. no exceptions.

Exception: Chris Farley in the Chippendale's SNL sketch.

High comedy.

 

[Krony]

It might just be me, but whenever I see someone wearing a bowtie I'm reminded of Peewee Herman. Maybe I watched "Peewee's Playhouse" too much as a kid.

 

[Laryngoscope]

I've taken to wearing bow ties and I like it. I have gotten some good-natured ribbing from fellow students and administrators, but mostly positive comments. Most docs seem to like the bow tie when I wear it, and I haven't gotten any negative comments from a patient.

 

[dienekes88]

I only have one bowtie. It has always been received positively by patients and residents. I'm not sure what the big deal is.

The only issue I've had is people asking me if I want to be a neurosurgeon or neurologist. No and no.

By the way, why on Earth did you revive this thread.

 

[DrBowtie]

The bowtie is much more accepted in the South. It isn't viewed as eccentric (Neurologist/NS) around here.

 

[coachfisher]

With the exception of my interview, I've never worn a regular neck tie to anything for med school. I wear bowties all the time, and it has never been a problem. I love that people compliment my ties all the time too! I also have a pretty solid collection, so I rarely wear the same one twice.

I have been an exclusive bowtie wearer for several years now; I feel like it's part of who I am.

I will say that I'm from the south, and a lot of my classmates have said that bowties look normal on me but would be weird themselves or others.

Bow ties rock!