Dont do this

[Tired]

Tell them to get over themselves and leave their white coats in their cars. The white coat is there to protect from contamination... they have no business being worn outside the hospital!

Who told you that lie?

 

[Samoa]

Who told you that lie?

Seriously. The whole white-garment deal was to demonstrate cleanliness on the part of the wearer. Sort of like, "I deal with feces and urine and blood all day, but I'm so good that none of it gets on my coat."

It was a symbol of quality, not a piece of protective gear. Which is why other hospital people have taken it over. They may spout the rationale that it's protective gear, but for that purpose any coverup would do, so that's total cr@p. They wear the white coat because of its symbolic value.

Also, if it really were protective gear, then you'd think that it would be the students who need long coats the most, since they're more likely to get stuff on them due to bad technique.

So that premise just doesn't fly on any level.

 

[domer621]

Who told you that lie?

A professor at my school. He made a pretty big deal about it. Of course it has symbolic value, but it is also the first line between the patient and your actual clothes. Makes sense to me.

 

[deleted109597]

It would work if you took it off instantly when something splashed on it, or if you scotchgarded it or something.
Otherwise, impervious gowns are what you need.

 

[ms. a]

I once saw a guy waiting in an airport security line with scrubs and his white coat on. Not in a hurry, like he'd rushed from the hospital to jump on some plane due to a family emergency or something. He was calmly waiting and chatting with friends in the line that was moving exceptionally slow, even for security lines. It was pretty pathetic.

I agree with the hanging the coat on the car seat thing, though. It definitely keeps things from falling out. Especially the little stuff, like pens, cell phone and change (all the most important stuff).

 

[quideam]

when i did my EM rotation, i actually didnt wear my white coat b/c it got in the way, esp during traumas and things. i felt liberated. i wasnt sweating and weighed down all the time. whats even better, i realized i dont even USE 75% of the things in my white coat- so i abandoned them all together. i would just stick a pen, a pharmacopoeia, trauma shears and a penlight in my scrubs, and have my stethoscope around my neck. oh and of course, always wore my ID which prominently displayed my position as a med student!

soo liberating 🙂

That is EXACTLY what i do - or try to do, when i can - on *every* rotation!! And it's also exactly why i'm going into emergency medicine!!! (ok, so not *exactly* why... but it's certainly a perk! 😉

 

[ericdamiansean]

oh and of course, always wore my ID which prominently displayed my position as a med student!

soo liberating 🙂

I've noticed that if people "think" I'm a student, I actually get to do less..that's when looking mature (read=old) helps

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

I'm in the camp where the school has our white coats monogrammed for us. They're still short coats, but it says your name on it Someone told me that they tried it one year and they got a big positive response from patients (!?!) so they kept it.

That said, I'm looking to ditch the coat as soon as I can. i know some people bemoan the loss of symbolism, but call me romantic, but your "doctorly" aura should have less to do with your fashion and more to do with your self confidence and how you carry yourself. My physician mentor/preceptor my first year basically flat out told me not to where my coat while I was with him (going against the school rules, but it wasn't like we were monitored) because at best I'd be uncomfortable and at worst make patients nervous.

I guess I'm kind of down on the whole thing because the only people I see wearing the thing consistently always seem to have some kind of screw loose. Like this really unsettling doctor who I swear has Aspergers, or the crazy old neuropathologists who taught us.

 

[joeqwertyui]

I saw a resident wearing her long white coat with bulging pockets and stethoscope in BEST BUY!!!!!

When i was in high school, I used to leave best buy with bulging pockets but no stethoscop😀

 

[Tired]

A professor at my school. He made a pretty big deal about it. Of course it has symbolic value, but it is also the first line between the patient and your actual clothes. Makes sense to me.

Total crap.

Consider the material, the fact that you don't dispose of it when you go from one patient to another, and that it opens in the front (not the back).

There is a school of thought that doctors shouldn't wear white coats at all, since they are potential fomites (check the resident forums, people bring this up fairly frequently). Personally, I think that's total bullsh*t, but at least there I can understand the theoretical argument.

Your professor, on the other hand, is either an idiot or a huge liar. Tell him I said so.

 

[Amy B]

Crap I am guilty of wearing my white coat i public. On my way to my rotations I always try to dash into Starbucks for a quick pick me up and since I wear my coat in the car so I dont have the stuff fall out of my pockets in the car I end up wearing it into starbucks. 😳😛

 

[Trooth]

I think its irresponsible to wear hospital attire anywhere but in the hospital.

Imagine what gets on your coat and scrubs in a typical day, especially if you are the student/intern/resident.

Would you want someone who works at a meat packing plant or in a vets office wearing their soiled uniform while you stand behind them in the line at the bank?

I wouldnt.

I have seen people in the medical field, nurses to physicians, wearing their uniforms in places like the grocery store. I realize that convenience of going home and changing isnt always easy, but at least remove the coat, stethoscope or scrub top...and try to throw on a T-shirt to contain some of the festering goodness on your clothes.

With that said, I know many residents who throw their white coat over the passenger seat back with their name and title conveniently showing...some say its in case they get pulled over for speeding while Im sure others do it to impress people next to you in traffic. Afterall, nothing says "sexy" like a young doctor in a white coat...driving his Toyota Corrolla.

being flexible and able to undress under the cloaks of a blanket i change before i start my engine 👍
really i have gotten so self concious of being pointed to and called a tool that i change from scrubs to jeans if i have to def make a stop before getting home. i am not worried that some old lady will judge me when i am picking up a quart of milk or gassing up as much as the thought of running into someone who knows me.
oh med school..how you have emotionally scarred me.

i am actually wiggin out about tomorrow because unless i pay for parking 2x or be very late... i haveto walk to the courthouse and back to school in the same outfit...clinical clothes with the coat bundled and bunched on top of my bag..with the tools falling out every 3 feet. i have to say my least fav thing about 3rd year is the clothes.

 

[Ypo.]

How's this any different from the peeps who put their school and graduating year in their SDN signature?
Doesn't bother me in the slightest. But I don't do it. I DID get my name engraved on my white coat but that's just to keep better track of it. I didn't engrave my white coat for preclinical years.

I'll tell what bothers me, in general-->medical students. They are crazy- (self included)...some of my classmates were still obsessing about their board scores when we got back from break. Let it go, or at least if you can't, restrain yourself from talking about it!

 

[DocDiva]

There are a few people at my gym, who wear scrub to work out...they come in wearing them....work out wearing them (after visiting the locker room) and leave wearing them.....the best part is when they leave their hosp tag on while they lift. Its so amusing, I decided to get a closer look to see who the guy was, it turns out hes a nurses aid . LOL
But there are a few docs that come in and do the same.
After wearing scrubs all day, the last thing i want to do is work out in them. Not to mention its not hygienic...at all

 

[fakin' the funk]

I once saw a guy waiting in an airport security line with scrubs and his white coat on. Not in a hurry, like he'd rushed from the hospital to jump on some plane due to a family emergency or something. He was calmly waiting and chatting with friends in the line that was moving exceptionally slow, even for security lines. It was pretty pathetic.

Pathetic?! How about "GENIUS"

Just think: on a plane (horrifically uncomfortable), you'd want to wear the most comfortable clothes known to man, aka SCRUBS

 

[kchan99]

When I used take ballet classes, I would see people take class in scrubs. I didn't if they had health-care related careers, or were just wearing them as warm up clothing. There was a surgery resident who took ballet classes, but he never wore scrubs in class.

 

[dilated]

There are a few people at my gym, who wear scrub to work out...they come in wearing them....work out wearing them (after visiting the locker room) and leave wearing them.....the best part is when they leave their hosp tag on while they lift. Its so amusing, I decided to get a closer look to see who the guy was, it turns out hes a nurses aid . LOL
But there are a few docs that come in and do the same.
After wearing scrubs all day, the last thing i want to do is work out in them. Not to mention its not hygienic...at all

Totally.. I like to go to the hospital in regular clothes, change into scrubs, change into gym clothes to go to the gym at lunch, change back into scrubs, then change back into normal clothes when I leave. It's really a small price to pay to not be seen outside the hospital in scrubs.

I also wear a burlap sack over my head whenever I have my white coat on so everyone can see my shame at being a medical student.