Dress Code for Grand Rounds

[Ataraxy]

A visiting chairman of a specialty I'm interested in giving a grand rounds soon. My school is finally making it an in-person grand rounds and this will be my first time going. Is there a dress code for these kinds of presentations?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[LunaOri]

A visiting chairman of a specialty I'm interested in giving a grand rounds soon. My school is finally making it an in-person grand rounds and this will be my first time going. Is there a dress code for these kinds of presentations?

No dress code for attendees. Dress as you would for a clinic day.

 

[CyrilFiggis]

Dress like you’re working in the hospital not boarding an airplane.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Dress like you’re working in the hospital not boarding an airplane.

This made me laugh! My friend, was a flight attendant who's Father's was a pilot. She had to wear her Easter Best clothing while flying when she was a girl. She resigned as a flight attendant several years ago when she had a screaming match with a passenger when she told him he could not board the aircraft unless he put shoes on.

 

[Redpancreas]

Dress like you’re working in the hospital not boarding an airplane.

This OP. Embarrassing story, but one time I attended a grand rounds I was interested in on a day off and I live like a minute from the hospital. My chief walks up to me afterwards and I thought he was going to commend me on my dedication but he told me how my informal attire (jeans) and medical school hoodie in a dark lit auditorium reflected poorly on the program. Two important lessons were learnt that day, one as above; the other was to never ever go to the hospital under any circumstances on a day off.

 

[mvenus929]

No dress code for attendees. Dress as you would for a clinic day.

When I was on my surgery rotation, we would get yelled at if we showed up to grand rounds in scrubs. One day I was running late and completely forgot it was grand rounds day, so I showed up to the floor and then walked down with the team to grand rounds in my scrubs. I got yelled at.

 

[wholeheartedly]

When I was on my surgery rotation, we would get yelled at if we showed up to grand rounds in scrubs. One day I was running late and completely forgot it was grand rounds day, so I showed up to the floor and then walked down with the team to grand rounds in my scrubs. I got yelled at.

Sorry. that’s dumb.

 

[ortnakas]

This is hospital-dependent. Some are casual, some are more formal. Like others said, for the first one, you’re best off dressing like you would for clinic (minimum business casual). If you get there and there’s people in scrubs, you can maybe get away with that next time. If your school has a dress code, wisest plan and road of least resistance is to follow it. Jeans and gym clothes are a no-go.

 

[Redpancreas]

Mine lets us wear scrubs to clinic.

 

[TSHJB302]

When in doubt, I always go with business casual. I would bring your white coat in a bag as well just in case. At my hospital's grand rounds, everyone comes in their white coats.

 

[Dral]

When in doubt, I always go with business casual. I would bring your white coat in a bag as well just in case. At my hospital's grand rounds, everyone comes in their white coats.

My advice as well. Our head of department a few years ago sent out a reminder that for GR, we should dress either (men) business casual with tie +/- whitecoat (should have white coat on if you are not wearing a tie).

Even if everyone is wearing scrubs but a med student is wearing business casual, nobody should think it's odd, weird, or off. However, if everyone is wearing business casual and the med student shows up in scrubs... 😒🙄😗

 

[FalconSlice]

I'll echo a little what was said above with some nuances for what I've experienced:

1. It is not only hospital dependent but also specialty and residency/program dependent. Rule ranges from formal (i.e. suits) to business casual to casual. In my specialty, most grand rounds expectations are to wear shirt/tie for men with optional suit or white-coat.

2. Of course, as a medical student, little rules are "big rules" and will get you judged however dumb it may be. What's difficult is that most grand rounds happen after morning rounds for most surgical specialties. But I hated wearing shirt/tie on rounds especially when there's a risk of bodily fluids ruining my clothes during dressing changes, etc. So, I'd have to run to grand rounds and stop by a bathroom on the way and change into my formal clothes---and then run back to the OR after grand rounds with another pit-stop to change back into scrubs.

3. Personal opinion: how you present yourself is extremely important. First impressions matter and it shows respect to yourself and people around you. This is a notion that's not only lost in today's youth in med school but in western society in general. Think about it--how many people look like they just rolled out of bed when they're grocery shopping or flying on an airplane? You may be in the YOLO life, but personally it's so cringe and immature when I see anyone over the age of 10 wearing literal pajamas in public.

4. If you're a medical student, undoubtedly you care what your evals are and things like this may affect how attendings and residents view you ("lol this med student thinks he's earned the right to wear scrubs to grand rounds?!"). Additionally, if you're voluntarily attending grand rounds to network and get to know the program, this is doubly important.

5. It's all up to you and what the rules are in your circumstance. If any doubt, ask the chief what they recommend. Slightly overdressing is never a bad thing in these situations.

All the best,
FS