medium length white coat?

[RussianJoo]

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anyone wear a medium length white coat at the hospital? by medium length I mean about 4 inches above the knee?

During the white coat ceremony our school gave out medium length white coats as described above. Not too many people from my school wear these coats at the hospital but a few do. I already have 2 short white coats but they're no longer as pristine as i'd like them to be. I don't want to buy another white coat but have this medium coat lying around and I know I won't wear it once I am a resident.

Do you guys think it's ok if I wear a medium sized coat? or would you think that student is a tool for trying to wear a longer than average coat?

I am sure attendings won't even notice or care what kind of coat I wear. Do you guys think the residents would? I'll be starting my electives soon and don't want students and residents that I meet to have a weird first impression of me due to the length of my coat. I am a really friendly and nice guy and always offer to help, but I know how first impressions can be and don't want the coat to affect them.

thanks in advance for your comments.

 

[Scrub MD]

Go for it. My coat is medium length (6 inches above knee) and it has never been mentioned to me at all. I hate the white coats that are at hip level. As long as it is noticeably shorter than the residents, no one will say anything.

 

[RussianJoo]

thanks.

 

[Danbo1957]

It depends. You do not want to show up other med-students by wearing a longer coat than they - expecially by using an excuse of "not wanting to by another short coat." Short coats can be bought for $25. You also risk residents laughing at you, behind your back of course. (Attendings won't care, as to them you don't exist.) 😎

 

[Captain Fantastic]

During the white coat ceremony our school gave out medium length white coats as described above. Not too many people from my school wear these coats at the hospital but a few do.
...
Do you guys think it's ok if I wear a medium sized coat? or would you think that student is a tool for trying to wear a longer than average coat?

You answered your own question.

1) Yes, it's okay. The school gave it to you after all.

2) Everyone already thinks students are tools. Coat length won't change that perception.

 

[SLUser11]

anyone wear a medium length white coat at the hospital? by medium length I mean about 4 inches above the knee?

During the white coat ceremony our school gave out medium length white coats as described above. Not too many people from my school wear these coats at the hospital but a few do. I already have 2 short white coats but they're no longer as pristine as i'd like them to be. I don't want to buy another white coat but have this medium coat lying around and I know I won't wear it once I am a resident.

Do you guys think it's ok if I wear a medium sized coat? or would you think that student is a tool for trying to wear a longer than average coat?

I am sure attendings won't even notice or care what kind of coat I wear. Do you guys think the residents would? I'll be starting my electives soon and don't want students and residents that I meet to have a weird first impression of me due to the length of my coat. I am a really friendly and nice guy and always offer to help, but I know how first impressions can be and don't want the coat to affect them.

thanks in advance for your comments.

Don't do it. It will just generate negative attention. Maybe some students and residents won't care, but others will, and they will decide for themselves what your motivation was for wearing such a coat, accurate or not.

People will think you're a tool. You'll also feel self-conscious about it, and start telling this same story (about your normal coats being dirty and your white coat ceremony, etc) to everyone you come in contact with....and they won't believe you.


Seriously, don't do it.

 

[RussianJoo]

thank you for the advice. the coat had my school patch on it which i removed to make it draw less attention to it. and for now I'll simply keep it in my locker as a back up just incase i forget my short coat at home or if i spill blood or coffee on it. maybe a few weeks into each rotation i'll start wearing the coat, after the residents and other students have gotten to know me, thus they won't use the coat to make their first impressions.

 

[RussianJoo]

It depends. You do not want to show up other med-students by wearing a longer coat than they - expecially by using an excuse of "not wanting to by another short coat." Short coats can be bought for $25. You also risk residents laughing at you, behind your back of course. (Attendings won't care, as to them you don't exist.) 😎

it's not really about the money. it's about the fact that i have this coat which will never get used unless i use it as a student. it's way too short to be a respectable long coat and so i'll never use it as a resident or attending. but i don't simply want it to go to waste, and don't want to through out a perfectly good coat. it even has inside pockets which my other coats don't. So this would definitely be an upgrade to my current coats.

 

[RussianJoo]

Also as an aside I read on some older threads that some Med schools, in florida i believe have students wear long coats just like residents and attendings. the threads were from 2004 so I am not sure if this is still current, but thought this would a good place to share that info.

 

[Danbo1957]

it's not really about the money. it's about the fact that i have this coat which will never get used unless i use it as a student.

I wouldn't wear it.

 

[meister]

You took your school's patch off? They gave you the coat for free? **** yeah I'd wear it, I'd wear the patch with pride and use the free coat.

The school gave it to you, it's not like you went out and bought it.

 

[bigDinLV]

Don't do it. It will just generate negative attention. Maybe some students and residents won't care, but others will, and they will decide for themselves what your motivation was for wearing such a coat, accurate or not.

People will think you're a tool. You'll also feel self-conscious about it, and start telling this same story (about your normal coats being dirty and your white coat ceremony, etc) to everyone you come in contact with....and they won't believe you.


Seriously, don't do it.

I agree.. Other students will be like WTF? Residents might or might not care. It will make you stand out from other students, good or bad I don't know.

 

[beachbum08]

um, soak your dirty coat in oxyclean and then wash it. it will get anything out... and then you have no one upping issues.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

Just buy another white coat, don't risk being a douche.

 

[255onstep1]

I heard that at Stanford, they get to wear long coats and have no grades for all 4 years!

 

[Hurricane95]

At Miami, we all wear the same long coats - students, residents, attendings...there's no differentiation. Personally I think the little white jackets (so short they're not even really coats) look ridiculous, but that's my opinion. The only people who wear those here are some nurses and foreign (latin american) students on certain visiting "observer" programs.

 

[Samoa]

If most of the other students who were given the longer coat aren't wearing theirs, I think you have a clear standard of behavior at your school on that issue. It may be the standard at other schools to wear the longer coat, but it clearly isn't at yours. And FYI, even for students from schools where it IS the standard, wearing a long coat on an away at a short-coat school will definitely earn some snarky comments, and at best will be viewed neutrally.

Really, you don't want to be remembered for anything but your enthusiasm, knowledge and skill, and how well you work and play with others. So if your other coats are dirty or worn, mend the pockets, re-sew the buttons, soak them in bleach if you have to. But don't wear a coat that's different from what the other students are wearing.

 

[RussianJoo]

ok.. you guys keep saying that you don't want to risk someone thinking you're a douche or whatever.

here's another question. would YOU think that person was a douche? lets face it only we the students have enough time to notice who's wearing what.. a lot of times the residents don't even notice if some students aren't present on rounds.

So if you knew the person and he seemed nice and then one day came in, in a medium sized coat, maybe 4 inches longer than the short coat, would you automatically say oh wow what a douche, he's trying to be a resident and better than us by wearing the longer coat. I don't think I would. now if the coat was as long as a residents coat i.e. below the knees then I would totally say something like did you get your MD over the weekend or something?

On a seperate note I asked my classmates who are rotating at different hospitals in a different state if they noticed anyone wearing the school coat and they said of course, not too many but some students wear it.


So please lets change this conversation to a more personal level. Would you personally give a crap if someone you knew to be a nice guy who always offered to help or would call you into a room if something interesting was being done one day came in wearing a coat that's 3 or 4 inches longer than yours?

 

[howelljolly]

For one thing, how much it matters depends on location.... and that includes some hospitals where they are a stickler for dress code. And especially if you are rotating at many different hospitals...

On the personal level... I'd notice pretty quickly, probably make a comment to him about it, and keep d-baggery as a differential.

I knew a guy who was a really good co-student, like you describle. When I made a comment to him about his brand new short length coat... he admitted that he had been wearing a mid-length to look more doctor-like, and being a d-bag in that respect finally wore on his conscience.

What you could do is sew in a few inches of the bottom. It might look a little ill fitting, but that would be less attention-getting than a resident length coat. I know one or two people who did that.... they might be from your school actually....

 

[SLUser11]

So please lets change this conversation to a more personal level. Would you personally give a crap if someone you knew to be a nice guy who always offered to help or would call you into a room if something interesting was being done one day came in wearing a coat that's 3 or 4 inches longer than yours?

You are trying really hard to justify what seems to be your already-made decision. You are getting some support, but notice that it's all from other medical students. I would bet the majority of residents and attendings would recommend against wearing this coat.

The fact that you've had to try this hard to justify wearing the coat is reason enough not to wear it.

Seriously, don't do it. It's negative attention you don't need. I would personally think you are a d-bag if you did it (if that's what you need to hear).

 

[Regnvejr]

... but i don't simply want it to go to waste, ....

Donate it to the anatomy lab. The students will be happy for some fress, non-slimy white coats. That's where all mine went afterwards (I don't use them at all).

 

[dilated]

On the personal level... I'd notice pretty quickly, probably make a comment to him about it, and keep d-baggery as a differential.

I knew a guy who was a really good co-student, like you describle. When I made a comment to him about his brand new short length coat... he admitted that he had been wearing a mid-length to look more doctor-like, and being a d-bag in that respect finally wore on his conscience.

God I hate the tools in medicine. If someone made a pointed comment to me about the length of my coat I would stare at them in open mouthed shock.

NP students wear long white coats. So do freaking phlebotomists. What is wrong with you people? The reason people don't want to wear short coats isn't because they want to look "doctorly" it's because they look RIDICULOUS. There is a reason every type of jacket that men wear goes below the beltline, because you look like a clown otherwise.

 

[bigDinLV]

God I hate the tools in medicine. If someone made a pointed comment to me about the length of my coat I would stare at them in open mouthed shock.

NP students wear long white coats. So do freaking phlebotomists. What is wrong with you people? The reason people don't want to wear short coats isn't because they want to look "doctorly" it's because they look RIDICULOUS. There is a reason every type of jacket that men wear goes below the beltline, because you look like a clown otherwise.

But the short coat is the standard for med students in most places. Clown looking or not, it is the traditional coat for a med student.

 

[bigDinLV]

ok.. you guys keep saying that you don't want to risk someone thinking you're a douche or whatever.

here's another question. would YOU think that person was a douche? lets face it only we the students have enough time to notice who's wearing what.. a lot of times the residents don't even notice if some students aren't present on rounds.

So if you knew the person and he seemed nice and then one day came in, in a medium sized coat, maybe 4 inches longer than the short coat, would you automatically say oh wow what a douche, he's trying to be a resident and better than us by wearing the longer coat. I don't think I would. now if the coat was as long as a residents coat i.e. below the knees then I would totally say something like did you get your MD over the weekend or something?

On a seperate note I asked my classmates who are rotating at different hospitals in a different state if they noticed anyone wearing the school coat and they said of course, not too many but some students wear it.


So please lets change this conversation to a more personal level. Would you personally give a crap if someone you knew to be a nice guy who always offered to help or would call you into a room if something interesting was being done one day came in wearing a coat that's 3 or 4 inches longer than yours?

On first impression I would think they were a douche.. Some people get over first impressions, some don't.

 

[dilated]

But the short coat is the standard for med students in most places. Clown looking or not, it is the traditional coat for a med student.

So? Do you consider yourself the guardian of other people's coat length?

 

[Forthegood]

It's just a coat... throw the thing away and get a new one tomorrow. Or use the old dirty one. In the time that you have wasted on SDN talking about what to do, you could have bought a new coat and moved on.

It's not worth risking your first impression. It's unfair to the residents to give them such easy reasons to make fun of you. Let them be creative and judge you fairly (which should take ~5 minutes of pimping or less), then hate you.

 

[bigDinLV]

So? Do you consider yourself the guardian of other people's coat length?

No.. I would just think it was funny for another student to break "tradition". Hell, they might as well wear a green or pink coat for that matter right? Since it's just a coat and there shouldn't be any uniformity in your opinion.

 

[OncoCaP]

Don't do it.

 

[howelljolly]

God I hate the tools in medicine. If someone made a pointed comment to me about the length of my coat I would stare at them in open mouthed shock.

NP students wear long white coats. So do freaking phlebotomists. What is wrong with you people? The reason people don't want to wear short coats isn't because they want to look "doctorly" it's because they look RIDICULOUS. There is a reason every type of jacket that men wear goes below the beltline, because you look like a clown otherwise.

And while you stare at me in shock, Id take out a pair of trauma shears and cut your coat to waist length. And then Id cut off your moustache.

The student I was talking about specifically went out and got a resident lab coat, no so that he wouldnt look ridiculous, but specifically so that he'd look like he was allready a doctor... so that he'd look the part, and so that other students would subconsciously treat him like a resident... and in his own mind he'd feel more like a resident. Yeah, his signature already ends with MD. The power of positive thinking.

And at my hospital, where the DressCode Police is watching your every move, most of the students remind each other of the rules before they get caught.

NP students and phlebotomists dont have a specific tradition of white coat length indicating the level of medical education.

But thanks for playing.

 

[bigDinLV]

You know what is really funny? New rotations started today. One of the residents and I were walking along and another student with a medium length coat walks by.. He looks at me and asks why that student has a long coat?

All I could think about was this thread.

I guess people do notice!!

 

[Ashers]

I still don't get this part

I already have 2 short white coats but they're no longer as pristine as i'd like them to be.

Seriously? Who cares if they're "pristine?" My 2 white coats are a nice shade of grey.

Oh, and I did see a student on an away rotation wearing a longer white coat, and I agree with the majority of the people here. You stand out, and my team started commenting on it as we walked by.

 

[Samoa]

God I hate the tools in medicine. If someone made a pointed comment to me about the length of my coat I would stare at them in open mouthed shock.

NP students wear long white coats. So do freaking phlebotomists. What is wrong with you people? The reason people don't want to wear short coats isn't because they want to look "doctorly" it's because they look RIDICULOUS. There is a reason every type of jacket that men wear goes below the beltline, because you look like a clown otherwise.

Dude, if you're going to fight The Man, fight him over something that matters. The time to make waves is when something important is at stake, not over stupid stuff like coat length. People notice if your coat's too long, so either get over yourself and wear a short coat like everyone else, or get used to people assuming you're a douchebag on some level.

 

[SLUser11]

Dude, if you're going to fight The Man, fight him over something that matters. The time to make waves is when something important is at stake, not over stupid stuff like coat length. People notice if your coat's too long, so either get over yourself and wear a short coat like everyone else, or get used to people assuming you're a douchebag on some level.

Best post I've read today......

 

[dilated]

Dude, if you're going to fight The Man, fight him over something that matters. The time to make waves is when something important is at stake, not over stupid stuff like coat length. People notice if your coat's too long, so either get over yourself and wear a short coat like everyone else, or get used to people assuming you're a douchebag on some level.

I almost never wear a white coat at all, so I personally don't care one way or another. I just hate the medicine mentality of constantly watching each other for the slightest bit of coloring outside the lines, whether or not it matters or makes any sense to do so. I'm sure there's a new "I saw someone wearing scrubs outside the hospital!!!" thread percolating deep in someone's cortex as we speak.

I probably should have thought about what field the hall monitors from grade school went into before signing on the dotted line.

 

[SLUser11]

I almost never wear a white coat at all, so I personally don't care one way or another. I just hate the medicine mentality of constantly watching each other for the slightest bit of coloring outside the lines, whether or not it matters or makes any sense to do so. I'm sure there's a new "I saw someone wearing scrubs outside the hospital!!!" thread percolating deep in someone's cortex as we speak.

I probably should have thought about what field the hall monitors from grade school went into before signing on the dotted line.

Your comments seem off the mark. It's not like people are put off by the headstrong rebel who dared to be different. They're put off by the douchy guy who thinks he's cool. It's not driven by a need for conformity or strict adherence to the rules....it's driven more by a quick (and often permanent) judgment regarding the student's opinion of himself.

Also, you seem to be missing the point. You are focused on how unfair it is, and how pharmacists, nurses, etc. get to wear long coats, when really it doesn't matter that it's unfair. Med school is unfair. With all of the other injustices you face every day, you can't let your panties get in a bunch over such a trivial issue.


In the end, it's hard to make an argument first that coat length shouldn't matter, and then say it's unfair that you can't wear a long coat, because it proves that coat length absolutely matters to you.....




As for the "wearing scrubs outside the hospital" comment, that's something that you'll have to deal with internally. Were you really just too busy to change, or did you want to go to the grocery store in your scrubs? Nobody knows the answer to that question but you.......

 

[Pinkertinkle]

ok.. you guys keep saying that you don't want to risk someone thinking you're a douche or whatever.

here's another question. would YOU think that person was a douche? lets face it only we the students have enough time to notice who's wearing what.. a lot of times the residents don't even notice if some students aren't present on rounds.

So if you knew the person and he seemed nice and then one day came in, in a medium sized coat, maybe 4 inches longer than the short coat, would you automatically say oh wow what a douche, he's trying to be a resident and better than us by wearing the longer coat. I don't think I would. now if the coat was as long as a residents coat i.e. below the knees then I would totally say something like did you get your MD over the weekend or something?

On a seperate note I asked my classmates who are rotating at different hospitals in a different state if they noticed anyone wearing the school coat and they said of course, not too many but some students wear it.


So please lets change this conversation to a more personal level. Would you personally give a crap if someone you knew to be a nice guy who always offered to help or would call you into a room if something interesting was being done one day came in wearing a coat that's 3 or 4 inches longer than yours?

Yes, absolutely.

 

[LadyWolverine]

Wow, this thread is insane. Seriously, OP, if the school issued you a white coat, it's fair game. Why the F would you go out and buy a new one? I bought an extra coat last year, and when they were shipped in to our class, we all realized that they are huge on us. But you know what? I roll up my sleeves and I wear my huge, baggy, oversized coat, because I don't want to spend another $20 on something that I'm only going to wear for 1 more year. Our names were embroidered on them, anyway, so it's not like I could give/sell it to someone else. And you know what? Nobody has said anything to me yet - students, attendings, whatever. Nobody cares as long as you present yourself professionally and do your work.

To be honest, I only wear my white coat now for AM rounds, and sometimes I don't even do that. I like having the pocket space for papers, shears, bandages, etc., but I really don't like lugging it around and then forgetting it on the coatrack outside the OR.

 

[dilated]

Your comments seem off the mark. It's not like people are put off by the headstrong rebel who dared to be different. They're put off by the douchy guy who thinks he's cool. It's not driven by a need for conformity or strict adherence to the rules....it's driven more by a quick (and often permanent) judgment regarding the student's opinion of himself.

As stated ad nauseum, I am not the OP and I don't even wear a white coat so I obviously do not consider myself a "headstrong rebel". My only point is that I do not understand the mentality of someone who not only monitors the length of people's white coats but then uses it as some sort of judgment of their character. If someone had told me that people were observing med student coat lengths for adequate shortness before this thread I wouldn't have believed it.

But obviously a lot of people are doing it, so yeah, let's close this thread and always make sure your white coat is short enough to expose your bellybutton, OP guy.

 

[howelljolly]

Wow, this thread is insane. Seriously, OP, if the school issued you a white coat, it's fair game. Why the F would you go out and buy a new one? .

yes this thread is insane.

You'll notice that the OP hasn't said much at all, in light of all the sillyness.

Theres a perfectly good reason why. if the school issues a white coat, it is still not fair game. (think: away rotations)

OP, suture up the bottom of your coat, or get a new one. If this solution works for you, please euthanize this thread.

 

[SLUser11]

As stated ad nauseum, I am not the OP and I don't even wear a white coat so I obviously do not consider myself a "headstrong rebel".

There's no reason to state this fact "ad nauseum," because nobody is accusing you of being this individual, or even aiming the description anywhere near you. This isn't about you.

You can't afford to be so defensive, especially in an environment that I've described ad nauseum in several threads to be full of injustices. You'll give yourself an ulcer...

My only point is that I do not understand the mentality of someone who not only monitors the length of people's white coats but then uses it as some sort of judgment of their character. If someone had told me that people were observing med student coat lengths for adequate shortness before this thread I wouldn't have believed it.

I agree that it's stupid, but it is very real. I really don't care about coat length, but I've had enough experience over the last 5 years, as both a student and a resident, to know that my contemporaries will have an issue with it.

As for the money issue, $20 for a new coat is chump change when you owe $200K. I personally bought a short white coat with 5 pockets, which I found useful for carrying all my crap. I don't think we can make a serious argument about frugality being the main issue with the coat length......

 

[RussianJoo]

yes this thread is insane.

You'll notice that the OP hasn't said much at all, in light of all the sillyness.

Theres a perfectly good reason why. if the school issues a white coat, it is still not fair game. (think: away rotations)

OP, suture up the bottom of your coat, or get a new one. If this solution works for you, please euthanize this thread.

Sorry I have been studying for my IM oral exam.
yes this thread has gotten a little out of control. I guess I should have just done a poll instead?

As for the whole coat thing. I wore it a few days ago and no one said anything, I guess it's because it's the end of the rotation and they all know me, and also the residents are so busy they don't notice stuff like that. I have had days where I came in without a tie, and so have others, just because ties are uncomfortable, and no one noticed either. All the residents care about is if we wrote the notes on our patients and if we know the vitals and latest set of labs. We hardly spend time with the attendings and they definitely don't care, none of them wear a tie or anything.

I guess you guys are just at a totally different hospital than me, I am at a community hospital in the burbs, not a university hospital. One of my classmates always has a 5 o'clock shadow, I asked him about that and he said it's uncomfortable to shave. I agree I get major skin irritations on my neck. I think as long as the patients aren't dying now one gives crap what we wear.

In surgery the resident would always brag about how they just role out of bed and come to work. Sure you have to look nice for grand rounds but that's once a week.

so yeah the coat isn't that much longer than my short coat only like 3 or 4 inches but it is a nicer coat and keeps it's crease better than my cheap short coats. So now I have three coats to rotate through. the patients and nurses called me doctor before and still do, even though I introduce myself as a student and correct them for the first couple of times.


thanks everyone for your comments they were very helpful.

Howell, you speak of killing this thread or closing it. I wish I could but I think only the Mods can do that.

anyway good luck on your rotations guys and thanks again for the help.

P.S. My other thread has a pretty interesting article linked in it. It's about the selection criteria that PDs use to pick applicants for interviews.

 

[BrodieDurden]

dude you guys are ridiculous. who cares about the length of the coat? the point of wearing it is so you can carry things and appear as part of the team caring for patients.

all of you telling this person to not wear a longer coat or think others are "douches" for wearing it are the same typical annoying medical student most people (especially me) cannot stand. get a life. put that energy into studying or having fun. jesus christ.

 

[DrTennis]

I wear whatever white coat I feel like wearing. Sometimes I wear the long one, sometimes I wear the short one. Many times I don't wear one at all. I don't care and most importantly, I don't care if anyone else cares.

 

[Clemson Doc]

I find it weird that your school gives everyone a medium-length coat at the white coat ceremony, yet almost no one wears them for their clinical duties. First of all, why won't students wear them, since it's clear that it is "okay?" Secondly, why does the administration continue to give students those coats if they see that students don't even wear them? It all sounds so silly and impractical to me.

With that said, I do not think you should wear the medium-length coat if you would be one of a handful of students doing so. Pay the $25 and wear the short white coat and look like most other students there. There is something to be said for being pliable and expressing a willingness to fit in as a medical student. Like it or not, those are the rules that have been established over the years. Don't fight it.

 

[tkim]

I wear whatever white coat I feel like wearing. Sometimes I wear the long one, sometimes I wear the short one. Many times I don't wear one at all. I don't care and most importantly, I don't care if anyone else cares.

Bold words for the MSIII starting rotations. That may work, it may backfire.

 

[basupran]

just tuck in your coat, that is what I did (kidding). I wore that same coat that you got when I started clinicals. after 2 days, I felt self conscious and got a short coat. some residents will perceive you as a wannabe.....
on a sidenote, the high school students volunteering around here wear attending length white coats.

anyone wear a medium length white coat at the hospital? by medium length I mean about 4 inches above the knee?

During the white coat ceremony our school gave out medium length white coats as described above. Not too many people from my school wear these coats at the hospital but a few do. I already have 2 short white coats but they're no longer as pristine as i'd like them to be. I don't want to buy another white coat but have this medium coat lying around and I know I won't wear it once I am a resident.

Do you guys think it's ok if I wear a medium sized coat? or would you think that student is a tool for trying to wear a longer than average coat?

I am sure attendings won't even notice or care what kind of coat I wear. Do you guys think the residents would? I'll be starting my electives soon and don't want students and residents that I meet to have a weird first impression of me due to the length of my coat. I am a really friendly and nice guy and always offer to help, but I know how first impressions can be and don't want the coat to affect them.

thanks in advance for your comments.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

I wear whatever white coat I feel like wearing. Sometimes I wear the long one, sometimes I wear the short one. Many times I don't wear one at all. I don't care and most importantly, I don't care if anyone else cares.

This will make you a prime candidate for failing due to lack of professionalism.

 

[Farmer Jane]

I'm not sure how I managed to click on this thread but two bits of advice:

1) For dingy, light colored clothing, fill a bucket with very hot water. Add 1/2 cup of OxyClean or Clorox II, and 1/2 cup of Cascade dishwasher detergent. Stir. Put the dingy items (in this case, your two old lab coats) in the water and soak overnight. The next morning, rinse and then wash like normal. Voila! Dinginess gone (for future reference, this is how to salvage children's clothing that you purchased at yard sales for next to nothing).

2) Shortening the hem of a lab coat is incredibly easy. First, iron it. Then carefully measure the section you wish to shorten, using a ruler to measure from the bottom to ensure you're cutting evenly all the way around. Cut. Turn up the bottom--this time use the ruler sideways and mark with a pencil to give you an even folding line. Iron the fold--this is important, as it will look like crap if you don't. Tuck the cut end inside the fold, so that the edge is essentially folded under twice. Iron again. Sew along the top edge. Honestly, if it's giving you this much stress, PM me. You can send it and I'll fix it for you. I've been sewing for probably the entire time you've been alive and it would take me less than ten minutes. 🙂

 

[mcrandi]

as students we wear the coat during some session

 

[funshi baba]

as students we wear the coat during some session

I can't believe a thread this long is about the length of a white coat. We med students really don't have a life.