Natural Hair and Clerkships

[lanakane9876]

I'll be starting my clerkship year in a few weeks and my first rotation is surgery. In general, I'd love to hear what any clinical students with natural hair did during their clerkship year, especially during surgery!

I've talked to a few upper levels at my school (not that there's that many with similar concerns) about what they did with their hair, and I've gotten a few responses ranging from braids/twists to wearing their real hair.

I want to have my hair in protective styles so I won't have to worry about fitting in detangling sessions / deep-conditioning / styling on top of becoming accustomed to being a clinical student and studying for shelf exams. Right now I'm leaning toward crochet braids, but 8 weeks in crochets seems a little long. I'm also considering wearing wigs (not weaves) so that I have easy access to my hair underneath. I would love to hear from anyone who has tried this method.

Looking forward to hearing your responses!

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[tennislover1989]

I had braids during all of my surgical rotations and I think it was the easiest thing. I didn't have to deal with my natural hair as you stated, it lasts a long time, and there was no fuss with straightening/curling/whatever you do to your wigs to make them look more natural. Plus in surgery you're going to be taking a surgical cap on and off all the time, which can get annoying with wigs.

I did have crochet braids, weaves or wigs during other less time intensive clerkships, like peds and family med, and that was fine. I still wasted time fiddling with my hair with the weaves and wigs, but it was OK because I wasn't at the hospital 10-14 hours/day.

 

[lanakane9876]

Good point about the wigs/weaves and the time it takes to make them look natural. Sounds like braids are the way to go