Shadowing a Doctor: What to wear?

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KingNothing

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I am going to be shadowing an emergency medicine doctor in an ER on a busy night shift in about a week. Should I buy some scrubs to wear, or just jeans and a t-shirt?

I guess the best thing to do would just be to call and ask him, but I thought I would see what you guys have done in the past first.
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I haven't shadowed an ER doc so I couldn't tell you how messy things might be, but I would advise not wearing jeans and a t-shirt. I would dress more so like one would for clinical rotations.
 
I did an 8 hour shift in an ED for and EMT course and work khakis and a collered shirt. The doc had slacks, suspenders, and a tie, which he wore while intubating a drug overdose patient. Dress up, but perhaps with the cheap tie...
 
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When in doubt, wear scrubs.
 
I'm working with ER docs and I usually wear dockers & a collared shirt. You are generally safe with business casual (no sneakers, jeans or T-shirts - it comes off as unprofessional). I wouldn't go with scrubs unless your task is so involved that you are at risk for getting blood, etc. on your clothes...
 
Wear something casual but nice (khakis work well if you are a guy), chances are they'll have scrubs for you to wear there if need be. Don't forget to wear comfortable shoes - nothing worse than watching a 5 hour surgery in uncomfortable shoes (done it). Oh and I think a tie is excessive.
 
You'll need a white lab coat for sure.
 
KingNothing said:
I am going to be shadowing an emergency medicine doctor in an ER on a busy night shift in about a week. Should I buy some scrubs to wear, or just jeans and a t-shirt?

I guess the best thing to do would just be to call and ask him, but I thought I would see what you guys have done in the past first.
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Do you still have a lab apron from either general or organic chemistry? This is what I was instructed to wear most of the time when I did my shadowing. Yes, it sounds odd, but they are probably going to have you wear a similar apron type device as well as a surgical mask anyway. It would be nice/considerate to come in with appropriate gear already on you.

Aside from that do what others have already said, khakis and collared shirt.
 
MEG@COOL said:
Do you still have a lab apron from either general or organic chemistry? This is what I was instructed to wear most of the time when I did my shadowing. Yes, it sounds odd, but they are probably going to have you wear a similar apron type device as well as a surgical mask anyway. It would be nice/considerate to come in with appropriate gear already on you.

Aside from that do what others have already said, khakis and collared shirt.
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I always love your advice. You and Lehavre should open up a joint psychiatry practice to help people live normal lives. I'll be the first to make an appointment.
 
I always wore dockers and a nice casual shirt. If you are in the hospital and they want you to wear scrubs or a lab coat, they will generally provide it for you...or at least they did for me. When I shadowed a psychiatrist and worked in his office, i wore nicer clothes. When in doubt, ask. 😀
 
I would go with scrubs. Most hospital personnel wear scrubs and you will fit in better that way.
 
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four inch jimmy choo stilletos and a dolce mini, (or frankie b. super low rise jeans) with my louis vuitton murikami of course, there are runways everywhere and every time is a good one to display your outstanding knowledge of haute couture.
 
haha jk of course. i wore beat up climacool adidas (the last thing u need is sweaty feet!) prefering to not kick it oldskool w the shelltops. and i wore a puma track jacket over a button down shirt and diesel jeans. its good to be comfortable and move around. i doubt you need scrubs. but if you do get them, try a complexion flattering colour.
 
Psycho Doctor said:
I always wore dockers and a nice casual shirt. If you are in the hospital and they want you to wear scrubs or a lab coat, they will generally provide it for you...or at least they did for me. When I shadowed a psychiatrist and worked in his office, i wore nicer clothes. When in doubt, ask. 😀
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you shadowed a psychiatrist?! you were actually there during the sessions? i never heard of such a thing. if it were my therapist i don't think i would want to have some pre-med sitting there. did he work at a clinic?
 
KingNothing said:
I am going to be shadowing an emergency medicine doctor in an ER on a busy night shift in about a week. Should I buy some scrubs to wear, or just jeans and a t-shirt?

I guess the best thing to do would just be to call and ask him, but I thought I would see what you guys have done in the past first.
Click to expand...

I would ask; but when I shadowed my family practice doc I wore a white dress shirt, tie, black slacks, and dress shoes. The office staff thought I was a drug agent. 🙂
 
I dunno about you guys, but every hospital in my area, save one, has their own supply of scrubs, so I just wear those scrubs. However, when I do shadow a doc at that hospital, I bring my own scrubs.
 
Always dress professionally (shirt, tie, slacks) when shadowing professionals, unless specified otherwise by the physician.
 
MEG@COOL said:
Do you still have a lab apron from either general or organic chemistry? This is what I was instructed to wear most of the time when I did my shadowing. Yes, it sounds odd, but they are probably going to have you wear a similar apron type device as well as a surgical mask anyway. It would be nice/considerate to come in with appropriate gear already on you.

Aside from that do what others have already said, khakis and collared shirt.
Click to expand...

I actually haven't taken any chemisty yet -- just physics. Half the reason I am going to be shadowing him next week is because i want to make sure medicine is the right choice for me.
 
So tennis shoes are a no go? It seems like that would be the more comfortable choice of shoes, but if that's not acceptable then I'll have to wear something else. I was planning on tennis shoes before, just because I'll be standing for several hours, and it seems like most doctors wear tennis shoes anyway. 😉
 
To be safe: Wear khaki slacks, nice shoes, a long-sleeved collared shirt and a tie. If you feel self-conscious or overdressed when you get there, just put the tie in your pocket and roll up your sleeves.
 
swifteagle43 said:
go naked 🙂
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Really! I can't believe that you are still on, and yet friends of mine (Carlosmielefan) were simply deleted entirely from SDN for crimes not unlike.....

WARNING!!!!: YOU ARE IN DANGER OF VIOLATING THE TOS REGULATIONS!
 
All this talk on what to wear when you shadow a dr, and Im still trying to figure out how you go about finding a dr to shadow. Do you just call up random Dr's and ask if you can shadow them? How do you go about finding a Dr. in a hospital to let you shadow them?
Thank you all for your help!
 
lilmacstew said:
All this talk on what to wear when you shadow a dr, and Im still trying to figure out how you go about finding a dr to shadow. Do you just call up random Dr's and ask if you can shadow them? How do you go about finding a Dr. in a hospital to let you shadow them?
Thank you all for your help!
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I had a pilonidal cyst removed last month by a surgeon. On my most recent follow up visit I started to talk to him about medicine and becoming a doctor, then I just asked if he could get me in touch with an emergency medicine doctor. I got a call the next day from the ED lead doctor (or whatever the correct name for that position would be) at an extremely busy local hospital. We chatted for a bit on the phone and I asked if it would be alright for me to follow him around to see what it is that he does on a daily basis and he said that would be fine.

I'm not sure how you could go about getting in contact with a doctor, but I'd imagine you could try calling your primary phisician, or going to a local urgent care clinic and talking to a doctor there (with an appointment, of course).
 
You should dress in professional attire as some others have said.
 
Sounds silly, but i do not care to look like a tool or a bum. Can i wear a nice pair of jeans and a collared shirt, or am I to wear dress pants and whatnot. BTW it is a private practice opthalmology group. Thanks 🙄
 
dress to impress but don't overdo it. dress pants and a collared shirt will do just fine. are you just going to be in clinic or do you get to observe some procedures? it never hurts to ask them either.
 
littlephiLLy said:
Sounds silly, but i do not care to look like a tool or a bum. Can i wear a nice pair of jeans and a collared shirt, or am I to wear dress pants and whatnot. BTW it is a private practice opthalmology group. Thanks 🙄
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Not a silly question at all. I would stay away from jeans; any dress shirt will probably do. Definately wear comfortable shoes if you're going to be on your feet a lot (made that mistake first time I shadowed, I think I'm still hurtin). Don't overdo it.
 
Yeah, it's easy to call up and ask what would be appropriate. But I agree with above: dress pants and a collared shirt. I wore what could be called a slight step up from "business casual" (whatever that means), but it probably depends on the place, too.
 
The doctor will be taking be telling me about the procdeures and the machines he will be using. with patients' permission i will be observing him at work. thanks for the replies.
 
I have found that if you dress nice then patients also feel more comfortable with you (because they think of you more like a medical student, another doctor, etc) - which is very good because usually the patients are asked if they would be alright with a student observing.

It really depends exactly on the place though. One clinic I worked at was very casual and the doctor even wore jeans and a dress shirt, or khakis and a polo...but that is definetly not the norm...and most of the patients at the clinic were teens so I think the casual atmosphere made them more comfortable. See what the doctor wears. If you won't know until you get there then I would wear a collared shirt or sweater (if you're a girl) and a nice pair of khakis or dress pants. Definetly wear closed toe shoes (make sure they are comfortable as someone else mentioned).
 
There's nothing like shadowing a doctor when doing a physical ha ha. I wonder if anyone would actually let a student shadow the doc for that.
 
jeans..NO!
slack shirt tie
or for girls: skirt shirt or slacks and shirt
 
If your a guy and doing clinic ~> shirt and tie.
If your a guy and watching surg. ~> doesn't matter since you will change into scrubs.
 
This came up before and the best advice was bussiness casual with very comfortable shoes. Nothing tight or too done-up, just respectable, what you might see the doctor wear unless informed otherwise. Oh, and I think they advised you eat before you go too! 😀
 
The doc I was shadowing gave me a choice to wear dressy stuff or scrubs prior to my actually starting to shadow her. I was tempted to wear scrubs (I'm a scrub-aholic) but decided to go for dressy on my first day what with first impressions and all. I'm so glad I did because everyone else on my team was dressed up. I later found out that on normal days, they would dress up (dress pants, collared shirts) and on call days, would wear scrubs, and I followed their lead. Also, if you're going to be wearing a coat, you can get away with a less formal shirt underneath, and might be helping yourself out by not wearing a sweater (if it's hot where you live), but then hospitals are usually very cold, so whatever suits your body temp. So , I would think go dressy the first day, and then check out the docs like other people had mentioned. Hope that helps, and good luck! :luck:
 
Ahhhh - the painful transition to adulthood - no more jeans. Go buy a few pairs of "business casual" pants, and some collared shirts, and get used to wearing them. There are subtle ways to do it and still look good without looking like a total Republican (sorry BrettBachelor). Don't spend too much on the pants, but do spend a decent amount on COMFORTABLE shoes that are decent looking. Consider Danskes or other leather clog-like shoes, they are SUPER comfy, and can be disguised with dress pants to look professional. When in doubt, dress the same way everybody else is. This is no time to be an individual. Good luck!
 
what are some good clog shoes for casual use and look normal size 13 please.
 
Hey guys,
I'll be shadowing a surgery tomorrow morning (Total Laparoscopic Hysterectomry) and I'm not too sure on what to wear. I know i'll be "scrubbing in" so what would be appropriate attire? I don't have a set of scrubs so what would be the best thing to wear? Anyone with shadowing experience in the OR know the answer? Thanks guys

Paul
 
i would wear a tie and slacks. the OR you go to should have hospital scrubs into which you can change.
 
slacks and a button down are enough. the tie is overkill since you will be dressing into scrubs.
 
it doesn't matter what you wear, since you'll only be wearing it to get there and then when you leave. just don't look sloppy.

also, you'll be scrubbing in???? not fair!! 🙂 when i shadowed a surgeon, he said that anyone below "med student" status isn't allowed to scrub in (even though he's otherwise very good abt letting me participate in things). you're so lucky!!!!

p.s. laparoscopic surgery is SO cool!
 
phospho said:
lol, what does scrubbing in mean?
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after you already have the scrubs on, you have to go through a procedure of washing your hands/arms for 5ish mins. then you go into the or, and one of the nurses wraps the sterile gown thing around you (excuse my major lack of knowledge here, lol), then they fit you with gloves, and maybe do other stuff to make sure you're sterile.

even if you don't "scrub in," you usually still get to change into scrubs and wear the hat thing (or the stupid shower cap thing if you're a girl, grr).

btw, why are they letting you scrub in? i don't see anything that an undergrad would be able to do while scrubbed in that he/she couldn't do otherwise. i was still able to feel the intestines of the patient as soon as they were taken out of her body (really cool!!!), and i was within like 3 ft of the surgical table at all times.
 
probably just a precaution. plus, lets him/her get into the sterile field
 
whatdapho said:
Hey guys,
I'll be shadowing a surgery tomorrow morning (Total Laparoscopic Hysterectomry) and I'm not too sure on what to wear. I know i'll be "scrubbing in" so what would be appropriate attire? I don't have a set of scrubs so what would be the best thing to wear? Anyone with shadowing experience in the OR know the answer? Thanks guys

Paul
Click to expand...

I vote for Birthday Suit and act as of that is what you do all the time!

WTF?!!!
 
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