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- Jul 25, 2015
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I'd like to dedicate this thread to general tips on how to dress as a PTA/PT, particularly while going though clinicals. Most sites have dress codes for their students and employees, but in my experience some places are pretty vague and it leaves one stressing over whether they'll be over or under dressed on day one.
Here's my own tip:
I'm an SPTA starting my final year of PTA school in a couple weeks. Prior to starting PTA school, I worked in a factory and wore exclusively t-shirts and jeans.
In preparation of clinicals (and in hopeful preparation of holding a career as a professional in the near future) I've started to build a wardrobe of "professional" clothing. Tops, slacks, accessories, all high quality items all purchased secondhand or super-duper cheap. I'm talking like-new blazers for $0.44 at Good Will liquidation sales and tag sale 1/2 price slacks from the Salvation Army. Sometimes it's a bust, but sometimes you can find the perfect item with a perfect fit at a fraction of what something like it would cost brand new. I can't recommend secondhand shops enough.
And my questions:
How do you dress? What have you learned about representing yourself through the way you dress? What do you wish you'd done differently when building your PT/A wardrobe? What kind of clothes are and aren't functional in this line of work? Is a wristwatch a no-no due to its potential for scratching a patient or harboring bacteria?
Also:
I've got a nice section of my closet dedicated to "professional" clothes and it served me well during my first clinical, but I'm missing a major detail: shoes.
I've never liked shoe shopping and I could care less about shoes in general. However, I wore a worn out pair of tennis shoes to my first clinical with a hole in the top because they were the least crappy pair of shoes I had and while I didn't get any flack for it, I became aware of how important footwear can be when it comes to making a first impression and representing your school/employer/field and it led me to feeling rather embarrassed.
Looks aren't everything though: to be pragmatic, I need to invest in something that looks professional and takes care of my feet as I'll be on them all day. (No heels!) I have some pretty big problems with my feet (metatarsalgia and friction ulcers at some of the metatarsal heads, due in part I'm sure to wearing the same shoes for years at a time) and have to figure out how to balance good shoes with effective inserts, but can anyone give me a place to start? I'm in need of women's shoes but I wouldn't rule out wearing a man's shoe if it were sound. But I don't know what brands, designs, etc to even begin exploring.
Feel free to ask your own dressing related questions or share tips here. Any information is welcomed.
Here's my own tip:
I'm an SPTA starting my final year of PTA school in a couple weeks. Prior to starting PTA school, I worked in a factory and wore exclusively t-shirts and jeans.
In preparation of clinicals (and in hopeful preparation of holding a career as a professional in the near future) I've started to build a wardrobe of "professional" clothing. Tops, slacks, accessories, all high quality items all purchased secondhand or super-duper cheap. I'm talking like-new blazers for $0.44 at Good Will liquidation sales and tag sale 1/2 price slacks from the Salvation Army. Sometimes it's a bust, but sometimes you can find the perfect item with a perfect fit at a fraction of what something like it would cost brand new. I can't recommend secondhand shops enough.
And my questions:
How do you dress? What have you learned about representing yourself through the way you dress? What do you wish you'd done differently when building your PT/A wardrobe? What kind of clothes are and aren't functional in this line of work? Is a wristwatch a no-no due to its potential for scratching a patient or harboring bacteria?
Also:
I've got a nice section of my closet dedicated to "professional" clothes and it served me well during my first clinical, but I'm missing a major detail: shoes.
I've never liked shoe shopping and I could care less about shoes in general. However, I wore a worn out pair of tennis shoes to my first clinical with a hole in the top because they were the least crappy pair of shoes I had and while I didn't get any flack for it, I became aware of how important footwear can be when it comes to making a first impression and representing your school/employer/field and it led me to feeling rather embarrassed.
Looks aren't everything though: to be pragmatic, I need to invest in something that looks professional and takes care of my feet as I'll be on them all day. (No heels!) I have some pretty big problems with my feet (metatarsalgia and friction ulcers at some of the metatarsal heads, due in part I'm sure to wearing the same shoes for years at a time) and have to figure out how to balance good shoes with effective inserts, but can anyone give me a place to start? I'm in need of women's shoes but I wouldn't rule out wearing a man's shoe if it were sound. But I don't know what brands, designs, etc to even begin exploring.
Feel free to ask your own dressing related questions or share tips here. Any information is welcomed.