what to wear in ER

That's interesting. They had us all wear scrubs . . . "salmon" colored scrubs (and called us the pink ladies. *grumbles*)

 

My ER specifically said no jeans so I ended up wearing khakis and a t-shirt and it looked real dumb but I was comfortable and who gives a crap how I look anyway

 

"Semi-formal"? I'm sorry, for a second I had a mental picture of a guy in a tux waltzing around the ER.... I think you're looking for the term "business casual".

Since it's a professional setting, I'd go for a collared shirt and nice pants. Yeah it's tiring but welcome to the working world! Consider it practice for when you have to dress nicely and you're graded on it.

 

We have no jeans, collared shirt rule. Might as well look nice----the nurses wont ask you to clean up as much puke...

 

When I volunteered, we had a no jeans rule as well. I volunteered in the summers, so I usually wore capri pants, the guys usually wore khakis. The tops didn't matter so much because we always had to wear a volunteer jacket on top, which sucked because the AC was always breaking down and those jackets do not breathe. I would say to dress nicer, if you're interacting with patients, it may make them feel more comfortable, and if the doctor wants to take you to see a procedure, you'll look somewhat professional and not like some schlub from the waiting room.

 

A nice polo that's tucked in looks professional. Wearing one that's frayed and paint splattered from A&F untucked (or front tucked) with your collar popped probably wouldn't be great.

I'd also recommend tennis shoes.. if you want to have functional feet the next day.

 

It depends on the hospital , just ask them, my ER doesn't really care what we wear as long as it's not something outrageous, I always wear jeans and I try to wear shirts or sweaters with collar but nobody reproaches when I don't. We have labcoats on top anyway so they cover most of our street clothes. Bottomline is, I guess, our ER is very lenient--it's not what you wear, it's how you work and interact with staff and patients that matters.

 

Obviously different locales will have different RULES, but regardless of the rules I wouldn't be caught in any sort of semiprofessional sort of situation unless I was in a.) khakis and buttondown shirt or b.) scrubs (if it's common in that place's culture). You want to fit in with the professionals there, not stand out as not belonging. You may still be pre-med, but you're asking to be allowed to be a part of the professional environment, so you have a responsibility to do whatever is needed to maintain a professional environment for the patients.

That said, I've started to slack off on wearing ties, even in our clinical classes. They're just germ spreaders, anyway. I don't think anyone has even noticed, and it still looks plenty professional, especially with the lab coat over it. However, if anyone were to say something to me about it, I've got one rolled up in my gear bag that I could throw on. You hafta fit in with the culture