White coat on away rotation

[fistulitis]

---

Members do not see this ad.

When you go on an away rotation to a different institution, do you just keep wearing your school's white coats at the away?

To make things slightly more complicated, my away is at Stanford, where the students wear long coats (from what I heard)... so I guess I'll just be the only person on the service with a short coat? 😳

 

[ennuiescence]

The visiting students I have seen from other institutions have all worn short white coats with patches from their respective schools.

If I ever had the chance to go on an away rotation at Stanford and their students all wore long coats, I would find the experience of representing a less prestigious school (mine) and wearing a silly short coat amusing in-and-of-itself, even if they never really noticed or, more likely, actually refrained from pointing out the painfully obvious.

However, if it ever got to the point of daily mortification, then I would simply buy a new long coat with no patch and have my school's logo switched to the new one by a tailor. I would be needing a long coat as a 4th year student in less than one year anyway; it would not hurt to have an extra one to add to a growing arsenal that will thankfully replace the short white coats that currently make me look like a bad Barry Manilow Vegas act.

Congratulations on the opportunity, and good luck!

Now, where is that bow-tie of mine?

 

[fistulitis]

You guys where long coats as 4th year students?

 

[sophiejane]

"Inferior school" or not, I think it's extremely pretentious to have students wear long white coats. They do it at Southwestern, too, and I think it looks silly.

Wear your short coat with pride, and let your performance speak for you, not the length of your coat. If other students are obnoxious enough to make fun of you because of your coat (which I highly doubt, but there are jerks everywhere, I guess), why do you care? They aren't evaluating you, your attending is, and he/she is aware that you are a visiting student, long coat or not.

 

[MacGyver]

Dont you guys get it yet? Everybody and their BROTHER wears white coats at the hospital.

hell i saw a JANITOR wearing a white coat yesterday.

Givve up the coat, it doesnt mean a damn thing anymore. And the next time your attending gives you a hard time about it, tell him you bet him $100 that he cant tell who is a doctor based on a white coat. Round up 50 random people wearing white coats, and put them in a room and ask the attending to identify who the doctor is. Bet you dollars to donuts he will guess wrong most of the time, because everybody from nurses to techs to PAs to NPs wears the white coat.

 

[sophiejane]

And the next time your attending gives you a hard time about it, tell him you bet him $100 that he cant tell who is a doctor based on a white coat. Round up 50 random people wearing white coats, and put them in a room and ask the attending to identify who the doctor is. Bet you dollars to donuts he will guess wrong most of the time, because everybody from nurses to techs to PAs to NPs wears the white coat.

Uh...I wouldn't recommend this tactic if you actually want a chance at interviewing there.

Humiliating attendings to prove a ridiculous point is usually not a good idea.

 

[sdnetrocks]

And the next time your attending gives you a hard time about it, tell him you bet him $100 that he cant tell who is a doctor based on a white coat. Round up 50 random people wearing white coats, and put them in a room and ask the attending to identify who the doctor is. Bet you dollars to donuts he will guess wrong most of the time, because everybody from nurses to techs to PAs to NPs wears the white coat.

But doesn't this logic mean that LESS people should wear the long white coat, not more?

And about the "identifying doctors" bit, I have to admit that I've gotten relatively good at guessing who looks like a doctor... This is, of course, based on stereotypes (but so is much of clinical thinking) - People that don't look smart (whatever the hell that means), or if female, are wearing make-up and lots of jewelry tend not to be doctors. The younger tend to be "allied staff" (RT, PT, OT, phlebotomy, etc.) while the older tend to be nurses.

Go ahead, crucify me! I'm ready!

 

[ennuiescence]

We don't wear long coats as 4th year students at my school. I meant to imply that I will need a long coat soon after 4th year (next year for me), so buying one while on an away rotation wouldn't be a waste of money....

I sometimes wear crimson or black scrubs under my short white coat in order to add a little variability to the banality of the pervasive and obligatory hospital green ensemble.

Sometimes I see the porters and ancillary staff with blue-collar type jobs wearing crimson scrubs, but I do not worry much about what I am "supposed" to wear based upon unspoken practice meant to be arbitrarily divisive--just as long as I am within my institution's guidelines.

"You can take a pimp out of the ghetto, but you can't take the ghetto out of the pimp," or, in my situation, out of the medical student.

 

[babyruth]

On my away rotations, the programs I went to specifically said, 'wear a short white coat.' It was required.

I guess now the big thing is changing the color of your coat, even the docs are doing it by department now.

 

[sophiejane]

On my away rotations, the programs I went to specifically said, 'wear a short white coat.' It was required.

I guess now the big thing is changing the color of your coat, even the docs are doing it by department now.

That's hilarious. Pretty soon, docs will be wearing the colored coats with cute patterns and the nurses will be in all white again.

The more things change, the more they stay the same....

 

[velo]

its like the pro bowl, wear your own helmet

And its silly if Stanford actually has their students in long coats. Its nice to be able to graduate to a long coat once you feel like you've earned it

 

[deleted109597]

Kids at UF rock the long coat too. Visiting there I wore my short one. Other schools require short coats, so I wouldn't buy one for only one rotation.

And no, you don't feel inferior to other people wearing long white coats, unless you already have an inferiority complex.

 

[Click Here!]

I've noticed three coat lengths, only two worn by students. The first is the traditional short coat that may or may not even cover your butt. The second comes down to around mid-thigh on most students, not short but not long either. The third is the long coat only worn by MDs (and NPs, dieticians, etc) and is anywhere from lower thigh to mid-calf.

I just took the step II CS and noticed about 50-50 students in the short and medium coats. Never seen a student in a long coat.

 

[(nicedream)]

The coats don't have to have patches or anything on them either. I just wear a blank white one.

 

[ennuiescence]

Just come in wearing spandex shorts, a terry-cloth headband, and ted hose to complete the outfit. Who knew that ted hose was ineffective for thromboembolism prophylaxis, yet ultra stylish for weekend partywear?

Keep it simple and make a statement at the same time, all without exuding the appearing of actually trying too hard.