White Coats at Aways --- Boston students, please help!

[toastytoes]

Hello!

I am doing an away rotation next month at Massachusetts General in their children's hospital. I just realized my white coat has all sorts of stains on it that I can't show up to an away wearing, so I need a new one. Question is, do med students actually wear their white coats at Mass General for the peds inpatient services, or is it a more formal setting where I'll need a white coat? Students who have rotated there, I hope you can answer 🙂 Also, if you have rotated there... how the atmosphere? Do you get close with attendings at all?

At my home school, we never wear white coats for peds rotations, so I'm hoping to not have to buy a new one as I wont need it the rest of the year.

Also, white coats at aways, do we still wear our school's patch? I assume so, but I could also see an argument the other way.

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[Crayola227]

You do wear your school's patch if you wear any patch at all.

Personally, I always wear a white coat for the first day of every single rotation, even as a resident. Then it can be retired that day as needed. But I'm old school re: professionalism and the white coat, and I like to show that I expect to wear it until circumstances dictate otherwise. Sorta like how you should always be early, especially your first day, and if you don't know the time, just show up so early with reading materials, that it's a non-issue. No such thing as over-prepared is the idea.

However, I can certainly understand that, in this situation, buying a new coat is lame, because you don't otherwise need it. Can you borrow one from a classmate, just for the first day, or do you all have your names stitched on there?

I wear a pocket protector that tends to obscure my name above the pocket anyway, and even in residency I've had to borrow someone else's coat, and so using a piece of white tape over it with the pocket protector, Maxwell's, and pens, obscured the cover-up too.

I don't think it would be inappropriate to contact someone at the away program regarding expectations for the white coat, because you would need to purchase a new one, which you are more than willing to do if necessary. Appropriate to be proactive in clarify professionalism expectations and dress code imho.

 

[Crayola227]

I am not at Boston's, but I will say that overall the culture is much more conservative on the East Coast, and definitely in Boston. I can't speak for the program, but I stand by my general advice above.

 

[cde]

Soak it overnight in oxyclean.

 

[Crayola227]

I looked up multiple ways to clean a coat, to remove ballpoint ink, and succeeded enough. You can oxyclean above, and boiling the coat in water on the stove in a big pot is appropriate for some stains. Peroxide based cleaners are better than bleach, bleach can leave yellow stains.

 

[Crayola227]

Vinegar is good too.

 

[ortnakas]

I’d expect to have to wear one. Peds might be the exception but as a rule Boston is pretty formal. You don’t have to break the bank— buy an unmarked short white coat from Amazon.