Why are there so many more DO schools with mandatory attendance and dress codes?

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This sounds like a sample question to ACT or SAT essay questions.
Dress code vs free dress code topic never gets old :/

Of course, there are good old sample responses everywhere:
"Students don't have to pick their dress in the morning"
"Allowing students to wear colors allows gang activity"
"Less disparity between rich and poor student"
"Freedom of expression"
 
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I can't speak to why this is particularly true among DO schools and maybe people will think this is a BS response but medicine is by and large a conservative and very formal profession. There will be dress codes most everywhere you go in medicine, from the smallest clinics to the largest hospitals. So getting you started with a very basic dress code in school is good preparation for the future. And the dress codes I've seen have been very basic - things like business casual or no sweats. Also, I just thought of this - most DO schools are in rural areas. Maybe that makes students more prone to dress down than other places. I know I've had experience going to school in rural areas and in urban areas and the students at the rural school were definitely more casual.

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Geo16 said:
This sounds like a sample question to ACT or SAT essay questions.
Dress code vs free dress code topic never gets old :/

Of course, there are good old sample responses everywhere:
"Students don't have to pick their dress in the morning"
"Allowing students to wear colors allows gang activity"
"Less disparity between rich and poor student"
"Freedom of expression"
Click to expand...

Medgang vs Dentgang
 
Palmyra said:
I can't speak to why this is particularly true among DO schools and maybe people will think this is a BS response but medicine is by and large a conservative and very formal profession. There will be dress codes most everywhere you go in medicine, from the smallest clinics to the largest hospitals. So getting you started with a very basic dress code in school is good preparation for the future. And the dress codes I've seen have been very basic - things like business casual or no sweats. Also, I just thought of this - most DO schools are in rural areas. Maybe that makes students more prone to dress down than other places. I know I've had experience going to school in rural areas and in urban areas and the students at the rural school were definitely more casual.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


I don't think we need to be prepped to dress professionally in the work place... Honestly I don't understand this whole dress code thing.. Makes 0 sense to me. Many majors straight out of undergrad go straight to working in a professional setting, yet there's no dress code in the majority of universities (I don't know of any at least, I'm sure there are some).
 
puglover94 said:
I don't think we need to be prepped to dress professionally in the work place... Honestly I don't understand this whole dress code thing.. Makes 0 sense to me. Many majors straight out of undergrad go straight to working in a professional setting, yet there's no dress code in the majority of universities (I don't know of any at least, I'm sure there are some).
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More than likely to try to combat the trend among a lot of people in their teens and twenties of dressing less and less formal when it's not appropriate. Would you trust a physician who came to see patients in jeans and a T-shirt? I sure wouldn't and trust is a pretty big factor in patient-doctor relationships.


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Mine only hase a dress code with patient encounter and omm. We have patient perspectives where we dress up
 
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Agree 100% You're adults, and you get trained as to when to "go into character ".
You don't need to be told what to wear.



puglover94 said:
I don't think we need to be prepped to dress professionally in the work place... Honestly I don't understand this whole dress code thing.. Makes 0 sense to me. Many majors straight out of undergrad go straight to working in a professional setting, yet there's no dress code in the majority of universities (I don't know of any at least, I'm sure there are some).
Click to expand...
 
Nkinder said:
More than likely to try to combat the trend among a lot of people in their teens and twenties of dressing less and less formal when it's not appropriate. Would you trust a physician who came to see patients in jeans and a T-shirt? I sure wouldn't and trust is a pretty big factor in patient-doctor relationships.


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I absolutely would prefer my doctor in simple clothing attire.
 
I've heard some older people say "Why would I trust them with _______ when I can't even trust them to iron a pair of slacks?". _____ being a contract, engineering project, your life, etc.
 
Med schools number 1 thing is, "don't make us look bad." So if you start with a dress code from day one they can train you how to think/dress come third year. Even with a dress code, you should see some of things people wear. Now imagine if they were left to their own devices and we never informed on how to dress when in a professional setting. I agree they should know, but not everyone has had parents teach them.
 
DO2015CA said:
Now imagine if they were left to their own devices and we never informed on how to dress when in a professional setting.
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You don't have to imagine--thousands of medical students every year aren't subjected to dress codes and they come out just fine.
 
mcloaf said:
You don't have to imagine--thousands of medical students every year aren't subjected to dress codes and they come out just fine.
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I am not defending the choice just their logic. The students you reference are students who would've dressed fine regardless of rules and they fit into the previously taught from rearing category but there are still some that show up on rotations with skirts too short and unprofessional attire. Those are the ones that the schools are trying to catch before they are an embarrassment. They're trying to be proactive. I don't believe in a one shoe fits all type of approach but they are trying to be proactive
 
Because we are already burdened everyday with feeding ourselves, tending to our personal hygiene AND studying human medicine on top of all of the rest of living our daily lives. How in the world will we remember to dress ourselves guys come on we are only osteopathic physicians you have to have some sense of reasoning.



























inb4 banhammer for sarcastic osteopathic flame
 
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alkaidius said:
I appreciate dress codes. I tend to develop an attachment to just a few shirts...it eliminates the problem of stressing over whether people will notice that I've started cycling through my shirts again that week...
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I wear one of two uniforms every day. A dress code is no big deal, and it's just one less thing to worry about. On the plus side, we've just been authorized to switch to a slightly different uniform that looks cooler and is more comfortable! Score!
 
Beats me. But I know that attendance and dress code was a major factor when I was selecting where to go. I turned down a number of acceptances solely on the basis of having mandatory lectures and a shirt and tie policy for those lectures. I fully grasp when one needs to be dressed professionally or not. When doing SP's, seeing real patients, when at prominent speaking events etc dressing professionally is important, but I fail to see why one should need to dress up complete with tie and everything just to sit in a lecture hall for 6-8 hours. Me, I am pretty happy skipping the majority of lectures and wearing casual clothes when I do go to lecture and if that is important to anyone else, they should consider this when making their final decision on where to attend.
 
DO2015CA said:
I am not defending the choice just their logic. The students you reference are students who would've dressed fine regardless of rules and they fit into the previously taught from rearing category but there are still some that show up on rotations with skirts too short and unprofessional attire. Those are the ones that the schools are trying to catch before they are an embarrassment. They're trying to be proactive. I don't believe in a one shoe fits all type of approach but they are trying to be proactive
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Yes. AND YES. Just had a talk with a freshly minted MS3 about hem lines and collar lines not too long ago.
 
If you need to be told or trained to dress professionally for important events, you're not ready for medical schools. A mandatory dress code with mandatory lecture is a joke. Whose idea is it to stress the students further with unnecessary bs by forcing them into an inefficient learning regime? Complete nonsense. Many of you noobs think it's not a big deal. Wait until you're overloaded with a ton of materials while they're forcing to learn some material over 6 hrs in lecture with mandatory dress code while you could have done the same thing in 2-3 hrs in your pajama at home. Sorry, dude. I love my sleep and workout time -- two things that I won't have if I go to a school with mandatory lecture and dress code.

Guess what I'm doing in the gym when I'm on the bike? Quizlet cards while you're dying at the lecture hall. That's a fact.
 
Never once did I defend the mandatory lectures. I go to a mandatory lecture school and it's the absolute worst thing ever. Which is laughable and my own fault because I turned down an acceptance that didn't have mandatory attendance.

But you're crazy if for one moment that you think I'm paying attention. I use it as an 4-6 hr study session. Earplugs and I Quizlet, review ppts, board questions then review later. I'm still done studying by dinner time.

For the less disciplined students it can be a benefit because it gets them up in the morning and in gear. The lecture itself is an actual waste but if you're studying whatever you want while being required to be at school at 8am keeps the lazy students from sleeping until noon and then dragging their feet until late afternoon. I'm a disciplined student that hates mandatory attendance but I CAN see where their logic comes from just like I CAN see the logic for dress code. I don't agree with them but I can see both sides of the argument.
 
Professional dress code isn't that bad. I started out with dress shirts, creased pants, and the works, but now I'm down to recycling the same untucked polos and beige khakis with no belt every week.

Mandatory lectures on the other hand were an absolute deal breaker for me.
 
Mayo has a dress code, and I believe VCU does as well. Personally, I like that there is. I believe all schools should have one.

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I go to LECOM-B and I thought the dress code was going to be pretty bad, but I got use to it pretty fast, I like dressing professional now lol. I never even knew how to tie a tie until I came here!
 
Moose A Moose said:
Lol at anyone who needs to "build a habit" of getting dressed in the morning.

Plus, House wears jeans.
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Come on buddy, you know you've seen the dudes who don't know how to tie ties or tuck their shirt in straight. And a lot of people aren't into dressing up everyday all day, especially with a tie. Then they get used to it and it's fine.
 
I've been wondering this too--a dress code or mandatory attendance isn't a complete dealbreaker for me, but if I have a choice I don't really want to waste time ironing my shirts just to sit in a lecture when I could be using that time to study, and it seems odd that more DO schools seem to be stricter in that regard. I'm perfectly capable of tying a tie and putting on good shoes when it's called for, but it seems insulting to require it in situations with no patient contact. Oh well... if I end up in that situation I'll probably just stock up on a ton of identical no-iron slacks and shirts and ask all my friends to get me ridiculous ties for my next birthday.
 
crazyboi1993 said:
I go to LECOM-B and I thought the dress code was going to be pretty bad, but I got use to it pretty fast, I like dressing professional now lol. I never even knew how to tie a tie until I came here!
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Seriously. You don't have to wear a tie to class do you? You mean in the clinical setting, right?

Hmmm, most businesses do business-dress-casual. Personally I like seeing men dressed up like that, but I understand why they wouldn't want to do it every day. For most things, business-casual is just fine. I honestly do not see a lot of attendings and such walking around with ties and jackets anymore--and these are at huge, academic centers. Seems like Einstein would have had a problem at some of these schools then.
 
jl lin said:
Seriously. You don't have to wear a tie to class do you? You mean in the clinical setting, right?

Hmmm, most businesses do business-dress-casual. Personally I like seeing men dressed up like that, but I understand why they wouldn't want to do it every day. For most things, business-casual is just fine. I honestly do not see a lot of attendings and such walking around with ties and jackets anymore--and these are at huge, academic centers. Seems like Einstein would have had a problem at some of these schools then.
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Yeah unfortunately they make us wear a tie to school 🙁
 
I would recommend looking into what dress code means for each school before you apply. Some require a shirt and tie everyday, whereas some require business casual/scrubs. I would choose scrubs everyday over regular clothes because they're just adult pajamas.
 
Personally, if I'm studying, I'd rather be comfortable than look extremely daper and ridgid. I can understand for formal events, patient interactions and other things of that nature, but all the time dress up? Nah and I know I won't slack on it in the future, but that shouldn't be something that they force you to do. It's more like common sense when it comes to real life events.

What DO schools require a dress code with shirt and tie like LECOM?
 
Clarus said:
Personally, if I'm studying, I'd rather be comfortable than look extremely daper and ridgid. I can understand for formal events, patient interactions and other things of that nature, but all the time dress up? Nah and I know I won't slack on it in the future, but that shouldn't be something that they force you to do. It's more like common sense when it comes to real life events.

What DO schools require a dress code with shirt and tie like LECOM?
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Meh. You get used to studying in less than comfortable clothes. It really isn't that big of a deal.
 
ortnakas said:
CUSOM, I think.
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Are those the only two schools that require a semi-formal dress code with a shirt and tie? I assume the rest recommend where business casual?
 
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