Is there anyone who doesn’t get to wear a long white coat?

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The white coat is entirely meaningless as a symbol of the physician now. I wore mine the first few weeks of residency and then closeted it. I personally detest the thing.
 
nitemagi said:
...My favorite was seeing the clerk at the hospital cafeteria wearing a long white coat while she rung up my order...
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Cerberus said:
The white coat is entirely meaningless as a symbol of the physician now...
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You're probably correct on that. I see the dietary on bariatric floor, resp therapist, Phys therapists, lab techs, even nurses wearing long white lab coats. More and more it seems the distinguishing factor is once again becoming a physician in a suit (or similar appropriate for women).
 
Vote for comfort, vote for the Snuggie.

imgres


All for now go back to your mirepoix
I am the great saphenous
 
JackADeli said:
.. resp therapist, .. lab techs,
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Technically, we stole the white coat idea from these traditional laboratory based scientists to make ourselves look more "sciency" when we diverged from non-science based "healers" a century or so ago.
 
Frozen said:
Technically, we stole the white coat idea from these traditional laboratory based scientists to make ourselves look more "sciency" when we diverged from non-science based "healers" a century or so ago.
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:thumbup:

Hazmat suits or bust!
 
MedStudentWanna said:
Med students. It's blasphemous if we do.
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Not entirely true. All Florida State University med students wear long coats. It's really confusing watching them run around all the time in those things. Oh, and most of them don't feel the need to get out of the way when the doctors need a spot in front of a computer terminal either. That does tend to erk me a bit too.
 
I previously mentioned a speedo. Allow me to rephrase, and suggest something much more appropriate:

Borat-Supplied-5862946.jpg
 
White lab coats and not there to show off that you are a doctor, thats what nametags are for. It is for hygiene purposes! Of course lab techs should wear white coats because they handle all those body fluids and who wants to have that on their clothes? I am German and went to med school here and medical students and doctors all wear long white coats. I don't know what those short lab coats are for? It is not like they protect your clothes. And someone earlier said they don't like white coats because they show the dirt. Ever thought that thats the purpose to wear them (so you don't have that dirf on your clothes) and that they should be washed regularly to not spread germs around? Here, all doctors wear white pants and shirts or white scrubs and most of the time white coats over it (when it is cold). In pediatrics we also have colored shirts to be more kid friendly. People are required to change clothes at the hospital and arent allowed to wear their normal every day clothes. It bothers me to see people in scrubs all over town when I am in the US. Thats how you spread MRSA and other stuff around the community and do you really wanna give it to your kids at home? I wish I wouldn't have to dress up every day at the hospital in the usa and could just wear my scubs like I did in NICU (did rotations during med school and start residency in the USA this summer, I do residency in Germany right now - so I know both systems). Right now I am working in an office and wear while pants, colored shirt and no coat so I look like a nurse. People still call me nurse sometimes but I don't care. I tell them I am the doctor and then they know. I don't care about the prestige or whatever.
I don't know what this is all about, doctors being pissed that others wear white coats! Get over it.
 
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media.nl
Don't you premeds know that the only way to identify the attending physician is to look for the 24k gold plated Littman??

Med students, residents, midlevels and nurses cannot afford such a thing. Any jerk can wear a white coat, but only attendings wear these draped around their necks.
 
FutrrENT said:
I’m an ENT resident, and quite frankly I’m getting pretty sick and tired of seeing mid-level providers waltzing around in long white coats as though they are the same thing as doctors.

Some RN’s wear long white coats, even. Hell, I’ve even seen a few social workers wearing them.

When I’m done with residency, I am going to chuck my white coat and never wear one again. Once the mid-levels started wearing them, it became a completely meaningless item. Wearing the white coat seems to send the message to people that you could be something other than a doctor.

Maybe doctors (i.e. physicians, dentists, podiatrists, optometrists, and veterinarians) should start wearing green coats -- something to distinguish us from everyone else who wishes they were us.

Just my rant.
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I think that this kind of thinking is the reason why so many other healthcare professionals say doctors can be so arrogant.
 
This is a joke right? You cannot possibly be seriously upset someone
is wearing a white lab coat?
We wore lab coats in...wait for it...college science labs 30 years ago!!
Don't any of your institutions require ID tags?
Personally, I prefer not to wear them, ugh the dirt they show, need a new one every day.
 
In case you haven't noticed on inpatient, people tend to bleed, vomit, gush forth semisolid stool, spit, spit up, etc. so anyone working with inpatients can cover themselves in a plague doctor costume for all I care. It would be nice to have white coats with a color coded collar system though, you could base it off of grad colors so physicians would get green, etc

Frankly I would just like a coat that looked like someone with the knowledge of the human form designed. I've noticed the white coats our attendings wear have better hemlines and stitching too... it's not the white coat, it's the jaclyn smith collection-ness of it that bugs me.
 
Mattchiavelli said:
Frankly I would just like a coat that looked like someone with the knowledge of the human form designed. I've noticed the white coats our attendings wear have better hemlines and stitching too... it's not the white coat, it's the jaclyn smith collection-ness of it that bugs me.
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LOLOLOL. Wow, I'm glad I'm not the only person who noticed this. Some white coat seriously look like they are from a costume shop - transparent; strings every where; look like they were tailored to fit a large rectangle; stitching on the names looks awful, etc, etc.
 
Slack3r said:
Aren't white coats and ties the two primary spreaders of MRSA within healthcare settings?
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Last I'd heard, and this was some months ago, while both become colonized in all sorts of nasty things, they don't actually serve as vectors for transmission of said bacteria.
 
Slack3r said:
Aren't white coats and ties the two primary spreaders of MRSA within healthcare settings?
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I don't know about you but I change my clothes/scubs daily and wash the white coat weekly to biweekly when I was working at the hospital (right now I am not wearing one in the practice though). It is not just about spreading germs from patient to patient but also taking those germs home to your kids if you wear a suit or ties (I never understood why people would even wear those in a hospital). I change into my work clothes at work and then change back into my jeans at the hospital before I go home. In German hospitals the scubs/coats, pants etc. have names inside and are washed at the hospital and delivered back to the unit. So you don't have to get or wash your own btu always have the same ones.
 
ShyRem said:
Perhaps the doctors should STOP wearing white coats. They should go to business attire. Suits for all the docs.
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I don't really wanna wear a suit while running trauma codes in the ED. Suits for MOST docs, I'll stick with the scrubs :p
 
dpmd said:
I would argue that no one looks good in a speedo. Doesn't matter if you are fit and gorgeous, they just look wrong.
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Agreed.

VA Hopeful Dr said:
Last I'd heard, and this was some months ago, while both become colonized in all sorts of nasty things, they don't actually serve as vectors for transmission of said bacteria.
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Still doesn't mean I want to carry colonies of MRSA and VRE around in those things.

ShyRem said:
Perhaps the doctors should STOP wearing white coats. They should go to business attire. Suits for all the docs.
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It is usually too warm for me in a hospital to wear one without either sweating buckets or falling asleep from being too warm. I am one of those weird people that must have their indoor temperature set somewhere between 68 and 70 degrees to be comfortable. Outside, turn on the blast furnace.
 
DrMed2009 said:
White lab coats and not there to show off that you are a doctor, thats what nametags are for. It is for hygiene purposes! Of course lab techs should wear white coats because they handle all those body fluids and who wants to have that on their clothes? I am German and went to med school here and medical students and doctors all wear long white coats. I don't know what those short lab coats are for? It is not like they protect your clothes. And someone earlier said they don't like white coats because they show the dirt. Ever thought that thats the purpose to wear them (so you don't have that dirf on your clothes) and that they should be washed regularly to not spread germs around? Here, all doctors wear white pants and shirts or white scrubs and most of the time white coats over it (when it is cold). In pediatrics we also have colored shirts to be more kid friendly. People are required to change clothes at the hospital and arent allowed to wear their normal every day clothes. It bothers me to see people in scrubs all over town when I am in the US. Thats how you spread MRSA and other stuff around the community and do you really wanna give it to your kids at home? I wish I wouldn't have to dress up every day at the hospital in the usa and could just wear my scubs like I did in NICU (did rotations during med school and start residency in the USA this summer, I do residency in Germany right now - so I know both systems). Right now I am working in an office and wear while pants, colored shirt and no coat so I look like a nurse. People still call me nurse sometimes but I don't care. I tell them I am the doctor and then they know. I don't care about the prestige or whatever.
I don't know what this is all about, doctors being pissed that others wear white coats! Get over it.
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:thumbup: Very well stated.

Are we really that desperate for external displays and material validation of our "status"? Are we that insecure? I have seen doctors with "MD" or "DOC" as part of their license plate, doctors who have M.D. printed on their personal checks, doctors who get get all worked up about someone else wearing "their" white coat. This is sad.

Let's not lose sight of the original purpose of a white coat - it is a protective barrier for people who are at high risk of coming into contact with bodily fluids, excreta, infectious, chemically hazardous, or plain dirty "stuff".
 
This entire thread makes me happy that I have managed to escape the hierarchical bullcrap of the Ivory Towers. I wear khakis with a polo or dress shirt to my oupt clinic and to the hospital when I round. On weekend rounding, I (and many of the other community docs) will wear jeans. Rarely, I will wear scrubs to clinic if I've been delivering a baby or in the hospital late at night.

The real world is such that patients care more about how their physicians and other providers treat them than they care about what ridiculous status symbols they wear to flaunt their position in life. The "physician parking lot" (about 8 spaces right next to the visitor lot) at our hospital is full of Subarus, Camrys, and Accords.

I would get extremely strange looks if I waltzed onto the floor wearing a white coat or even suitcoat. Maybe you could get away with it in a big city, but the majority of Americans want their physicians to be on the same level with them.

Scott
Family Physician
 
Bowtie, some of the old-timers still wear one and there's no mistaking they're a doctor. Bowtie = doctor, who else would be wearing a bowtie in the hospital?
 
anonperson said:
In the last week, I've seen a nutritionist, social worker, NP, PA, midwives, and the person who complains about inpatient billing (Obs vs inpatient) all wear long white coats.

You absolutely cannot tell who is a physician anymore.

It's ridiculous but just goes to show you how strong the desire is get the benefits (higher pay, respect etc) of being a physician without undergoing medical training to become a physician.
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yep absolutely. I sometimes hear PA and NP students talk about how they = doctors. its incredible really.
 
Also I understand the decreasing meaning of it but I still like mine. Thats probably because I just got it. The feeling may wear off in a couple of months.
 
A couple of years ago, I shadowed for a week at the OSU Medical Center ED. I was required to wear a white coat. The only ones they had available were long. I had one of those stick-on name tags that identified me as a visitor. Over the course of the week, I had been stopped by quite a few people who would address me as "Doctor", then start asking me about some patient. I almost felt guilty having to say, "Sorry, I'm just a lowly premed." Personally, I would have preferred to have been allowed to wear just my street clothes.
 
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FutrrENT said:
I’m an ENT resident, and quite frankly I’m getting pretty sick and tired of seeing mid-level providers waltzing around in long white coats as though they are the same thing as doctors.

Some RN’s wear long white coats, even. Hell, I’ve even seen a few social workers wearing them.

When I’m done with residency, I am going to chuck my white coat and never wear one again. Once the mid-levels started wearing them, it became a completely meaningless item. Wearing the white coat seems to send the message to people that you could be something other than a doctor.

Maybe doctors (i.e. physicians, dentists, podiatrists, optometrists, and veterinarians) should start wearing green coats -- something to distinguish us from everyone else who wishes they were us.

Just my rant.
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Who cares?...Only you can walk into the patient room and say "I am doctor so and so"...To me it seems you are more concerned about other hospital staff perceptions than that of patients. You want everyone around to know your the doctor. Just work in the ER and get rid of that ego...those guys come in with a scrub top and khakis. You know what matters to them...its when they walk into the patient room and say "I am doctor..."
 
My hair stylist wears a white coat. Does that bother you?
 
Pansit said:
Who cares?...Only you can walk into the patient room and say "I am doctor so and so"...To me it seems you are more concerned about other hospital staff perceptions than that of patients. You want everyone around to know your the doctor. Just work in the ER and get rid of that ego...those guys come in with a scrub top and khakis. You know what matters to them...its when they walk into the patient room and say "I am doctor..."
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Loses meaning when someone with a DOCTORATE in nursing err nurse practitioning (or whatever the hell the DNP actually stands for - doctor of nursing practice?) storms into a room in a white coat and announces they are 'Dr' such and such.

Heard a frustrating story shared in the gas forum last year where a CRNA with a doctorate in something non-clinical kept writing his name as 'Dr Noctor' with all the anesthesiologists on some rotation board/schedule and insisted that everyone called him Dr in the hospital ... sort of illustrates people's concerns/issues I guess.
 
As a nursing student myself, I can appreciate the tradition of the medical profession's culture. The white coats have a traditional meaning that is sentimental to those who work hard to enter this profession. I both admire and respect that.

You have my word that I will never wear a white lab coat, short or long, unless my employer requires it.

Frankly, I like the system in the UK hospitals. Our attire should reflect upon our profession or skill level.
 
JaggerPlate said:
Loses meaning when someone with a DOCTORATE in nursing err nurse practitioning (or whatever the hell the DNP actually stands for - doctor of nursing practice?) storms into a room in a white coat and announces they are 'Dr' such and such.

Heard a frustrating story shared in the gas forum last year where a CRNA with a doctorate in something non-clinical kept writing his name as 'Dr Noctor' with all the anesthesiologists on some rotation board/schedule and insisted that everyone called him Dr in the hospital ... sort of illustrates people's concerns/issues I guess.
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That's quite the concern you've got there based on one guy that you heard about second hand on an internet forum. None of the NPs I work with introduce themselves as "doctor" and in fact most of them spend a lot of time correcting folks and educating people about their role.

Incidentally, I hate wearing my white coat but I don't get a choice in the matter. I'm guessing that a lot of the folks that are annoying you guys don't actually get any choice in their wardrobe.

Maybe it's my background in lab science - I still view lab coats as filthy things you wear to shield yourself from whatever horrible things you're working with. There's nothing remotely cool about wearing one.
 
Interestingly, I was told today that I didn't "look like a doctor" by the family member of a post-op patient.

Now, I hear that a lot. But I always inquire because I like to hear the reasons.

She said, "well, its not because you're a woman, because there are a lot of female doctors these days. Maybe not surgeons. But you don't look like a doctor because you aren't wearing a white coat."
 
Themanatee said:
That's quite the concern you've got there based on one guy that you heard about second hand on an internet forum. None of the NPs I work with introduce themselves as "doctor" and in fact most of them spend a lot of time correcting folks and educating people about their role.
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For sure, your n = 2,3 is objective domination. I'm sure the real world is full of NPs rushing around informing people that they are not doctors. That must be why they are all switching to DNP programs by 2015.

EDIT: Just saw that you're an NP ... my role in that discussion ends here (and after reading the absurdity of your first post).
 
At my hospital, we have high school students who are taking an "into to health care" class come through the hospital wearing long white coats. Go figure.

Oldiebutgoodie
 
JaggerPlate said:
For sure, your n = 2,3 is objective domination. I'm sure the real world is full of NPs rushing around informing people that they are not doctors. That must be why they are all switching to DNP programs by 2015.

EDIT: Just saw that you're an NP ... my role in that discussion ends here (and after reading the absurdity of your first post).
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There actually ARE NPs who are informing people they are not doctors. And the DNP has been "recommended" by the AACN (American Association of Colleges of Nursing), it's not written in stone. CUrrent NPs would probably be grandfathered in, if indeed, the states adopt this. So they aren't switching to DNP programs.

And many of us think the DNP programs are a pile of garbage.

Just the facts.

Oldiebutgoodie
 
oldiebutgoodie said:
the DNP has been "recommended" by the AACN (American Association of Colleges of Nursing), it's not written in stone. CUrrent NPs would probably be grandfathered in, if indeed, the states adopt this. So they aren't switching to DNP programs.
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You ever seen a nursing lobby not get something they want eventually? You can dust of the chisel now and consider it 'in stone.' Additionally, good to hear about the grandfathering thing ... this has historically worked well.

oldiebutgoodie said:
And many of us think the DNP programs are a pile of garbage.
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Agreed. It seems like even the legit NPs roll their eyes at it.
 
This long white coat creep is so stupid, and only reflective of inferiority complexes among other health care workers.

The best nurses are ones that I work with who just take pride in their own job, they are damned good at it and have a skill set that is complementary but different than my own. Patients like them best, providers like them best, students like them best, etc etc etc. Because they are just good bedside RNs and that is their job. They don't show up in LWC.

I worked with a VERY experienced PA on one rotation who had absolutely no ego whatsoever. He had been PA'ing for almost as long as I had been alive but his attitude (which he told me up front) was "I am here to assist you." Sometimes that involved teaching, sometimes that involved some pretty thankless stuff. Awesome guy, beloved by all. He didn't show up in a LWC either.

In a related note, if you are listing more than 3 things after your name and none of them is an advanced degree, you look like an idiot. Why do RNs insist on putting certifications on their signatures and coats? I don't put AB, BA, MD, ACLS, PALS, NRP.
 
I did a rotation at Christiana Care in Deleware, which I thought was an excellent private hospital. However heard about this incident that occurred there several months after my rotation.

LINK: http://www.wgmd.com/?p=12754

Take a look.... he was wearing a white lab coat!!

Though I have noticed with numerous medical personnel wearing white coats, I still have to agree with DrMed2009 on reasoning behind the coat.
 
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