Rotation Dress Codes

[AF_PedsBoy]

Our school mandates shirt and tie everywhere except when on weekend/overnight call or in the OR. Short call doesn't count. It's actually written policy

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[ears]

That's what I forgot - the "official uniform" of the ED. Take a look - about 80% of the time, in a guy that is not wearing scrubs, he will have on khakis, a t-shirt, and a scrub top. One variation is no t-shirt. Take a look and see.

I'm not an ED person, but that's what I prefer to wear on call: khakis, T-shirt, and scrub top. It looks like you're at work (with the scrub top), but the khakis are lots more comfortable for me than scrub pants. (Plus, they have better pockets.)

But what the heck, I'm going to be a radiologist, and no one sees us anyway.

 

[cdr50]

There is one single most important advantage to wearing a tie that has not been addressed. You wear a tie and the patients think you know what you're doing. I say, wear the tie.

 

[tupac_don]

So i was watching ER today, and saw a new 4th year, Roberto someone wearing a tie on his ER rotation. Do guys always wear a shirt/tie on their rotations during 3/4th year or is that too formal?

Proper attire for students is tie, shirt and labcoat for males of course. If you are on surgery or ICU or ER say, then scrubs are ok. Actually scrubs are ok more or less all the time. But if you are doing normal hours and no call in sight, yo should probably dress tie and dockers. However, proper attire is much looser for residents and attendings. Hope this helps.

 

[ecoscuba]

How about a bow tie?
Is that professional enough? it meets the regulations and won't get in the way . . . Just curious if anyone has had negative reactions to sporting the bow tie.

 

[AF_PedsBoy]

I've only seen two attendings who were able to wear bow ties without looking like complete idiots - I think a med student would automatically look like an idiot!

 

[Winged Scapula]

How about a bow tie?
Is that professional enough? it meets the regulations and won't get in the way . . . Just curious if anyone has had negative reactions to sporting the bow tie.

Most residents who wear bow ties get made fun of, IMHO.

In reply to the OP, as others have said, depends on the particular department or school's policies. I'd go with the shirt and tie the first day unless told otherwise and adapt as you see fit. We have rotations in which we are allowed to wear scrubs all the time (essentially trauma) and others where we are only allowed to wear them when in the OR. OTOH, in medical school we were ONLY allowed to wear them in the OR. Everyplace is a little different.

 

[Febrifuge]

How about a bow tie?
Is that professional enough? it meets the regulations and won't get in the way . . . Just curious if anyone has had negative reactions to sporting the bow tie.

Back when I was getting started in the business world, a colleague apparently thought I needed a hand, and lent me his copy of Dress for Success. In that edition, the author said something like "if you're going to go for the bow tie, just go all the way -- get the really big shoes and the red rubber nose, too."

 

[carrigallen]

I think that bow ties look appropriate on grey-haired older men, but they don't look right with younger men.

For outpatient visits, what about wearing a nice cardigan or vest instead of a white coat?
(Assuming you are wearing a dress shirt & tie underneath, is this ok?)

 

[Dr.Evil1]

It can't hurt to err on the side of being too-formal on the first day. If there are specific rules for that ED, hopefully they will be in the orientation materials -- so if you get orientation materials beforehand (this includes the department web site, btw), and dress code is NOT covered, then make your best guess.

I don't know, I don't think you will get into too much of a problem dressing in scrubs for the first day of an ER rotation and you could potentially get in trouble for not wearing scrubs. I have NEVER been asked to wear a shirt and tie in the ER and I have only seen the occasional attending do it. I worked shifts with the PD at University of Chicago who gave a presentation at ACEP on how to dress for success on interviews and is the MOST formal person I know in EM and not even he wore a shirt and tie. I once went to a ER shift to shadow at a program I was interested in initially wearing a shirt and tie and they looked at me like I was an alien. I was planning on changing but everyone there thought I was wierd for even showing up without scrubs on.

I used to like the khaki pants and scrub top with t-shirt but now I am liking the scrub bottoms and long sleeve t-shirt type attire. The reason that I switched was that I have had MANY more episodes of getting blood/vomit/feces/activated charcoal on my scrub bottoms or shoes than my top. It is hard to carry a soiled pair of khaki's home and feel good about washing them in your own laundry.

EM is definetly a unique rotation though. The culture of EM is definetly more casual and there is some pride taken in being one of the "scrubs" rather than the "suits" (Rape of EM). I generally would follow the axim that if you have the possibility of going to the OR then it is OK to dress in scrubs, otherwise business attire. As far as pushing the envelope on sweaters or nice collared shirts without ties, I have done it and rarely gotten called on it. I would say that if you really valued your roation grade then you wouldn't do it.

As far as the clothes making the man/woman type of approach for respect as a student, I would say that it is all attitude. If wearing nice clothes makes you feel more confident then go ahead a do it. If you are just the same in street type clothes then I don't see a problem

 

[irrka]

oh yeah, and scrubs for nursery. an ob nurse actually made me and an intern on that rotation go to get gowned and gloved because our SHIRTS werent scrub shirts. not that we were anywhere near the operating table at the time

 

[ericdamiansean]

Formal all the way except in the OT

No one knows what formal is for the ladies..till today

 

[Harrie]

Here's a suggestion. If you really can't figure out from other students who've done the rotation, why don't you just e-mail the course coordinator for the course before the first day and ask about appropriate dress for the rotation. This way you won't worry about getting in trouble for wearing (or not wearing) scrubs.

 

[ultane123]

assuming you're going to surgery at 5am and going to be rounding/in the OR all day, how appropriate is it to wear a surgical cap all day to work? do any residents do this? i want to avoid having to deal with your hairdo in the AM and maximize sleep.

 

[klubguts]

During my surgery rotation, surgical caps were worn only in the OR and removed for the rest of the time (i.e. rounding on patients, clinic, etc). I never saw a surgical resident wearing a cap other than in the OR. Trust me, you will stop caring about the appearance of your hair (i did, very quickly) and learn to live with it...mine looked bad all the time......Good luck.

 

[Hawk22]

assuming you're going to surgery at 5am and going to be rounding/in the OR all day, how appropriate is it to wear a surgical cap all day to work? do any residents do this? i want to avoid having to deal with your hairdo in the AM and maximize sleep.

Don't wear the cap. You'll see a few residents do this from time to time, but the 2 students that I've seen doing this looked like complete idiots.

 

[imtiaz]

we couldnt even be in scrubs when we were rounding. id have to change to a shirt+tie and slacks before we went out to round. the cap is supposed to be worn in the OR only, just like if you have OR-only shoes they cant leave the OR. so as far as im aware you cant do this.

 

[salsadoc44]

you'll also want to air out your head assuming you're the type to sweat in the OR

 

[Yosh]

we wore scrubbs for the whole rotation...but caps, and masks were to be removed prior to leaving the OR suite....shirt and tie for rounds....Imitaz...man that was a rough hospital....

There was a 3rd year who used to run around the hospital in scrubbs, cap, mask around his neck and the white knee high splash boots....and people would laugh and laugh everytime he ran by...trust me...you don't want to be that student...

 

[imtiaz]

we wore scrubbs for the whole rotation...but caps, and masks were to be removed prior to leaving the OR suite....shirt and tie for rounds....Imitaz...man that was a rough hospital....

There was a 3rd year who used to run around the hospital in scrubbs, cap, mask around his neck and the white knee high splash boots....and people would laugh and laugh everytime he ran by...trust me...you don't want to be that student...

it wasnt the hospital as much as my attending. but i didnt mind it, its all good. he changed too, so it wasnt like he was doing it to torture me.

 

[DrMom]

The only time we had to dress up was for our clinic days (once a week). On the other days we were expected, however, to change into hospital scrubs when we got there and change back out of them before we left for the day.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Depends on the hospital, the rotation and its policy.

I'll admit to being one of those surgical residents who wears a cap from time to time on the ward; usually if I've been in it all day or am just running back and forth btwn OR and floor/ICU. I'm by no means the only one here who does it so must be a different environment.

Then again, we/the nurses did make fun of one of the interns several years ago who wore his hat everyday, whether or not he was in the OR.

 

[bts4202]

at my current hospital, you are required to come into the hospital in shirt-tie everyday. You can change into scrubs after rounds, and then must change back before any lecture, clinic or before you leave. For afternoon rounds, they prefered that you were in shirt-tie, but would not really say anything if you were in scrubs.

As far as wearing a cap upstairs, i have only done it once or twice when i had to do some floor work quickly in between cases. Besides that i would not want to wear the hat all day and I can imagine you would get made fun of quite a bit for keeping it on.

 

[bobbyseal]

at my current hospital, you are required to come into the hospital in shirt-tie everyday. You can change into scrubs after rounds, and then must change back before any lecture, clinic or before you leave. For afternoon rounds, they prefered that you were in shirt-tie, but would not really say anything if you were in scrubs.

As far as wearing a cap upstairs, i have only done it once or twice when i had to do some floor work quickly in between cases. Besides that i would not want to wear the hat all day and I can imagine you would get made fun of quite a bit for keeping it on.

That sucks for all of you guys... I would wear my scrub cap from the moment I hit the or until I would leave the hospital. I would literally throw it out on my way out the door.

Clinic would definitely be shirt and tie. But otherwise, no one really cared.

woo hoo!

 

[DOtobe]

On my surgery rotation, surgical caps were only worn in the OR.

And regarding scrubs, we would change into scrubs as soon as we got there in the morning and change out of them before we left (well, not always - I did steal a few pairs ). The only time we had to dress up was when we had surgical grand rounds. We didn't even dress up for clinic.

 

[DrFeelgoodDO]

assuming you're going to surgery at 5am and going to be rounding/in the OR all day, how appropriate is it to wear a surgical cap all day to work? do any residents do this? i want to avoid having to deal with your hairdo in the AM and maximize sleep.

Also, no one else has mentioned this, but wearing the caps and the booties outside of the OR is a JCHAO violation. SO if JCHAO is having an unannounced inspection that day and you're doing it, they will fine the hospital. That's not a great way to get an "A" on your rotation. Plus, you look like a dork when you wear that stuff outside of the OR. Finally, as far as surgery ettiqute (sp?) is concerned, you can wear scrubs all day long, even in clinic; however, you should be dressed nicely for things like M&M, Grand Rounds, and special guest lecturers - that sort of thing.

 

[doc05]

Also, no one else has mentioned this, but wearing the caps and the booties outside of the OR is a JCHAO violation. SO if JCHAO is having an unannounced inspection that day and you're doing it, they will fine the hospital. That's not a great way to get an "A" on your rotation. Plus, you look like a dork when you wear that stuff outside of the OR. Finally, as far as surgery ettiqute (sp?) is concerned, you can wear scrubs all day long, even in clinic; however, you should be dressed nicely for things like M&M, Grand Rounds, and special guest lecturers - that sort of thing.

JCHAO visits are virtually always announced. And wearing scrubs in clinic is particularly unprofessional.

 

[bts4202]

JCHAO visits are virtually always announced. And wearing scrubs in clinic is particularly unprofessional.

agreed

 

[carrigallen]

I think you guys mean jcaho.. jchao sounds like a chinese branch of j.crew outlet stores.

 

[jennie 21]

Bumping this up again to ask a question.

What is appropriate attire for women on most rotations (other than scrubs for surgery, that is)? I am starting rotations in a few months and would like to buy some "professional" clothes beforehand, however I'm not really sure what would be appropriate. My usual standard is black or grey dress slacks and a sweater of some kind, however that can get a bit boring after awhile. I was thinking of buying some nicer, dressier clothes for rotations, but I'm wondering what to buy. Does it have to be pants? Are skirts appropriate (I mean knee-length skirts, not minis)? What about blouses? Do they need to be button-down or is a silk or wool knit sweater alright? What about shoes? Can you wear comfortable pumps with a low heel or is that impractical and going to be laughed at? Clearly, I can't wear my Dansko clogs with a skirt, so I'm not sure if that means I should wear dress shoes or if I should just forgo wearing skirts. I would like to buy some more professional clothes and I feel like I look a little bit "slouchy" in black pants and danskos, and like a skirt with dress shoes would look more professional/more grown-up, but on the other hand, if I'm going to be on my feet all day maybe dress shoes are a bad idea. Thoughts? Advice? What do most women wear on rotations? Does it differ by rotation (i.e. skirt and pumps might be okay for neuro or psych where hours are shorter but stupid for medicine where you're on the floors all day long). Would I be better off sticking to my pants-and-danskos uniform? Thanks for help with this naive newbie question...still trying to figure out the what the dress code is for wards.

 

[ultane123]

hey quick question for you... i am always freezing in the hospital when i'm wearing scrubs (on surgery at the moment), even with a t-shirt below...

is it ok to wear one of those north face capilene tops over scrub pants? i see residents on surgery and medicine call doing it time to time, usually one that is grey and matches scrubs? or maybe a long sleeve t-shirt instead? is it ok to wear into surgery, considering scrubs arent sterile and you are gowned anyway?

http://www.patagonia.com/za/PDC?OPT...5&sku=44760&ws=false&promo_cat=&promo_cat_id=

thanks

u.

Depends on the hospital, the rotation and its policy.

I'll admit to being one of those surgical residents who wears a cap from time to time on the ward; usually if I've been in it all day or am just running back and forth btwn OR and floor/ICU. I'm by no means the only one here who does it so must be a different environment.

Then again, we/the nurses did make fun of one of the interns several years ago who wore his hat everyday, whether or not he was in the OR.

 

[Winged Scapula]

hey quick question for you... i am always freezing in the hospital when i'm wearing scrubs (on surgery at the moment), even with a t-shirt below...

is it ok to wear one of those north face capilene tops over scrub pants? i see residents on surgery and medicine call doing it time to time, usually one that is grey and matches scrubs? or maybe a long sleeve t-shirt instead? is it ok to wear into surgery, considering scrubs arent sterile and you are gowned anyway?

http://www.patagonia.com/za/PDC?OPT...5&sku=44760&ws=false&promo_cat=&promo_cat_id=

thanks

u.

I see nothing wrong with wearing it around the wards as I'm often cold and usually wear a zip up sweatshirt jacket under my lab coat, especially at night.
I like the jacket because its easier to take off rather than something that has to go over the head.

However, you cannot wear anything but scrubs into the OR; some scrubs nurses will allow you to wear a t-shirt under the scrub top but the sleeves cannot stick out from under the scrub top (frankly, I don't know why anyone wouldn't let you wear a t-shirt but I've seen some scrubs tell a student that, as if the neck were sterile). A long-sleeve t-shirt will work as well, and is commonly worn under the scrub top but again cannot be worn into the OR unless you are not scrubbing. Technically you are supposed to put the scrubs on right before you come into the OR so while not sterile, they are clean. Who knows where your t-shirt has been - or so goes the reasoning.

It is cold in the hospital so make sure you wear socks with your shoes, keep dry, if you don't have one, one of the heavier lab coats are warmer and either a thermal or silk top under your scrub top.

Caveat: if rounding with attendings, I would remove the extra layer on top. It looks pretty unprofessional to them and obviously to some patients, besides if changing dressing and examing patients you might get some wound goo on your nice Patagonia top.

 

[Winged Scapula]

What is appropriate attire for women on most rotations (other than scrubs for surgery, that is)? Does it have to be pants? Are skirts appropriate (I mean knee-length skirts, not minis)? What about blouses? Do they need to be button-down or is a silk or wool knit sweater alright? What about shoes? Can you wear comfortable pumps with a low heel or is that impractical and going to be laughed at? Clearly, I can't wear my Dansko clogs with a skirt, so I'm not sure if that means I should wear dress shoes or if I should just forgo wearing skirts. I would like to buy some more professional clothes and I feel like I look a little bit "slouchy" in black pants and danskos, and like a skirt with dress shoes would look more professional/more grown-up, but on the other hand, if I'm going to be on my feet all day maybe dress shoes are a bad idea. Thoughts? Advice? What do most women wear on rotations? Does it differ by rotation (i.e. skirt and pumps might be okay for neuro or psych where hours are shorter but stupid for medicine where you're on the floors all day long). Would I be better off sticking to my pants-and-danskos uniform? Thanks for help with this naive newbie question...still trying to figure out the what the dress code is for wards.

Pants are more common, especially in surgery but skirts are fine. Make sure they are even longer than knee length, because when you sit in a knee length skirt, it easily becomes a mini.

Blouses are fine as are sweater sets (my fav as I can remove the cardi if I get too warm) and you needn't limit yourself to button down Lands End type of shirts.

I have seen students and residents wear heels, even some 3-4 inch ones but frankly unless you are sitting down all day in clinic, I can imagine that would be pretty uncomfortable after awhile. I typically wear a pair of buckled black loafers with pants which are comfortable even after hours of standing. With scrubs obviously its sneakers or clogs. I haven't worn a skirt in ages (just think my legs are ugly) but would wear low heel pumps or sling backs.

I think clogs with skirts are ugly as well but I do see it done. A shoe with a small kitten heel or tiny wedge would look much better and be comfortable. The key is comfort. Buy the shoes now so you can break them in and if prone to blistering like I am, keep some bandaids on as precaution or treatment.

Most women here and that I'm familiar with wear trousers with a blouse or light sweater top. I think that's the most practical and you don't have to worry about showing too much. Here are some don'ts as I see them:

- no belly baring tops; reach up when trying stuff on, if you BB shows, its too short
- no mini skirts or skirts that reach mid-thigh when sitting
- no high heels especially if you have to do any running to codes or find them uncomfortable
- no sleeveless tops unless you really won't be taking your coat off (and you may find that do in surgery clinic)
- same goes for camisoles, tanks, etc.
- please wear underwear; yes, there are some who go braless or either wear bras with so little apparent support that they might as well be braless
- bulky or thick sweaters get warm and make it difficult to wear under lab coats
- no chandelier earrings; they get tangled in your stethoscope, hair, etc. Same goes for dangly necklaces.
- no long nails
- no open toed shoes or sandals
- no high slits in skirts

 

[bmcgilligan]

I, personally, do not want to dress in a manner that would make me look masculine. I am a woman and I don't think I need to hide that, but I also shouldn't flaunt it.

I do believe that professionals need be modest. Skin tight pants and shirts are not professional. Well fitting clothes, be they skirts, pants, button-up shirts, or nice sweater sets are all appropriate.

I find myself often wearing khaki or black dress pants with one of those darted 3/4 sleeve length blouses. It is still professional, yet still feminine. Men don't wear 3/4 sleeve shirts. Yet, it is still wearing a dress shirt.

It is really hard to find blouses that fit well...not too tight and yet not too big.

I don't think women need to look like men in order to be good doctors.

 

[mallumed]

i feel so sorry for you guys. Being from India where we have a dress code of just a shirt ,any shirt, and trousers I cant even imagine what you guys are describing. And this goes for the docs too. Maybe 20-30 years back they used to wear suits, now only a handful of senior docs wear ties.

The girls probably have to take more care about their dress as they try to keep up to date with the fashions...

 

[v-tach]

I, personally, do not want to dress in a manner that would make me look masculine. I am a woman and I don't think I need to hide that, but I also shouldn't flaunt it.

I do believe that professionals need be modest. Skin tight pants and shirts are not professional. Well fitting clothes, be they skirts, pants, button-up shirts, or nice sweater sets are all appropriate.

I find myself often wearing khaki or black dress pants with one of those darted 3/4 sleeve length blouses. It is still professional, yet still feminine. Men don't wear 3/4 sleeve shirts. Yet, it is still wearing a dress shirt.

It is really hard to find blouses that fit well...not too tight and yet not too big.

I don't think women need to look like men in order to be good doctors.

I would have to agree with you. I don't like feeling as though I'm dressed like a guy, but I also don't like wearing skirts and the nylons and impractical shoes that go with them. When I need to look professional, I usually wear black or gray dress pants and a sweater set or blouse, or sometimes a regular lightweight sweater. The 3/4 length sleeve thing is a good tip--I'll have to remember that.

 

[RedBullJunkie]

I'm an EM resident, and I often wear a tie during the day. As an intern, I didn't wear the short coat, but I wear the long coat buttoned up. If I'm REALLY worried my tie will get in something, I just tuck it in between the 2nd and 3rd buttons. Anyone who says anything about infection risk is talking out of their asses. EVEN IF a tie is TOTALLY contaminated, there's no evidence there's an infection risk. As a comparison, when you were a kid, when you got cut, did your mother put your cut under the running water? How many got infected? Tap water irrigation has been shown time and again to be safe, and, yet, were you to culture faucets, you would be just amazed at what grows out (as far as gnarly bugs).

Why do I wear a tie? Looks more professional sometimes, and it's just what I'm accustomed to. In the afternoon, it's hit or miss, but, overnight, I usually wear an open collared shirt (often in a subdued tropical print). About half of my colleagues, and about 40% of all the residents in my program, wear "street clothes" with the white coat while working.

Our department put in a dress code, and it was either scrubs, or dress pants (Dockers qualify) and a collared shirt with buttons (tie recommended, but not required). Always, the white coat. Several people have been busting it, and they're going to get busted.

edit: Ah, I was talking about the ED. As a student, I went with the flow. Rarely did I see a man that wasn't in scrubs that wasn't in a tie (across the board). Even in psych, the few attendings I saw, half wore a tie. Women have a little more leeway, since they can wear a dress or skirt, or pants, and there isn't a great correlate to the tie - whereas one guy, who's on the bottom of the totem pole, without a tie (when everyone else has one) stands out.

I've been wearing a tie everyday and I don't understand why it's so difficult for people to understand that the infection risk is ridiculous ... I'm doing psych at a VA hospital right now and we've got a dress code that demands you to wear approved ties though, which cracks me up. If you have a tie with let's say a cartoon character or sports team (which I personally would never wear) you get busted.

I'm actually thinking of going the bowtie route ... it's making a comeback.

 

[fuegorama]

I'm actually thinking of going the bowtie route.

Like John Stuart said, "how old are you?"

 

[jennie 21]

Kimberli Cox--thanks so much for the very helpful, detailed answer. Good point about making sure skirts are longer than knee length, since they tend to ride up when you sit down. I wouldn't have thought of that. I really appreciate your detailed guidelines, although I was surprised to hear that all sleeveless shirts are inappropriate. I would have thought a sleeveless sweater would be okay if it covered your shoulders and was modest (i.e., the shell part of a twinset for example)? But maybe I'm just not familiar enough with what's appropriate in a hospital setting.

BMCGilligan--3/4 sleeve shirts are a great idea. I like to look professional while still looking feminine, too. No reason we need to look like men. The one problem I find with dress shirts is that they tend to pull and gap a little in the front because I'm busty, which can be a problem. It's hard to find shirts that are well-tailored especially if you're large-busted.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Kimberli Cox--thanks so much for the very helpful, detailed answer. Good point about making sure skirts are longer than knee length, since they tend to ride up when you sit down. I wouldn't have thought of that. I really appreciate your detailed guidelines, although I was surprised to hear that all sleeveless shirts are inappropriate. I would have thought a sleeveless sweater would be okay if it covered your shoulders and was modest (i.e., the shell part of a twinset for example)? But maybe I'm just not familiar enough with what's appropriate in a hospital setting.

Its probably a bit conservative not to wear sleeveless tops, but I do think the consensus is that you should have at least some sleeve. You'll note that I wear a lot of twin sets myself, but if I'm somewhere where I might have to take my lab coat off, I make sure I have the cardigan on. However, if its not likely I will and I'm warm (which is unusual in the typically cold hospital) I will wear only the shell with the lab coat over it. The point is to keep yourself covered.

 

[DrMom]

At our hospital, we were told that sleeveless shirts are not permitted. We can get by if we're wearing our coat.

 

[v-tach]

Just out of curiosity, what's the big problem with sleeveless tops if they're modest and don't let your bra etc. show (AND if you make sure your armpits are shaved)? I'm talking things like the shell part of a twinset--why are things like this not considered professional?

 

[v-tach]

- no chandelier earrings; they get tangled in your stethoscope, hair, etc. Same goes for dangly necklaces.

On a related note, is religious jewelry (such as a cross on a necklace) frowned upon? Just curious.

 

[beary]

On a related note, is religious jewelry (such as a cross on a necklace) frowned upon? Just curious.

I have never heard that this is frowned upon. I wear a necklace with a cross on it quite often.

 

[v-tach]

I have never heard that this is frowned upon. I wear a necklace with a cross on it quite often.

That's good to hear--I usually wear one too, I think it's a good remembrance, and even is helpful to me as a reminder to act in a Christian manner during those times where I might be tempted to be a real jerk! I guess it wouldn't really be reasonable for it to be frowned upon, but I know sometimes people are unreasonable so I wanted to see if anyone had ever had problems (I'm not in med school yet--still waiting for an acceptance!).

 

[DrMom]

On a related note, is religious jewelry (such as a cross on a necklace) frowned upon? Just curious.

I wear one every day.

 

[Winged Scapula]

On a related note, is religious jewelry (such as a cross on a necklace) frowned upon? Just curious.

I doubt that would be a problem except for some patients who might object to a blatant show of religion - but I've rarely seen this happen and its the patients who are being offensive, IMHO.

 

[nora_k]

Reading all this... Well, I come from Europe and we don't have dressing code over here actually. But I wouldn't mind one because sometimes when you look at students, residents or even doctors the only thing I can say is: what a ... is he/she wearing?!

 

[adamdowannabe]

this might have been mentioned already, I reaad the first few pages of the thread and then skipped to the end.

It was mentioned about ties, the issues with wearing them exist. Although I have nothing to cite, I read an article about the contamination from neck ties. Think about it, they tend to brush against everything, and people rarely have a tie dry cleaned, some college micro students swabbed ties and found that most physician ties carried tons of bad stuff.

I saw a TV special about the huge outbreaks of staph in hospitals, they tested equipment, fingernails, nostrils, and only as on a second pass did they think to test ties, and Kabaam! the ties were the vector. They really struggled figuring out how the staph moved from certain areas, tracking patients moved from surgical to non surgical departments, and finally they figured out, Men's neck ties are nothing but trouble.

So, in the age of Super Staph, people the work in health care, should leave the tie at home, and elimate another means of tranfer of the little microbes that cause such issues.

 

[radiologygirl]

Question- as far as blouses and shirts are concerned for women...do they have to be tucked in? And do they all have to be button down?
A lot of the shirts and tops that i am seeing just about make it below the waist but can look scruffy if tucked in.