1) No other physicians I work with wear a white coat, except for the weird ones
2) They get dirty so easily. And of course, they show every speck of dirt because obviously they are white. Duh. My white coat from residency retired with a layer of indelible grime on the sleeves and hemline. I have to believe white coats are incredibly unsanitary.
3) If you are a female, you cannot pee while wearing a white coat. If you keep it on, you risk dipping it in the toilet. That is a fact. If you take it off, where are you supposed to put it? On the nonexistent hook on the stall door? On the floor??
4) While it was nice having the pocket space, I think the sheer number of things I always kept in the pockets was contributing to neck pain.
5) The white coat does absolutely nothing to decrease the number of patients who call me "nurse"
I do keep my white coat around, mostly in case the air-conditioner goes crazy and I need an extra layer of clothing. But I can't really see going back to wearing it regularly.
What do you think? Should doctors wear their white coats?
I'm a resident, and I have not worn mine a single day since graduating med school! It always looked dirty, and I don't think it would change me getting mistaken for a nurse.
ReplyDeleteSo if you don't wear a white coat what do you wear? Regular street clothes?
ReplyDeleteNice, professional clothes.
DeleteI don't wear one either, but a colleague of mine recently started wearing hers again and said that it actually changed how her patients related to her. She found that people seemed to value her opinions more and she was treated with more respect. Might be an interesting experiment.
ReplyDeleteI am a resident, I wear it for the pockets. My white coat has 7 pockets, the largest 2 can each hold a full size ipad or a book. When I graduate I will probably wear one only to speak with families between surgeries
ReplyDeleteKeep the white coat in the front seat of your car so if you are pulled over by a cop, you can claim you are racing over to the hospital because the baby is coming!
ReplyDeleteI was forced to buy a white lab coat in nursing school. I have no idea why. I've never seen a nurse wear one.
ReplyDeleteThe silly thing went into my locker on the very first day, and didn't come out again until the week of graduation. I sold it to an incoming freshman who did the very same thing with it.
For the psychological effect on the patient I would wear a white coat if I was a doctor.
ReplyDeleteI work in the UK - we're not allowed to wear white coats anymore. Infection Control rules say we should be bear above the elbows, so it's either scrubs or smart professional clothes for us.
ReplyDeleteDoes this mean you're not allowed to wear long sleeves of any kind in the hospital? I'd get so cold during Winter if I couldn't wear a sweater.
DeleteYup, nothing at all below the elbows- no watches or jewellery either. I think it's been this way for about 10 years and it doesn't seem like patients expect you to be wearing a white coat any more. NHS hospitals always seem to be heated to about 30 degrees so being chilly isn't a problem!
DeleteI am one year out of residency and I have only worn my white coat a few times. As a female physician, I do notice people treat me with a bit more respect when I am wearing a white coat. My problem with the white coat is the position of forward flexion into which it forces my neck. I always end up with a neckache/headache.
ReplyDeleteI wear mine. The pockets are handy. It makes me look a bit older (I think). Most importantly, it hides a multitude of wardrobe sins. Coffee stains, visible panty lines, winter weight gain...all disappear magically!
ReplyDelete