Surgery is a great field for a fashion-challenged person such as myself. On any given day, there is one easily-obtainable set of clothes which will fit in perfectly with everyone else and be completely appropriate for any occasion, ranging from early morning rounds to professor rounds to clinic time to the OR to emergencies on the floor or in the ER.
On the rare occasions when more formal attire is required (some professors’ rounds, when giving speeches, etc), this is usually clearly spelled out ahead of time, due to the propensity of both male and female surgery residents to wear scrubs whenever they have not been instructed otherwise.
There was one program which I liked when I interviewed at, but I got a clear indication that it was not for me when one of the residents mentioned that their attendings were so formal, they were required to wear business clothes at all times except when actually in the OR, and had not infrequently found themselves dressed in a tie, running a trauma code. A bolt of lightning could not have been a plainer “stear clear” sign.
September 22, 2008 at 11:37 pm
and for that rare call nap – scrub pajamas
September 23, 2008 at 8:33 am
I often think of how convenient work uniforms are…wishing librarians had some sort of standard beyond the proverbial cardigan, glasses, and frumpy skirt.
September 23, 2008 at 8:45 am
My Med Schools Surgery Dept had that “Scrubs only in the OR” policy, but weren’t that anal about enforcing it. Still, felt a little like Superman when you’d be at clinic and get a Trauma page to the ER, even changed in a Phone Booth once(Phone Booths were these glass enclosures, containing a coin operated Telephone)
September 23, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Frank, what are “coins”?
September 24, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Ties and long sleeves will soon be banned in UK hospital b/c studies have suggested that they are good places for pathogens to be carried around from one patient to the next by healthcare professionals; JAMA articles are available on this topic….