White coats are going!

[Medic]

White coats are due to be phased out by january according to new government proposals. Ties and watches, jewerly etc are also to go (below elbow). A new uniform is being proposed, which i presume will be along the lines of scrubs.

What do you think about all this? What will it mean for us as medical students? As a male doctor, would you like to wear shirt and tie or would you be happy in alternative attire? Would you be happy to see your white coat go or wondering how you will replace those valuable pockets!

[Medic]

White coats are due to be phased out by january according to new government proposals. Ties and watches, jewerly etc are also to go (below elbow). A new uniform is being proposed, which i presume will be along the lines of scrubs.

What do you think about all this? As a male doctor, would you like to wear shirt and tie or would you be happy in alternative attire? What will happen to the consultant suits? I really cant imagine sum consultants i know giving up their suits!

[alex MD]

i'd wear scrubs but they can f*ck off if they think im wearing short sleeve shirts everyday, it'd do my nut in! but i guess i'll abide by whatever rules there are so that semi rant was slightly pointless!

alex

[bright star]

hah bye bye whit coat suits me.... they make me feel really fat. they're really unflattering, they nevr fit properly.

[Helen_485]

Yeah, they are kind of outdated - another issue, aside from the whole carrying infection thing, is that some patients can see white coats as symbolic of the scary, authoritative type doctor figures of the past and feel intimidated and anxious because of it. I definitely think it's time they were phased out, the loss of pockets will definitely be a disadvantage though lol!
In terms of watches, do they expect everyone to wear those pin on ones some nurses and people have? Or maybe they will just invest in lots of new wall clocks so nobody needs watches..... !!!
I can see the point though, I mean, how many people thoroughly clean their watches on a regular basis, let alone between patients?!

[tamisz]

i volunteer in an a&e and to be honest i do not see staff wash their hands or use their gel that often, certainly not as often as they ought to. i have worked in american hospitals and i have to say from what i observed staff seemed to take infection control more seriously there. I guess my point is that I don't think watches are the big issue here.

Didn't we just have a long thread about the white coat? I'm not complaining, it's a fun topic but it might be good to add to that one instead of saying the same things over again.

[Eponine_hugo]

Oh to live in scrubs would be a dream - they are so comfy!!!!

[Fizzwizz]

Scrubs all the way!

Shirts and ties are too hot and uncomfortable, and scrubs allow me to show of my manly tattoos which looks particularly cool when I wear my steth round my neck ;-)

[Victoria09]

I love scrubs- I nicked some once so I can use them as pyjamas (sad I know). Is there a reason why they don't have pockets? Can't they start making them with pockets?

[pipedreamer]

Our scrubs have pockets. I wouldn't mind wearing scrubs all day so long as we got ones that actually fit! However, it's cold enough in now (half the theatre staff are walking around with gowns on top of their scrubs) so I can see us freezing in the winter if we're not allowed long sleeves.

I'm not so keen on the no watches rule either. Mine has a metal strap and I clean it every week, plus it's covered up by gloves whenever I'm putting a venflon in or similar. I'd hate to have to wear one of those pin on things instead.

I'm quite happy to see the back of white coats but I think some more consideration need to be put into finding an approriate alternative.