How physicians dress matters. Here ’s why.

Anybody who has ever been to Europe, knows that fashion trends and the way people dress are very different from the United States, and generally more formal and fashion conscious (not to make a generalization — but it’s true). Growing up in England, every school has a uniform from an early age. (There are pictures of me wearing a tiny little shirt, tie, blazer, and hat to preschool when I was only four years old!) In medical school, it was mandatory for males to wear a shirt and tie on clinical rotations, and females were advised to wear professional business-like attire. Therefore, dressing up in the morning was always something I was always used to. I remember when I first arrived in the United States to start my medical residency, my co-residents would comment to me how well dressed they thought I was (to my surprise, since I thought I was just dressing normally). It’s a habit I have continued, and to this day, I always wear a shirt and tie to hospital — even on weekends. It’s funny because since I left the U.K., the National Health Service (the universal government-controlled health care system) instituted a policy banning “anything below the elbows” in any hospital or office. This included any long sleeves or even watches. My own view is that this was a political stunt, and from what I’ve heard — many physicians in the U.K. thought so too. The idea was that white coats, sleeves, and ties transmit infection (with somewhat dubious evidence). S...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Physician Hospital-Based Medicine Primary Care Source Type: blogs