Clothes for a Future Doctor

[LabelKing]

Just be like a Dr.House and wear bow-ties. Nobody would question you if you had his attitude.

 

[Sator]

Originally Posted by LabelKing

Just be like a Dr.House and wear bow-ties. Nobody would question you if you had his attitude.

The trouble is that med students get asked questions on ward rounds that test their academic knowledge. If the Attending has forgotten the students' name the question will always be directed to "you, yes you - the one with the bow tie".

 

[The Happy Stroller]

Initially, all you need are comfortable casual dress suitable for academia. Traditional Ivy League style dress, perhaps. In which case, it might be worthwhile just looking at the kinds of casual clothes and accessories, e.g., loafers, available at the Brook Brothers or Jos. A. Bank websites. But, of course, you can actually get similar stuff at Walmart.

Originally Posted by JPYPSU07

Thanks for the advice guys, looks like I will be sticking to the Express pants and shirts till they are in too bad of a shape to wear around anymore. I was never planning on wearing suits but just looking "respectable" On my interviews I've seen quite a few 3rd and 4th years who really look like crap. Thanks for the advice.

 

[chapunso]

My dear friend. welcome to the medical profession. I have been a doctor for 20 yrs. I practice in Europe first, before moving to the states. In my home country there is a big difference between social security doctors (jeans, clogs, scrubs) and sucessful private practitioners (tie at least). In the US, most of the doctors dress horribly because they usually do not care and nobody has taught them how to dress. You have also, the doc who has no class or background and dresses very flashy (gold bracelet particularly favored by low class cubans). I dress with a suit everyday, and I am by far the best dress of the pack. Some docs will also mock you, so be careful in how you dress. If in question, tone it down; you can upset a senior resident or a junior attending, and no question, they will try to do something to you, just because they hate how well you look and much of a slob they are

 

[The Happy Stroller]

Never fear, this kind of doctor here practises reverse medicine. The patient simply places two fingers at the future doctor's throat to transfer all traces of the Dark Force to his M.D. who simply cures himself by wearing a one-piece 1 oz. pashmina suit while staying in Shangri-La for a fortnight while pretty sweet young things get the Dark Force out of his body with secret ancient Chinese and Indian techniques.

Originally Posted by Bergdorf Goodwill

It is my understanding that this is the conventional dress of Future Doctors. Best of luck to you.

 

[JPYPSU07]

Originally Posted by Sator

The trouble is that med students get asked questions on ward rounds that test their academic knowledge. If the Attending has forgotten the students' name the question will always be directed to "you, yes you - the one with the bow tie".

Could the extra attention be that bad? I'd imagine when it comes time for writing recommendations for residency it could really go either way. I've already accumulated a fair amount of shirts and ties. I guess I should invest in some wrinklefree brooks brothers or something just to save me when the time comes. You guys have really been great in this thread. I really didn't know there were so many medical professionals on the forum. Any advice for me on the upcoming journey?

 

[chobochobo]

As the others have said:
As a student, when you go onto the wards, shirt/tie/slacks are fine and if you avoid the Kenneth Coles, that'd be great. I recently saw a couple of elective students from London and they were totally 'wide boy' - big huge knots in their ties and the square toe shoes. I guess the really old fuddy duddy's are mostly gone - I remember some consultants who insisted that all females wear skirts.

Apart from interviews, suits aren't really part of your normal everyday wear until well into your career. I try to wear more suits to work and always get comments. Currently, I'm doing a job that entails wearing scrub-like uniform whilst on duty. I then tried to go 'casual' for the journey to and from work but it didn't last and I wear a suit just for the commute

 

[Mr. Checks]

Originally Posted by chapunso

My dear friend. welcome to the medical profession. I have been a doctor for 20 yrs. I practice in Europe first, before moving to the states. In my home country there is a big difference between social security doctors (jeans, clogs, scrubs) and sucessful private practitioners (tie at least). In the US, most of the doctors dress horribly because they usually do not care and nobody has taught them how to dress. You have also, the doc who has no class or background and dresses very flashy (gold bracelet particularly favored by low class cubans). I dress with a suit everyday, and I am by far the best dress of the pack. Some docs will also mock you, so be careful in how you dress. If in question, tone it down; you can upset a senior resident or a junior attending, and no question, they will try to do something to you, just because they hate how well you look and much of a slob they are

Classy !

 

[poorsod]

1) Don't wear a suit until you are an attending or in private practice. Otherwise people will think that you are looking for a new job.

2) Make sure your clothes are replacable. i.e. nothing too expensive or hard to replace. You never know what kinda crap you'll get on it - sometimes literally crap. This goes especially for shoes.

3) When on Psych consider wearing no tie, a clip on or one with Velcro straps. This is for your benefit; especially when on services where the patients have less than predictable behavior.

 

[Holdfast]

My advice, based on UK practice:

As a medical student, if you're on the general wards or in an outpatient clinic and you're seeing patients, a minimum is smart trousers, smart shirt and tie, with a presentable pair of shoes. You don't need a jacket particularly as you'll probably be wearing a white coat (at least at first) and even if not, wearing an odd jacket as a med student is a bit over the top IMO.

In the USA, I understand that scrubs/sneakers seem to be more prevalent; I defer to the US doctors on their own experiences!

Once you qualify, it's a smarter/better quality version of the above as a very junior doctor. Nothing too expensive; because it's likely to get stained. Oh, and cufflinks will annoy you because you'll endless need to undo/redo them. Once you move up the training grades you can start wearing odd jackets. I started wearing suits when I found myself seeing patients in the community at their own homes or in an advisory role for other teams (eg being asked for advice re: a psych case in the general hospital). It felt like showing the appropriate level of respect.

(psych is something of an anomalous speciality in this regard anyway, as the range of dress varies enormously from business-formal to jeans/T-shirt. Most people pick what complements their style and local practice best.)

 

[Britalian]

For a pox doctor there's only one answer:

 

[coachvu]

Originally Posted by JPYPSU07

Could the extra attention be that bad? I'd imagine when it comes time for writing recommendations for residency it could really go either way. I've already accumulated a fair amount of shirts and ties. I guess I should invest in some wrinklefree brooks brothers or something just to save me when the time comes. You guys have really been great in this thread. I really didn't know there were so many medical professionals on the forum. Any advice for me on the upcoming journey?

You don't want them to remember you because of the bowtie but because of your knowledge and ability to interact with patients.

 

[Sator]

Originally Posted by Holdfast

You don't need a jacket particularly as you'll probably be wearing a white coat (at least at first) and even if not, wearing an odd jacket as a med student is a bit over the top IMO. In the USA, I understand that scrubs/sneakers seem to be more prevalent; I defer to the US doctors on their own experiences! psych is something of an anomalous speciality in this regard anyway, as the range of dress varies enormously
I would ignore what others wore and recommend a decent pair of dress shoes. Yes, pschiatrists are a sartorially odd breed. One will smoke a pipe in a three piece tweed suit with a bow tie - the next one will be smoking a cigarette in jeans and pyschedelic shirt. The only thing commonality between them being that they bloody well have to smoke! I really do find it strange that a student, intern or resident should be looked upon as though he had turned up to work in a morning coat and top hat just for wearing a sports coat to work. I guess the white coat usually takes the place of the sports coat on the wards, but why not wear a sports coat at other times? I sometimes wonder what the older medical professionals remember back in the old days. What did junior medical staff wear back in the 1950s - 70s?

 

[Sator]

Originally Posted by JPYPSU07

Could the extra attention be that bad?

The trouble is that the hospital system is structured in a way which is staunchly hierarchical - for better or for worse. The medical student is at the bottom of the pecking order. As has already been mentioned, by dressing too well you can upset someone more senior in the hierarchy if you show them up for the unprofessional slob they are.

The fact of the matter is that too many at the top of the hierarchy fail to set a positive example by dressing professionally. This makes it incumbent on the more junior staff to try to dress even more slobbishly than the slob a rung above him in the pyramid.

 

[LabelKing]

Originally Posted by Sator

I would ignore what others wore and recommend a decent pair of dress shoes. Yes, pschiatrists are a sartorially odd breed. One will smoke a pipe in a three piece tweed suit with a bow tie - the next one will be smoking a cigarette in jeans. The only thing commonality between them being that they bloody well have to smoke! I really do find it strange that a student, intern or resident should be looked upon as though he had turned up to work in a morning coat and top hat just for wearing a sports coat to work. I guess the white coat usually takes the place of the sports coat on the wards, but why not wear a sports coat at other times? I sometimes wonder what the older medical professionals remember back in the old days. What did junior medical staff wear back in the 1950s - 70s?
I understand cigars are the most potent of the bunch. I also understand it was modish at that time ('50s- '60s) for the doctors to turn up the collars of their white coats.