I'm a doctor and I used to dislike lab coats -- what they stood for and how dirty they were. The standard at my work site right now is a long gray coat for attendings, white for residents. While I never thought I'd want to wear a lab coat during patient care, it serves many purposes. A lot of professional clothes for women have no or non-functional pockets. The coat gives me a way to carry the pager, the blackberry, pens, various notes/stampers/id's that my male collegues stuff into their pants pockets or clip to their belt. Also, it protects my expensive clothes against the spilled fluids (bodily and otherwise) that I come across in the course of my clinical day: just yesterday my lab coat came between me and a poorly capped bottle of betadine. Finally, as a young woman, the coat helps differentiate me to patients and hospital staff as an attending, especially when in the required scrubs on the OB floor. Otherwise, I am usually addressed as a nurse. While I do not find this offensive, it is tiring to clarify and then have the usual awkward conversation as to why the person didn't guess I was a doctor.

I remember a young medical student on a surgical rotation being with his vastly experienced female attending and being addressed as the physician and the attending as the nurse. That was an extremely embarrassing moment for said medical student. Attending took it in stride, but talk about awful.

They will have to pry my white lab coat out of my cold, dead hands. The only reason that I look like a doctor is my white coat, being short, female, and young. I find that when I am in the hospital without it, I am invisible; people don't even look at me. This is our uniform, just as a chef has one, or a fireman has one. Business attire? What, and look like a lawyer?

Good one!

The white coats indicates CLEANLINESS not power.   It is easy to see stains on a white coat and difficult to see on other colors and street clothes.   White coats promote cleanliness, and demand frequent change by physicians.

I agree! It's a lot easier to see stains on a white coat, so if a doctor wears one and keeps it clean, patients are apt to have more trust in her/him.

I know this is extremely vain and unscientific, but I don't care so much about the germs. I'm sending my son off to college and he wants to become a doctor. As a single mother, the cost of the education will be a struggle but I'm sure one of the proudest moments for me will be when I see my son revert back to his glasses and put on his white doctor coat.

Also, I'm a woman in business predominately with men in leadership. My education, experience, etc. does not give the world the impression I'm the boss when clients reach for the hand of my younger male associates first. The power suit helps.

I can remember this issue being addressed with "ties" but I'm a bit surprised about lab coats. I change jackets every other day and I'd have to see the research as to the true efficacy of wearing scrubs VS labcoat. I'm an Occupational Therapist and work primarily in long term care so thankfully it does not directly effect me as of yet. However, I have worn scrubs in the past and was asked many times by patients or family members if I could take out the garbage-so there you go chicdoc your far from alone.

Aside from not wanting to look like a transient in scrubs, I wear a lab coat and tie to let my patients know that I do in fact care enough about them to present myself as a professional. Chicdoc makes another good point regarding having pockets to carry instruments, pens, pocket knife, etc. Believe me, this is NOT a female only issue. I'm not sure if I'll ever have to actually quit over the issue, but I'm DAMN sure not giving my coat up quietly.

Crobin35-If there's any vanity to it, you'll have earned it. Speaking from personal experience of having put myself through school I know it is terribly expensive (HAH-it used to be just terribly now it's viciously expensive). Be VERY proud of your son AND yourself for making it possible.

doctorZ- that will take out the "middleman"-we could just sue ourselves

They may be able to pry this lab coat from my cold, dead hands, but that's okay because I have another one and I'll be buried in it so I can haunt them

PS- short women are sexy

I am also a female MD. I get addressed as "nurse" all the time, and although I'm used to it, the coat helps. The big reason is, however, the pockets. Every physician I know who still wears one does it for the pockets.

i understand what the symbolism of the white lab coat. but i work in a hospital as a speech language pathologist (a master's degree) i wear scrubs. BUT, you have respiratory therapists that just have a 2 year degree and they parade around in white lab coats. the dietician wears a lab coat. some hospitals have the speech therapists that aren't MD's but have their Master's degrees or Phd's in lab coats. So should there be hospital policies on who gets to wear a coat?

karent- Yes indeedy! I love my pockets.

jellfla- Good question- I would think every hospital would have some kind of dress code-maybe not..

Several SLP's I know like to wear scrubs given the high possibility that they may be "spit-up" on during treatment.

I agree. I am not a physician, but an acupuncturist and I once had a co-worker (an MSW) get very annoyed at the fact that we wear lab coats in clinic, because 'only doctors wear them'. We were taught that wearing the coat is professional. I need the pockets to hold my swabs/needles/keys/pens/notebo­ok. Women's skirts and slacks do not generally have pockets and it protects the clothes from odor and fluids...also I like my coat since it tends to make me appear less overtly feminine and more uniform. People, like it or not, make judgements based on clothes. When you see a doctor with some loud shirt and tie, or in my case an acupuncturist wearing some hippie Asian getup, you make a judgement about their personality or professionalism. I have seen female physicians clomping about in ridiculously high heels and tight skirts, and although they look very pretty, I wonder why they chose to wear that to work...The lab coat is a blank slate. The health care provider's personality and/or gender is not supposed to be forefront...