Lab coat question??

rn/writer, RN · Nov 19, 2009

I'm not an NP, but I work at a teaching hospital where the only people who wear the short white lab coats are the lowest ones on the totem pole--the med students. Residents wear the long coats. And attendings wear street clothes.

Not familiar with the long, blue pin-striped lab coats you describe. What if you wore a plain white long lab coat?

Sounds like territorial chest thumping to me.

JDCitizen · Nov 19, 2009

give them cheese and crackers to go with their whine.

office: no lab coat.

hospital: long white lab coat with name and practice logo (same as the others in the practice wear). not really a concrete rule that we have to wear it though but it actually helps.

in nursing school (bsn & msn): long white lab coat.

all the hospitals iv been in some wear casual, some wear dress clothes, some wear the long lab coats. i can't really recall seeing the short ones in years except the dressed up short white ones on a few of my female colleagues.

Trauma Columnist · Nov 19, 2009

Thanks guys.

Our attendings in our practice usually wear suits (its a pretty formal practice). On the weekends, they wear khakis and sport shirt.

The mid-levels wear long blue pin-striped lab coats and dress casual (khakis, nice blouse or sweater). However, most of us are going in and out of dialysis units all day so are exposed to bleach and blood constantly so we all wear our lab coats to help protect our clothes.

At the big teaching hospital on the hill, there is a definite hierarchy: med students wear the short white lab coats (and stand in the back during rounds), residents wear scrubs and usually no lab coat, attendings wear suits and either a long blue pinstriped lab coat or a long grey labcoat.

Thanks for the input.

rnsrgr8t · Nov 19, 2009

I work in a pediatric hospital for a Urology practice. We all (attendings, residents, NP's and even our specialty nurses) where long white lab coats. They have our logo and department on one side and our names on the other. They are optional (not everyone wears them) and except for the residents (they wear scrubs) we dress business casual and the men wear suit/ties (except in the OR obviously). I wear the labcoat mostly because I need the pockets for all of my stuff. In my hospital, the only ones I see in the short lab coats are the med students.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Nov 19, 2009

at some of the hospitals, the physicians have made comments that the long, blue pin-striped lab coats are for physicians only and the mid-levels either wear scrubs or have short, white lab coats. my question is: if you wear a lab coat is it the long one (either white, blue pin-striped or something else) or do you wear a short lab coat (white?) or do you not wear any lab coat? just curious as i had no clue that the length of the lab coat was a bone of contention - lol.

wow, these physicians must not like mid-levels at all. physicians know that tradition dictates that only medical students (including pa students) wear the short white coats. i would have not made a big deal of it if i were asked to wear a plain long white coat instead of the "physician exclusive" pin-striped ones. i actually prefer wearing scrubs anyway and half of the time, i don't even have my long white coat on. i guess this kind of attitude from physicians is something that i do not experience being an employee of a hospital where mid-levels are being represented by a mid-level council that makes sure our voice is heard within the organization.

PICUPNP · Nov 19, 2009

We just wear scrubs at our hospital. Usually don't see any midlevels in lab coats here.

Trauma Columnist · Nov 19, 2009

Thanks for the input.

JDCitizen · Nov 20, 2009

Thanks for the input.

So do you think you might have to change?

Trauma Columnist · Nov 21, 2009

Oh no - my practice dictates what we wear and since they pay for it, I wear what they say. These are just a couple of disgruntled doctors who are saying snide remarks. I'm old and crotchety myself, so I give back as much as they give - lol.