tlc271 Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 Among the many things I leave PA school feeling unprepared for as I enter practice is the white coat. I am trying to order my first white coat and there are so many different lengths! Are there any rules about the length of the long white coat for the PA? Thank you for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmj11 Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 Among the many things I leave PA school feeling unprepared for as I enter practice is the white coat. I am trying to order my first white coat and there are so many different lengths! Are there any rules about the length of the long white coat for the PA? Thank you for your help! Do you have a position yet? They usually have a standard attire, with some freedom built in. Personally, I haven't donned a white coat since PA school 29 years ago. Then we were told we had to wear short white coats so that patients wouldn't confuse us with MD-residents, who wore long white coats. But besides peculiar like that there are no rules. If I am able to start my own clinic, I'm thinking about wearing a lab coat again with the logo on the lapel . . . and see if I can get away from the tie. I've worn a tie all these years and I hate them. They cost $40 now and they always do what they were originally intended to do . . . catch food and stains. So, they have a short half life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andersenpa Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 To the OP- check w/ your current practice and see if they will get them for you (not sure if you're planning to pay for it yourself) I wear one outside the OR unless it's summer and then even in the hospital it can be too warm. Funny, I see all sorts of white coat styles, from long to short. There are even white haired senior attendings who wear the short student coat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deborah212 Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 Funny, I see all sorts of white coat styles, from long to short. There are even white haired senior attendings who wear the short student coat. At the hospital where I now work, all the residents wear short white coats or no coats at all more commonly. PAs are provided with long white coats. I find this to be a bit awkward, especially when interacting with senior residents who are consulting or when I'm transferring a patient to the MICU. A small part of me feels guilty. Anyone else have this experience? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSCLegend Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 From my experience most MDs/DOs/PAs/NPs wear the long coat and the students would wear the short coat. I think a 3/4 length white coat is good, full length might be too long and get on the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted December 29, 2010 Administrator Share Posted December 29, 2010 When I graduate and can wear a longer white coat, I want to get one in a "duster" pattern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmj11 Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 When I graduate and can wear a longer white coat, I want to get one in a "duster" pattern. That one must work well in the ER so you can "pack heat" yourself for a little protection :>) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopefulPA Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Well in all seriousness! If your program doesnt provide you with a long white coat at graduation then I would get a coat that is simular in length and style to what is worn at your place of employment. Who knows you might not even need to wear a lab coat. I would not work anywhere that "required" me to wear a short white coat. I worked too damn hard for my long coat and forcing midlevels to wear short white coats tells me they don't have much respect for midlevel providers. Short coats are for students and nonpractioners. That is my opinion for whatever it is worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted December 30, 2010 Administrator Share Posted December 30, 2010 That one must work well in the ER so you can "pack heat" yourself for a little protection :>) Eh, most of the folks I know in Healthcare who carry concealed on a regular basis are pharmacists, who don't have the benefit of, oh, cops hanging around much of the time and security guards watching the entrances... (Besides, if you're going to be carrying concealed, the last thing you want to do is LOOK like you're carrying a concealed firearm.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightbearer06 Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 I had read a few months back that white coats actually harbor bacteria and that, for this reason, some country in Europe was looking at banning them in the hospitals. Don't remember exactly where I read this but my thought was whether the hospitals had looked at banning clothes in general as it makes since that any clothing would be a fomite. Just what we need, a bunch of naked physicians and PA's walking around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted December 30, 2010 Administrator Share Posted December 30, 2010 I've seen the same thing re: silk ties. Unlike white coats, however, ties aren't easy to send to the laundry... I don't think most providers from an EMS background have a problem understanding the need to frequently sanitize our working wear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acebecker Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 I've seen the same thing re: silk ties. Unlike white coats, however, ties aren't easy to send to the laundry... I don't think most providers from an EMS background have a problem understanding the need to frequently sanitize our working wear. EXACTLY. There are a number of arguments both for and against the white coat. Bottom line: if you're going to wear one, have at least 3 so you can afford to wash them frequently. And budget for replacements. Personally, I am in favor of the white coat for several reasons. First, as students, it establishes some sort of rapport with the patient and can make them feel at least a little bit at ease even though they're working with a student. Second, in professional practice, it has a long history of respectability. Third, there is an unspoken authority that comes with the white coat and as such a patient can be put at ease by the very presence of someone in a white coat. Of course, there are many abuses that can come with that authority and, in fact, this is where the main objection to the white coat lies - people can abuse it and, sometimes, it will make the patient uncomfortable. In the end, I think we as providers need to take the white coat seriously so as to not abuse it and to be sensitive to our patients level of comfort. I know this isn't a debate about white coats, but IMO it's an interesting one and I wanted to bring it up. Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guthriesm Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 I'm with PAMAC - after my years in the lab, I look at white coats and shudder. I'll wear one when required but if I can avoid it in my job, that would be my preference. They get very dirty and while they *can* be cleaned, I've rarely seen people clean their coats more than once or twice a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guthriesm Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 One can observe religious needs without potentially transmitting stuff- the religions I know of that require modest dress are also accepting of long sleeved shirts that do not drag in the sleeve. If the shirt is to the wrist and some what form fitting, it should be fine. I never wear a lab coat outside of the lab and I am pretty fanatical about washing my hands and requiring caregivers to wash theirs. The only other concern I have about not wearing one- a provider still goes in and out of rooms where airborne items can linger. I was appalled to see people who go into restricted rooms without their protective items because they were just "popping" their head in for a quick question or something. Also odd- visitors of patients on restriction were not required to wear the PPE (think parents with sick kids) and then they got to walk all around the cafeterias, gift shops, etc. Eeewww Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJKitty Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 Also odd- visitors of patients on restriction were not required to wear the PPE (think parents with sick kids) and then they got to walk all around the cafeterias, gift shops, etc. Eeewww Whaaaaaaaat. Seriously, that policy needs to be changed. What is the point of PPE if visitors are exempt from wearing them? We get an occasional visitor who "forgets" to put on the isolation gown on our unit, but we do try to enforce it for everyone who steps in the room. However, there are loopholes... if a pt is going off unit for an xray, for example, they put on the extra gown but often don't close the back so technically they are having direct contact with the wheelchair. I just hope they wipe down the seat after each use (sadly, doubtful). :| On another note, it feels like a losing battle to keep equipment and rooms sterile a lot of the time. My hospital recently implemented a new policy where we have to wipe down the entire eagle monitor between each patient (not just the pieces that touch them, like the pulse ox). Not that I don't appreciate the effort, but honestly, my scrubs are bringing in more germs than the monitor screen that never contacts the patient. It just slows us down and is wasting a lot of cleaning products... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guthriesm Posted January 1, 2011 Share Posted January 1, 2011 On another note, it feels like a losing battle to keep equipment and rooms sterile a lot of the time. My hospital recently implemented a new policy where we have to wipe down the entire eagle monitor between each patient (not just the pieces that touch them, like the pulse ox). Not that I don't appreciate the effort, but honestly, my scrubs are bringing in more germs than the monitor screen that never contacts the patient. It just slows us down and is wasting a lot of cleaning products... Airborne viruses can reach monitors. I agree it is remote but with nosocomial infections being so severe, it really is worth it. Fortunately for me, our environmental services team were amazingly patient and cleaned EVERY nook and cranny. Yes, all of the staff agreed it was very weird that we would go in with full PPE but the parents did not have to follow it. This was the first hospital I'd worked at where that was the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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