After diligently shrugging on my white coat for pretty much every single day throughout my entire residency, I abandoned my coat the minute I graduated. I haven’t worn one at all since I’ve been an attending. Here’s why: 1) No other physicians I work with wear a white coat, except for the weird ones… 2) They get dirty so easily. And of course, they show every speck of dirt because obviously they are white. Duh. My white coat from residency retired with a layer of indelible grime on the sleeves and hemline. I have to believe white coats are incredibly unsanitary. 3) If you are a female, you cannot pee while wearing a white coat. If you keep it on, you risk dipping it in the toilet. That is a fact. If you take it off, where are you supposed to put it? On the nonexistent hook on the stall door? On the floor?? 4) While it was nice having the pocket space, I think the sheer number of things I always kept in the pockets was contributing to neck pain. 5) The white coat does absolutely nothing to decrease the number of patients who call me “nurse”. I do keep my white coat around, mostly in case the air-conditioner goes crazy and I need an extra layer of clothing. But I can’t really see going back to wearing it regularly. What do you think? Should doctors wear their white coats? source
