Re: Put your ties back on: scruffy doctors damage our reputation and indicate a decline in hygiene
I find myself in full agreement with Dr Dancer.
When I was a junior doctor we all received a freshly laundered white coat every morning. It was smart, hygienic and served as an item of personal protective equipment. As far as I know we are the only country in the developed world where the white coat is not worn in some form or other by staff.
This practice was abandoned after the Thames Valley University's Epic 2 publication. It is interesting to note that the study does not mention 'bare below the elbows' and quotes the level of evidence for nearly all its recommendations on nail varnish, jewellery and so on as Class D, i.e. evidence level 3 or 4.
However the powers that be decided that 'something must be done' to give the public reassurance after the bad publicity attendant upon the rise in hospital acquired infection, so the white coat and bare below the elbows' was chosen as a good, visible thing to do despite the total lack of evidence that this would be of any benefit.
Now we have the situation where staff wear their own clothes, often washed at 30 degrees celsius so who knows what the level of contamination remaining is, and nurses have to wash their own uniforms as the hospital will no longer do so.
Nowadays I usually wear scrubs on the wards as my practice is based in the operating theatres. However if I visit the wards after a meeting or other event, I wear a suit and tie. If I want to examine a patient I remove my jacket, tuck my tie in to my shirt and roll up my sleeves. I can then wash my hands properly, and look smart afterwards.
Rapid Response:
Re: Put your ties back on: scruffy doctors damage our reputation and indicate a decline in hygiene
I find myself in full agreement with Dr Dancer.
When I was a junior doctor we all received a freshly laundered white coat every morning. It was smart, hygienic and served as an item of personal protective equipment. As far as I know we are the only country in the developed world where the white coat is not worn in some form or other by staff.
This practice was abandoned after the Thames Valley University's Epic 2 publication. It is interesting to note that the study does not mention 'bare below the elbows' and quotes the level of evidence for nearly all its recommendations on nail varnish, jewellery and so on as Class D, i.e. evidence level 3 or 4.
However the powers that be decided that 'something must be done' to give the public reassurance after the bad publicity attendant upon the rise in hospital acquired infection, so the white coat and bare below the elbows' was chosen as a good, visible thing to do despite the total lack of evidence that this would be of any benefit.
Now we have the situation where staff wear their own clothes, often washed at 30 degrees celsius so who knows what the level of contamination remaining is, and nurses have to wash their own uniforms as the hospital will no longer do so.
Nowadays I usually wear scrubs on the wards as my practice is based in the operating theatres. However if I visit the wards after a meeting or other event, I wear a suit and tie. If I want to examine a patient I remove my jacket, tuck my tie in to my shirt and roll up my sleeves. I can then wash my hands properly, and look smart afterwards.
I wish I still had a white coat though.
Competing interests: No competing interests