Friday, July 21, 2006

Tie or no tie

Following up on yesterday, aside from the heat, we had great weather. I left my pager at home. I left my cell phone at home. I was pleasantly inaccessible to the world. Just me, and golf, and good friends. Just a great time to escape from real life for a little while....

Somewhere on the 18th hole, after many adult beverages (if you know what I mean), we had a knock-out-drag-out yelling discussion about doctor attire. Last Friday, we had a great discussion on whether docs should wear lab coats. And, that's initially how our discussion started yesterday. Then, someone in our group mentioned wearing a tie and a lab coat during office hours. Last week, here's what Dream Mom said about neck ties:
Also, I still like it when the docs wear a tie to work-doesn't matter if it's a bow tie or regular tie. Call me old fashioned, but I like it. As for the female docs, it wouldn't hurt to put a little make up on from time to time; some of the female docs look liked they just got out of bed.
As our discussion got more heated yesterday, someone in our group made reference to this study which stated that neckties carry germs. I think that's a cop-out. Personally, I like the neck tie - Maybe not every single day (like the lab coat). But, for me, most of the time, I wear a tie.
What do you think? Which do you prefer? Tie or no tie....

Update: Nurse Ratched's Place just posted an interesting commentary called "Do You Remember When" which also talks about nursing attire:
Do you remember when you HAD to wear a white dress, white nylons and nursing shoes, and a nurse's cap? The dress was hard to keep white (you know what I mean), the nylons were uncomfortable and would run, and the hat was always getting tangled up in IV tubing while you were counting those infernal drops. At the end of my shift, I looked more like a bag lady than an angel of mercy.

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hands down--wear a tie. ;o) (glad you had fun yesterday--you seem refreshed!)

Cathy said...

yep, wear a tie. They look so professional. for God sake just don't wear suspender's. I saw a doc this week that had on suspenders.

GaffLady said...

wear a tie. although i have heard wonderful stories about interns dipping their ties into full bedpans while listening to lung sounds. just be careful.

Dr. A said...

What's wrong with suspenders? I don't wear them personally, but just curious.

Lea said...

I love a doc in a bow tie, they are just adorable! And with those, you do not have to worry about it dragging in a bed pan.

Cathy said...

It is probably just me but I don't like them Dr. A.

When I see a man wearing them I always think of my husband getting ready to play golf on Wednesday nights.

This was a man I always saw looking sharp in a police uniform. When off duty he always wore normal clothes. Then one day he came from the bedroom on a Wednesday afternoon before leaving and asked me in a dead serious voice..."Do I look like a dork like this?" He had on a golf shirt, shorts and suspenders. He looked worse than a dork. He also looked about 90 years old dressed that way. I have never gotten that image out of my head. Whenever I see a man in suspender's that is what I think about.

Anonymous said...

Okay ... I'm the hold out.

1) I don't like "dress up" clothes - on anyone. I like to be comfortable, and for the people I have to deal with to be comfortable. When I see a Doc in a tie ... and he's sticking his finger between his collar and his neck, it just makes me want to tell him: "For God's sake ... lose the tie!"

That said, I'm not impressed with shorts or blue jeans in an office setting, but casual shirt and pants look comfy, and make me comfy when I look at them.

2) For the ladies - makeup. I don't like that, either. I don't wear any, and to me, it just makes a person look artificial. I would rather not see makeup on a doc.

3) Suspenders? I like suspenders well enough ... but not as a fashion statement, at least, not from a guy. I would rather see suspenders than saggy drawers, though. *LOL*

Now that I've made all of those statements ... I want to add a few conditionals ...

Both ties and suspenders are OK if you can "pull off" wearing real "eye bogglers" without cracking yourself up. It makes you more approachable.

I have a terrible time dealing with docs in an office setting - but if I walk in, and see that he's wearing a Snoopy tie, or something equally as humorous and unexpected, it's going to go a long ways toward making me feel more relaxed and open. It'll act as a wonderful ice breaker. A doc who can make me laugh in an uncomfortable setting has won me heart and soul! ;o)

HVS said...

Tie.
If I have to be there, I want to be looking at something good.(Scrubs are also ok, but only if you look like George Clooney)

Wrkinprogress said...

Be clean, be professional, be compassionate. Other than that, I don't care. :)

Mother Jones RN said...

I like this discussion. It reminds me of the great “boxers or briefs” debate. I love seeing a man in a bow tie. It looks very professional.

GaffLady said...

please do not put suspenders on!! big no no.

Dr. A said...

Ok, no suspenders....

I've never tried a bow tie before. Do they have clip-ons? That's the only way I wear ties -- HA!

Boxers or briefs? No comment. Hey, can't a guy have some privacy? Just kidding...

Good discussion today!

The Domesticator said...

I prefer it when a doc wears a tie. I think it is much more professional looking. I don't like it when a doctor comes in and looks sloppy....

NeoNurseChic said...

Man what is it with all this animosity towards suspenders? I always thought they look cute on the right person!

We have two doctors that wear bow ties - but they are both about 70 years old. They are totally my favorite doctors to work with, too! One is a pediatric endocrinologist and the other is a pediatric geneticist. They're so awesome...everyone smiles when they come up to the unit. Every parent loves them. Every nurse loves to work with them. The residents all want to rotate with them. Is it the bowtie? I doubt it....but it does make me smile mainly because they look like they stepped out of the 1920s!!

My neuro wears a labcoat. My int med doc and rheumy are both female and very often wear dresses and heels to work...that looks painfully uncomfortable to me, but that's their style. Personally, I think you should go with whatever makes you comfortable. If you feel comfortable, then your patients are going to feel more comfortable. I truly believe that. Now we do have an attending that wears a tye dye shirt to work and then will throw on a lab coat or scrub top over it....that's well...no comment.

As for makeup? I dread the day when makeup is required. I've only recently started to wear it more often, but I didn't wear a drop of makeup for years and my mom was always yelling at me to put on makeup. Bleh. Half the nurses I know don't wear makeup either. When you're working in a hospital running around with baby puke on you, changing diapers left and right, cleaning up blood and everything else that we do, frankly makeup is about the farthest thing from my mind! Only my mother has ever said to me, "You should be wearing makeup." If I mention it to friends at work, they just tell me I'm fine without it...and one nurse in the ER once said, "You'll know the day you need to wear makeup!" haha

Yes it's important to look professional but if my (male) doctor came in wearing khakis and a polo, it would not bother me in the slightest. If my (female) doctor came in wearing nice pants and a sweater or top and had flats on, I'd think that NOW she is dressed to be on her feet all day! ;)

Carrie :)

Cathy said...

What I want to know is what is with these "white clogs" I have been seeing male doctors wearing? I don't see them so much locally but I do at the big academic hospital. I figure there has to be a reason for it. Surely it can't be a fashion statement.

jumpinginpuddles said...

what is it with doctors and golf :O

NeoNurseChic said...

Hey what's wrong with clogs? I have these in both black and brown. I don't wear them often because my knees and back do better in sneakers than in clogs, but I do like to wear them! The ER and OR is where I first saw them really catching on in men and women. I worked in the ER when I got my first pair.

Of course, they are banned in our nursing school. The primary idea is to ban backless clogs, but since these are still technically clogs, they were banned, too. That's why I don't have a pair in white. I have white sneakers from school instead. The instructors said that when emergencies occurred, people were kicking off their clogs to go running down the halls, which is why they started to be banned. That imagery is rather funny. I tend to turn my ankles more easily in the clogs than in regular shoes. I have a problem with the ones people are wearing nowadays that have all these holes in them. I know even the professional clogs would be useless against a needle falling down or blood spilling, etc, but shoes with holes in them in the hospital? What next? I get to start wearing my flip flops to work? ;)

Dreaming again said...

I like the suspender look too. Tie ...depends on the person wearing it. Fun ties are always great.

I heard my psychiatrist wore a bow tie the other day ...that's just wrong. But, you'd have to see him anyway, he already looks like a cartoon character. The bow tie must have increased that look.

Cathy B said...

I'm all for ties. Here in Manila, all doctors of distinction wear ties. Practically mandatory, except on a Saturday.

HP said...

Wrkinprogress said it for me. Be clean, be professional, be compassionate. Couldn't say it better than that except maybe to add a sense of humour always gets my vote.

Cathy said...

Nothings wrong with them Carrie. lol.. I just wasn't expecting this big well known surgeon (man) to come clunking down the hall in a pair of snow white open heeled clogs. It amused me to the point of almost not being able to take him serious.

NeoNurseChic said...

Cathy,

That would most certainly amuse me as well! I would think black clogs with backs would be a little more "manly" than backless snow white clogs!! LMAO!!

Carrie :)

Anonymous said...

I like fun ties that show your personality... like one that has the periodic table if you lke chemistry or one that was signed by all of your friends, etc...

They show you're not a stiff, add a little spice to a 'dressier' outfit'

Awesome Mom said...

If you are wearing a shirt with a collar wear a tie.

Anonymous said...

Im with those that said comfy and clean... Im not big on being formal... they should be able to do the causual dress i mean come on docs are working all day give them a break and at least let them be comfortable!!!! So long as their clean who cares how fancy they get... but that's just me. Although the funny cloths are a hoot and work as a great ice breaker!!!

Anonymous said...

Personaly, I think that how you dress as a doc really depends on your patient demographics and specialty.

If your patient population is primarly geriatric, a crisp white shirt, conservitive tie and white long coat is preferred. If pediatrics is your field then casual with cartoon ties or scrubs may be better.

Additionally, people want a doc that they can relate to. If you practice in a rural, or lower socieoeconomic area a more casual look may work to your advantage and by contrast, if you are in a more affluent area you better bust out your brooks brothers!

Anonymous said...

I think that anytime you are more comfortable at work, you do your job better. It is fun to have a lot of discussions like this in the mens forum section at www.medsocial.com