Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette!
Today's video is a dressing guide for doctors and what to wear as a physician if you like
a classic wardrobe.
Basically, you have three things to consider.
It's the employer's guidelines, it's your personal preference, and the patient's perception.
So does the physician's attire really matter?
According to studies, the answer is yes.
First impressions are alive and well and if you want it or not, people perceive the first
impression they get from what they wear and how people look.
Based on what people see, they immediately judge how trustworthy you are, how competent
you are, how smart you are, and even how much you earn.
For doctors, that perception goes even deeper because of you profession, people have a higher
degree of trust and expect more of a professionalism than with other people.
On top of that, dressing the part helps you to visually set yourself apart so when you
enter a room, it's clear that you're the doctor, not the patient, not the nurse, or anyone
else.
For example, the Mayo clinic did a case study and they came to the conclusion that they
want professional attire for all of their doctors.
They believe it conveys professionalism, expertise, and even though it's not universally loved,
it helps the mayo clinic to cement its standard as a world class medical institution.
So what physicians wear in the US can be very different from Germany.
As you may know, I'm from Germany, and doctors there traditionally wear all white.
That means white lab coat, white pants, white shirt, sometimes even a white jacket, white
socks, and white shoes.
That may sound very impractical as it gets dirty very quickly but it is just a tradition
and it is still respected by many institutions and doctors.
In other countries like UK, a study in 2007 suggested for doctors not to wear ties because
of hygienic reasons.
That being said, if you want to wear a tie, go for it, just make sure that you use a tie
clip or a tie bar and you can learn all about this accessory in this video, here.
When in doubt and you don't know what to wear, going a notch up is always better than going
a notch down because it adds that additional professional appearance that represents you
as a doctor and the institution you work for.
So what should you wear as a doctor?
First of all, if your organization has a strict dress code in place, follow that and don't
try to step outside of those boundaries.
If a BBE policy or bare below the elbows policy is in place, of course, you have to skip the
jackets and the long sleeve dress shirts.
Now, you can either go with a polo shirt or you can have a dress shirt with the sleeves
rolled up.
Personally, I'm not a big fan of short sleeved shirts, however, if that's what works best
in your situation, go for it.
If all you need in white is a lab coat, you can wear a 2pc suit even a 3pc suit which
helps to keep your tie in if you wear one.
You should always wear a tie with a 3pc suit.
If you go with a 2pc suit, you can go with a bow tie or a tie, or you can skip it altogether,
it really depends on your preference.
Overall, wearing a suit or an odd jacket combination is the epitome of a professional outfit for
a doctor.
I know Dr. Andre Churchwell and he always dresses in flamboyant suits but it suits him
really well.
if you find that's a little over the top for you, does not make you comfortable, don't
wear a suit.
Instead, you can wear an outfit combination with an odd jacket such as chinos and a sport
coat, or a blazer or a suit jacket.
To learn more about chinos in general or a blazer, please check out these guides on the
website here.
If you plan to spend the day in your lab coat, it really pays to invest in a number of different
dress shirts because they will be the backbone of your doctor's wardrobe.
Of course, white works but it should not be slightly off-white that clash with your lab
coat so you can go with something like I'm wearing here right now which is a check shirt,
you can go with stripes, and if you easily overheat and your workplace is warm, I suggest
you go with double cuffs and go with button or barrel cuffs because they make you feel
less warm.
Traditionally, I always favor shirts without a chest pocket, however, as a doctor, it may
come in handy to have a pocket that you need because function is more important than style
in that regard and so you can go with a chest pocket if you use it.
As you know, a work day can be really long and so it pays to invest in quality shoes.
Now, a lot of doctors wear tennis shoes and there are different ranges of what you can
wear.
I personally find goodyear welted shoes extremely comfortable even if I wear them all day long
because they have a cork bed, they are extremely elegant.
If you want to go all white, you can even find white buck skin wingtips that work very
well for doctors, otherwise, you can go with just a regular oxford or even better, derby
shoes because of the open lacing system, they are usually more comfortable when you wear
them for longer times.
The great advantage of leather shoes with the leather or linen lining compared to tennis
shoes is that it absorbs the sweat much better and your foot will be much more comfortable
throughout the day.
That aside, a pair of leather dress shoes makes you look instantly more competent and
professional.
As you might have noticed, I"m wearing a bow tie here right now and bow ties are better
for doctors than regular neckties because they stay up at all times so no matter if
you quickly lean over a patient or there is maybe an open wound, having the bow tie up
here never interferes.
If you have a tie clip,it may come loose.
If you have a vest, it may slip out but usually, if you do it right and you maybe even tuck
in the tie into your waistband, you should be fine.
A vest is also much better than a tie clip simply because it covers a lot bigger part
of your tie, at the same time, it's an extra leyer of fabric and it may make you overheat
especially if you have to run and work hard physically so the choice is yours of course.
Personally, I find bow ties are perfect for doctors because one, they don't interfere
with your day to day work and b, they make you stand out from all the others instantly.
Apart from that, accessories are one of the easiest ways to upgrade the look of your outfit.
I'd always suggest you wear a pocket square if you wear a jacket because it just rounds
up the look.
While boutonnieres can really change the entire look of your outfit, I suggest you stay clear
of them because they may look foolish to some patients and on top of that, they may be crushed
under your lab coat.
So if you want to wear flowers, keep it at more casual times and outside of the workplace.
If you wear white shoes and white pants, it helps to wear white socks.
I suggest to go with white over the calf socks in cotton because they absorb sweat and help
keep you comfortable all day.
So as a conclusion, the best thing you can do as a doctor is to always put in the extra
effort and dress in the way that makes you look more professional.If a suit is too much,
go with a combination.
If you can't wear jackets, go with dress shirts and roll up sleeves or short sleeved shirts
and try to accessorize what you have and always go with neckwear especially a bow tie because
it sets you apart from others and it does not interfere with your work.
In today's video, I'm wearing a typical outfit that you could wear as a doctor.
It starts with a dress shirt with barrel cuffs with buttons so I don't overheat.
I have a madder silk bow tie from Fort Belvedere in green with a micro pattern.
It's a green sport coat that's part of the suit, single-breasted because it keeps me
cooler than a double breasted jacket.
Then I'm wearing a pair of chinos in a classic sand tone, they have cuffs so they hang nicely.
I like larger cuffs but it's simply my personal preference.
I combined it with a pair of shadow striped socks in brown and blue by Fort Belvedere.
The blue picks up the tones in my dress shirt.
The brown picks up the tones in my dark brown shoes with my cognac shoe laces and they are
a classic pair of wingtip shoes that are Goodyear welted and comfortable all day and they have
a leather lining and a cork insole which is really comfortable.
My pocket square is an english silk pocket square that is printed, it has tones of blue,
green, brown, and red so it ties my entire outfit together.
All the accessories that I'm wearing here could be found in the shop.
I could easily swap out this coat with a regular blazer or even maybe a light grey coat, maybe
even a brown coat.
All looks good and works and you can basically choose what you like.
If you want to wear a patterned sport coat, I suggest you wear a solid shirt.
That's really all you have you have to pay attention to.
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so stay tuned!