After shooting the stars already, I have an idea of what you are thinking of, ruminating on, and trying to solve, I mean after getting admitted to medical school, settled down and started attending classes. Yes! It’s how to dress as a medical student.
Why?
You don’t want to look sophisticated or old-fashioned.
If you are looking for the best medical student attire to rock in school that will make you appear both classy and professional, then this article is for you.
How To Dress As A Medical Student
There is always an iota of professionalism when it comes to the medical school dress code.
Whatever it is you wear, there should be something called professionalism giving out the best aura in your dressing.
Medical courses are highly respected as a profession in society and therefore both the working class and the students are always expected to dress professionally and as simply as possible.
What Should a Medical Student Wear?
As stated earlier, the professional medical student attire should always be considered, looking simple and having everything in order.
You don’t just wear anything to classes just to please the taste of your fashion and that of ethics!
There are different costumes for your dressing when going to classes and when going to hospitals or any other clinical encounters.
In medical school, there are two types of medical classes. We have the Pre clinical classes and the Clinical classes.
Preclinical classes are the introductory parts. Here, Students have no clinical encounters, just receiving lectures in class and doing some practicals in the laboratory.
Clinical classes involve clinical encounters, more voluminous works, and practical classes in laboratories and dressing are necessarily professional and simple.
Medical Students Attire for Preclinical Classes
Preclinical Students can dress anyhow when going to classes as long as it’s as simple as possible.
There is no reason for heavy costumes or heavy jewelry.
Even wearing jeans is allowed as far as you are still battling with your preclinical classes.
However, preclinical Students can also decide to look formal and professional.
So, you can wear something like a button-down shirt, trousers and shoes (always flat shoes or sneakers), especially when going to Practical classes.
Some said wearing suits look highly sophisticated for preclinical classes! Well, not really sophisticated but I don’t go for that too.
You can keep grooming your taste during preclinical classes and enjoy the moment. So, you don’t need sophisticated as regarded.
Medical School Dress Code For Clinical Classes
This is where the saga begins and the confusion sometimes comes along.
You don’t need to get confused.
Just always make everything looks as modest as possible.
You can see I keep saying “simple always”, and “looking modest”.
Why? It’s because too much of everything is bad!
As a medical student, you have to dress giving the best aura of your professionalism. Wearing jeans and shorts is not allowed not even when going to class!
Medical Student Dress Code For Classes
Professional clothes are necessary here.
Then, you have to change your wardrobe! Button-up shirts as said before, trousers, professional blouses, and tops should be always considered and now wearing suits is not weird. It is professional.
Another important thing to put into consideration is wearing clothes that don’t expose your body, not even a low-cut neckline.
Also, your white laboratory coat is not an indispensable costume too.
You need it and you must have it whether it is being provided by your school or you are going to buy it. You just have to get one. It’s important!
Medical School Dress Code For Clinical Rotations
Medical Students when going to hospitals for clinical rotations and practicals usually in Teaching Hospitals are expected to wear lab coats on top of whatever they are putting on or just their medical scrubs.
There are some medical schools that have selected design and color scrubs for students while some teaching hospitals provide ones.
Related: Best labcoat designs for medical students
5 Important Tips to Help You Look Good as a Medical Student
There are four important things you need to know to finalize the right dress code for medical students.
After getting aware of these four important tips, you can develop good confidence in your dressing as a medical student. They are discussed below:
1. Avoid Strong perfumes or any other thing that gives a strong scent
You are medical students and you should not go about hospital wards with a repulsive smell from perfumes.
Strong perfumes and any other strong scents are one of the factors that may disturb your interaction with patients in the wards and clinics. Besides some patients may be allergic to whatever chemical in such sprays. So it is even best not to use perfumes at all.
2. Minimal or no jewelry when necessary
You are going to your school teaching hospital or for practical classes and you are still using your heavy gold-coated chain wrist watches, long dancing earrings, dangling necklace, nose studs and other unnecessary Jewelry?
Then, you aren’t dressing like a medical student. When necessary, you can skip everything called Jewelry to avoid any kind of accident, inconvenience, and even loss when going for any clinical encounters.
So, have it at the back of your mind that you should always consider the minimum and modest Jewelry and when necessary none.
3. Wearing Of Name Tag
Most medical students don’t wear their name tags. Some drop it on their bags, some in their pockets while few wear it.
You are always advised to wear your name tag in an easily seen and identified. Hang it in a way everybody can see it, and easily identify you as a medical student and as one of them. You don’t want to get embarrassed one day!
4. Avoidance of colored, unkempt, or too long hair
For how many hours do you think you will be comfortable with that your long hair when going to hospitals or laboratories?
Aside being exposed to clinical accidents, your convenience is the price to pay and your dignity as a medical student.
You can have a hair color as fast as it’s something reasonable, not something that looks unkempt, long, and flashing doing nothing than satisfying fashion.
In as much as you have these four important tips in your heart and you are always putting them into action and consideration. Then, your dressing as a medical student is nothing but professional and lovely.
5. Getting Your Personal Scrubs
I am sure you want to know why this is necessary after buying one from a school, hospital, or from any other reliable source. Yes! It’s necessary.
Remember that scrubs of yours are for your clinical encounters. Why don’t you get one for your personal use?
This is not obligatory but it’s advisable with reasons.
One, you have the opportunity to get the scrubs of your taste, nothing like your school color or design, just get something comfortable and nice when it comes to your sense of fashion.
Additional Tips On Medical Student Dressing Code
The following are additional tips you should embrace as a medical student.
- You don’t wear something tight, it’s dangerous and uncomfortable neither must your cloth be too loose.
- Always dress as simple and as professional as possible with cool and not too flashy colors
- Tattoo when pierced on exposed skin isn’t allowed. You can have a tattoo pierced where nobody sees it.
- Wearing jeans and shorts isn’t appropriate and allowed.
Related: Can you have tattoos as a doctor?
Conclusion
The dress code for medical students to some people is one of the difficult things they find hard to fulfill.
You have always seen people complaining about medical students looking unkempt because of their voluminous work and looking nothing good and fashionable.
As a medical student, nobody is telling you to look unkempt and disregard the thing called fashion. However, you can make both work perfectly without savaging your medical student attire.
There are schools with a particular medical school dress code and that means from Monday to Friday, you have to wear the same thing with your laboratory coat.
To most, that means hell! “Wearing the same thing always” but you don’t have to make it hell as seen by people. You can let it blend together with your fashion taste including your foot wears which are always shoes and sneakers and other factors to be considered.
I hope this article is helpful to you. Always remember the five important tips in the dress code for medical students and trust me, you will have no problem with either your school, costume, or any other professional ends you must meet! Don’t forget as a medical student, it’s worth it!