When I worked in the NHS, our coats were far from white because we used to write on them, in magic marker, things like specimen numbers, doctors and nurses names, phone numbers etc. that we had to deal with queries about. I was always impressed that the laundry managed to get them pristine white again.
Of course this was just us sloppy men - female techs carried useful things like notebooks (paper) and biros.
And nowadays in the NHS you will be hard-pressed to spot a white coat - people wear ordinary clothes, scrubs, or nurses uniforms. At least that's my impression as a recent in-patient.
OJFord 8 minutes ago [-]
> And nowadays in the NHS you will be hard-pressed to spot a white coat - people wear ordinary clothes, scrubs, or nurses uniforms. At least that's my impression as a recent in-patient.
Yeah, they were banned in the name of hygiene (sleeve length) not that long ago. 2007 in England & 2014 in Scotland I think.
The BMA has some lingering objection to it from what I understand, but since Covid they're all in scrubs anyway. If they want prestige and distinction from nurses/PAs it would probably make more sense to do differently coloured scrubs, as they do in some US TV shows (but not all; no idea about reality).
infinitewars 23 minutes ago [-]
Did you write on them because a notebook could cross contaminate while the coats are sterilized safely? Did you wash the markers?
I wonder how people handle this now? With IP68 tablets, you can probably just dunk the whole thing in alcohol.
(Also thanks for sharing such an interesting anecdote)
mock-possum 6 minutes ago [-]
> Of course this was just us sloppy men - female techs…
What an odd thing to say
manarth 1 hours ago [-]
> "our coats were white because we used to write on them"
It's hard to tell whether this is a deliberately trolling statement, a fantastical Walter Mitty style statement, or something else.
Coats weren't white for anyone to write on, and clinical staff didn't routinely write on their clothes.
zabzonk 1 hours ago [-]
> Coats weren't white for anyone to write on, and clinical staff didn't routinely write on their clothes.
I wasn't a medic, I was a microbiologist. And I can assure you we did write all over them.
manarth 56 minutes ago [-]
> "I can assure you we did write all over them"
You and your colleagues deliberately chose to carry a magic-marker (and no paper), in order to deliberately write on your clothes, rather than the more simple expedient of paper and pen/pencil?
This seems irrational, inexpedient, and inappropriate for anyone delivering any aspect of medical care.
zabzonk 45 minutes ago [-]
Yes, we did all that - we had to carry markers to label culture media in containers such as petri dishes and universal containers. You can easily misplace a notepad, but its hard to lose your labcoat.
I did say we were sloppy.
We were not in contact with any patients and at least in the UK, no-one that is ever wears a white coat these days.
I find it somewhat offensive that I am lying and/or unprofessional about this.
manarth 30 minutes ago [-]
> I find it somewhat offensive that I am lying and/or unprofessional about this.
It's an extraordinary claim, which usually would require extraordinary proof.
I've also worked in UK healthcare, albeit in a patient-facing role rather than a back-office or technician role.
The whole process would raise so many questions.
> "You can easily misplace a notepad, but its hard to lose your labcoat"
Surely if notes were taken on a labcoat, these would then have to be copied into a more permanent form? As you've said, the coats are washed, which makes the coat a very short-term data-storage device.
I have a whole bunch of white t-shirts, and wear a white t-shirt pretty much every day. It's never once occurred to me to write an appointment-time, a phone number, or a shopping-list on my t-shirt.
throwaway173738 17 minutes ago [-]
I don’t find it hard to believe. I’ve written tons of notes on my arms and hands when working product support. When I briefly framed houses we would do all our math and diagramming on lumber. Either studs in the wall or scraps from the floor. You write on whatever you have handy.
infinitewars 21 minutes ago [-]
I think it makes sense, notebooks are hard to sterilize.
manarth 11 minutes ago [-]
> notebooks are hard to sterilize
Washing / sterilizing the lab coat has the same effect as erasing the data written on it.
There isn't a library of lab coats which contain notes written on them, for future consultation.
A notepad page is also easier to permanently sterilize (via incineration) than a lab coat.
ashwinnair99 1 hours ago [-]
Never thought about this. The kind of question that sounds trivial until you actually try to answer it
icapybara 2 hours ago [-]
So they can see spills easily
ErroneousBosh 2 hours ago [-]
"It's just you've got mustard on your... right there, on the..."
42 minutes ago [-]
hx8 2 hours ago [-]
> The real driver of white lab coats was the hygienist movement.
This is a really compelling read with several historical sources, with a title that can be answered in a single sentence buried deep in the article. I'm a little sad to see such quality writing with a title that could be mistaken for a slop blog post.
the_af 1 hours ago [-]
Well, you need a hook to get readers to start reading.
And it is an interesting article well worth the time spent reading it, so no harm done.
JohnnyLarue 57 minutes ago [-]
[dead]
Rendered at 16:46:43 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) with Vercel.
Of course this was just us sloppy men - female techs carried useful things like notebooks (paper) and biros.
And nowadays in the NHS you will be hard-pressed to spot a white coat - people wear ordinary clothes, scrubs, or nurses uniforms. At least that's my impression as a recent in-patient.
Yeah, they were banned in the name of hygiene (sleeve length) not that long ago. 2007 in England & 2014 in Scotland I think.
The BMA has some lingering objection to it from what I understand, but since Covid they're all in scrubs anyway. If they want prestige and distinction from nurses/PAs it would probably make more sense to do differently coloured scrubs, as they do in some US TV shows (but not all; no idea about reality).
I wonder how people handle this now? With IP68 tablets, you can probably just dunk the whole thing in alcohol.
(Also thanks for sharing such an interesting anecdote)
What an odd thing to say
Coats weren't white for anyone to write on, and clinical staff didn't routinely write on their clothes.
I wasn't a medic, I was a microbiologist. And I can assure you we did write all over them.
This seems irrational, inexpedient, and inappropriate for anyone delivering any aspect of medical care.
I did say we were sloppy.
We were not in contact with any patients and at least in the UK, no-one that is ever wears a white coat these days.
I find it somewhat offensive that I am lying and/or unprofessional about this.
The whole process would raise so many questions.
Surely if notes were taken on a labcoat, these would then have to be copied into a more permanent form? As you've said, the coats are washed, which makes the coat a very short-term data-storage device.I have a whole bunch of white t-shirts, and wear a white t-shirt pretty much every day. It's never once occurred to me to write an appointment-time, a phone number, or a shopping-list on my t-shirt.
There isn't a library of lab coats which contain notes written on them, for future consultation.
A notepad page is also easier to permanently sterilize (via incineration) than a lab coat.
This is a really compelling read with several historical sources, with a title that can be answered in a single sentence buried deep in the article. I'm a little sad to see such quality writing with a title that could be mistaken for a slop blog post.
And it is an interesting article well worth the time spent reading it, so no harm done.