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.
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.
> 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.
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.
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.
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.