Good article from Slate
Why do doctors wear white lab coats? Because they say “science”.
Author: David M. Lesseps Lvl 10 Mage
I'm French-Irish-American hybrid living in SF, married to a Irish-American gal from New Hampshire. I have a son named after my hometown in Texas; he was born in the year of the Monkey (me--the Dog.) I went to school to learn how to stick needles into people in order to make them feel better. I'm broke, in-debt, and pay too much rent for a <strike>one-bedroom</strike> two-bedroom apartment. I have health insurance but owe about $2000 in medical bills and believe that CA will make my life, and others like me, more comfortable. I also have about 20 kilos of puer tea aging in a red metal cabinet -- I plan to drink it all before my days are over.
Thanks for posting this Dave
Kind of amazing that the AMA wants to do away with the lab coats. Seems it took concern over the lab coats’ role in spreading infection to make the shift, but hey, whatever works.
Another interesting tidbit is that while only 26 percent of doctors think they should wear lab coats, 56 percent of patients do. That illustrates how conditioned the public has been to expect that over the years. The AMA in the past really hammered that in. It will take a while for people to be de-conditioned.
Glad to hear the AMA is
Glad to hear the AMA is finally ready to do away with lab coats. I recall a similar issue with ties in my school’s clinic. Even though ties have shown to be a route of spreading infections, we still had to wear them. Conversly, even though swabbing points does nothing to prevent infection, we also had to do that. Some folks sure do cling to their illusions, eh?