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What Healthcare Professionals Should Never (Ever!) Wear

We hate to admit it, because we personally feel that clothes shouldn’t matter. In a perfect world, a person would be judged at their workplace based solely on the caliber of their work. Unfortunately, that’s not how the world works.

How you choose to dress each morning reflects how you feel about your job – that you take your position seriously, that you are ready to work and that you pay attention to detail and know what you expect to encounter that day. You wouldn’t go to a construction site in your favorite four-inch stilletos, right? Of course not, you’d go in a hard hat, because it’s appropriate for the situation. Appearances matter!

Of course, your work wardrobe is significantly limited when you work in the healthcare industry, especially if you have a clinical job. Healthcare administrators may be able to show off their personality with their clothes, but doctors, nurses, and medical assistants are destined to live out their work days in lab coats and scrubs.

Never fear. Even if your choices are limited, you have options. And with options come choices: The good. The bad. And the (very!) ugly. You might think you can roll out of bed and throw on any old outfit because you’ll be around sick children all day, or in surgery for four hours, or running tests in a lab. Your patients (and your colleagues!) are watching, though. And, like we said, first impressions do matter.

Regardless of the excuses, there are some things that professionals should just never wear. Ever.

We’ll show you what these things are, why they’re a terrible wardrobe choice and if you’re guilty of having one in your closet – or (gasp!) in your daily rotation – we’ll give you a much better alternative.