It's time for doctors to hang up the white coats for good

The main issue is what is going to be the replacement of the coats? as the article mentions the symbol of medical authority is not the only reason why doctors wear them, so what is to be done to replace those other uses? disposable gowns with lots of pockets? surgical scrubs and some bag for tools? industrial aprons frequently chlorinated?

It is reasonable to argue for coats to stop being used because of the possible risks, but something becomes necessary in many cases, it would have been much better if useful options (free of those risks) were given with all the pros and cons.

Yeah, it should be red coats for surgeons, yellow for urologists and brown for proctologists.

This is just stunningly stupid. I can’t believe it’s supposedly coming from an infectious disease doctor.

He’s absolutely correct about -one- thing, that is that nobody wants to be cared for by a doctor in a dirty white coat. That’s why the white coats should be changed frequently.

All kinds of people wear white so that it is apparent if it is clean. Whites are worn in hospital settings, labs, even restaurants. Granted bacteria and viruses can’t be seen but if it appears dirty, you can bet that it is. I wore a white lab coat as a food inspector. And I might add that I wasn’t responsible for laundering it. We had a closet full of various sizes of them. Once worn, they were sent off to be cleaned. Medical personnel should not be responsible for laundering their own white coats either. They should be laundered appropriately and professionally considering the environment they are used in.

Seeing a cook in a nasty set of whites or a nasty apron guarantees that I will never eat at an establishment again. As will seeing one go into a restroom wearing their apron. Fecal oral contamination anyone?

This guy seems to have lost his ability to think when he got his feelings hurt over wearing a white coat that was overdue for replacing.

Is this just an American thing? Here in Scotland, I don't think I've seen a doctor in a white coat for years. According to the article below, white coats were dropped back in 2008.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2008/dec/16/health-scotland

First I thought the headline was a metaphor for doctors not being needed at all, but the article was about the actual clothing of doctors.

Anyway, I work as a doctor in Sweden and here the white coats disappeared a couple of years ago. This is what the standard doctor's uniform looks like in my region and it's what I wear at work every day:

https://karriarlakare.se/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2017/04/halland-20170327-sjukhuset-15.jpg

As you can see on the picture, all portable equipment can be stored in the pockets of our pants. I'm sure the japanese can come up with something similar, even though I personally find their reliance on old fashioned uniforms in different professions and at school to be quaint.

All kinds of people wear white so that it is apparent if it is clean. Whites are worn in hospital settings, labs, even restaurants. Granted bacteria and viruses can’t be seen but if it appears dirty, you can bet that it is.

That is the problem, your premise is wrong. Obviously when something appears dirty it very likely is, but if something appears clean (even if white) that in no way indicates it is, or that it has not become a vector for the transmission of infectious diseases. If the purpose is to assure the clothing is appropriately clean then there is no value in having white coats, other colors, fabrics or styles of clothing can do a much better work by being much more easily washed daily without quickly looking old and worn like white coats usually do.

And nobody is asking for the doctors to do their own washing, hospital clothing is not mean to be brought back to their houses. the usual system is to have the clothes labeled for easy identification and just thrown for specialized washing while the doctor just take a new change the next day (or shift, depending on the circumstances). Traditional white coats can't be treated like that without quickly looking old (or be washed much more expensively).