“Started to count the sands then I saw
My fingers were numb and raw!
Then I realised I know the score!
It’s just the number of stars not less not more!”
Being a doctor and a medical student, this was an essential part of our attire!
Did you know that it was black first and only later it became white!?
now settle down and read on!
During one of the ragging sessions one of our seniors called us to the side and told us all to go to the bookstore the next day and get him a BUFFY COAT!
We of course had no idea what that was since we were just learning physiology!
Obediently we all walked the next day and asked for BUFFY COAT! The shopkeeper simply smiled knowingly and said there is nothing like that!
Later we found out it was a terminology in Physiology!
He of course told us to buy proper Lab Coats which were white!
Yes! The attire by which you can know a medical student from far is the while Lab Coat! The very first day we wore it made us already feel like doctors!
The wide pocket and the big slit in the side and the white colour were like medals for getting the coveted medical seat!
Wearing that coat which was of course just another clothe still used to make us feel that we are wearing a body armour of sorts! It was a pseudo protection of course!
The reverence of course went through the window later on when it used to be crumpled and lying in the corner and badly maintained especially in the men’s hostel!
The demand for clean ones used to increase during the examinations when we used to think that our marks depended on the whiteness and cleanliness of the coat!
Those who used to play with fire used to search for the clean coat five minutes before the exam! The mavericks used to simply take the coat of the person whose VIVA were just over and he would be coming out! These would be the super senior ‘CHRONICS’ who wore the coats only when they had the exams!
Even during post graduation and residency the coats were so important and I do not remember the number of coats I have bought or ‘borrowed’! Like the slippers at the entrance of a temple, these also used to get ‘recycled’!
After becoming a consultant though, the coat again took a backseat except during some inspection but now where I work, the coat is a must!
Being a surgeon I actually prefer wearing the scrubs but then you cannot operate the whole day right!?
Starting from the half sleeves or short coats it was inevitable to graduate to the full sleeve coat which covers the whole dress! Whatever you wear inside, the coat is like the universal cover which makes you a medical professional!
Apparently the most common reasons why doctors, scientists, and other professionals in the medical field choose to wear white is for easy recognition by colleagues and patients!
The tradition it seems began in the late 1800s, when trained surgeons and physicians began wearing white lab coats as a way to distinguish themselves from fraudulent health care providers and false doctors! Unfortunately now we see even non health professionals wear a Lab coat especially in the TV to sound ‘medical’! The lab coat thus has this instant effect of turning anyone into a ‘doctor’!
Of course there are some benefits of wearing the coat like it acts like a protective Material, it may prevention from cross-contamination and a lab coat with a secured cuff will help with keeping your sleeves out of your experiment and will also protect your arms from potential hazardous splashes.
Now apparently up until the late 19th century, doctors only wore black!
They never wore any white! The black clothing worn by doctors in the past served a number of practical purposes, including masking soiled clothing and all of the messy stains associated with their line of work! Black attire was, and is, considered formal and until about 1900, physicians wore black for their patient interactions since medical encounters were thought of as serious and formal matters! Imagine for a moment now a doctor coming dresses in black to meet you! Am sure the news may not be good!
Later on practicality and the spotless nature of white helped popularise the wearing of white lab coats. Also the association of black with death or at least fear would have made the further push to white!
Throughout history, the white lab coat started to symbolise cleanliness and scientific rigor. It not only made doctors and scientists easily distinguishable, but it also made spotting any contamination easier. Its symbolism became even more established in 1989, when a white coat ceremony was first performed for medical school students, marking their transition into the clinical world!
The most difficult task of course is to maintain a clean white coat! Also for a politician and maybe a civil services person to maintain a clean image is also difficult! Which reminds me of celebrity Tirunellai Narayana Iyer Seshan who is the only chief election commissioner I knew!
Now remove the coats and wear sleeping dress and sleep!
Shubh ratri!
ramadocblog 