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What to Wear in Medical School
By Priyanka & Ayesha
Priyanka and Ayesha are both second-year medical students at two different medical schools. Recently, they provided tips on what you should wear to medical school. Check their tips and tricks below AND check out Landau's collection of lab coats to make sure you're dressed for success!
There are times in med school when you will have to dress business-casual or professional. Some schools have dress codes and will require business-casual every day. Others will only require it during standardized patient (SP) encounters. We suggest that you check your school’s handbook for specific requirements. We know that many of you are getting ready to start med school, so here are some tips that we use to make sure we’re dressed for success!
Tip 1 ✨: Make sure your clothes fit appropriately and comfortably. We feel the best and most confident in clothes that both fit us well and are comfortable to wear. It is definitely possible to find business-casual and professional clothes that do both!
Tip 2 ✨: Make sure the necklines of tops aren’t too low-cut. This is especially important for SP encounters, where you may be bending down or over the SP.
Tip 3 ✨: Avoid chunky rings, bracelets, and necklaces. While big jewelry is fun, it may be noisy and/or uncomfortable for SPs when you’re practicing the physical exam on them. A good rule of thumb to follow is to think about what you’d be okay touching you if you were the one being examined. Chunky jewelry is also impractical for anatomy and OMM labs.
Tip 4 ✨: If you choose to wear heels, make sure they are supportive. Heels are very fashionable, but they should also be comfortable, especially if you’ll be doing a lot of standing or walking. To that end, it is important to find ones that have great ankle support and a wide heel.
Tip 5 ✨: An easy way to dress up your outfit is with a blazer! This is especially effective when you want to wear a sleeveless top. In most cases, our white coats do that job for us!
We hope these help! What are your tips?
Much love,
PS: Our outfits in this picture are pretty appropriate for med school!
Ayesha and Priyanka are both 2-year medical students at two separate medical schools who are sharing their journey through school on Instagram.
Ayesha is an osteopathic medical student in rural, southwestern Virginia. She took a 2-year gap between college and medical school.
Priyanka is an allopathic medical student in urban Philadelphia. She finished college in 3 years and headed to medical school directly after.
Follow them on Instagram as they share (and compare!) their experiences in getting to medical school, their journeys now, and helpful tips for pre-medical students and medical students.
A version of this blog first appeared on the @latelymed Instagram. It is reproduced here with the permission of the authors.