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Today marks the halfway point through my pediatrics rotation. I’ve spent the month in the outpatient clinics: two weeks on subspecialty (pulmonary, allergy/immunology/rheumatology, and endocrine) and two weeks in the general clinics. This weekend, I’m heading up to Lafayette to start my inpatient services (PICU, wards, nursery). I can honestly say that I’ve enjoyed every single day of this rotation thus far.

Sometimes I get messages from medical students who haven’t started clinical work yet about what I wear to clinic. You probably guessed but most of these students are female. What is considered appropriate? Where can you find affordable albeit professional attire? I’ll try (I’m not making any promises here!) to do a better job of sharing what I wear to work on the blog. Let’s start with a throwback.

Honestly, there is no real reason to stress. The rule of thumb is business casual. Some rotations are more relaxed than others (e.g. family medicine and pediatrics). Some rotations require scrubs (e.g. surgery and OB/GYN). As long as you look put together (no wrinkles / no stains / etc.) nobody is going to complain. I’ve floated through the wards with pink hair – believe me, you can get away with a lot as long as you’re donning your white coat.

When I was on family medicine (four months ago), I bought a blue crop top (from MakeMeChic) and I wore it to work. Yep – a crop top. It’s definitely possible to mix in your everyday wardrobe into your white coat wardrobe.

Some of you have asked if attending physicians prefer for female medical students to wear skirts, slacks, or dresses. I’ve never heard an attending mention a preference. It’s more important to make sure your outfits aren’t too tight or too short.

If you want to see more posts about what I tend to wear, check out my insta: @stilettosplusstethoscopes.