Category Archives: Lab Coats

Resew Button Onto Lab Coat

How To Sew A Button Back Onto A Lab Coat

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No matter how good the quality of your clothes, including but not limited to your white doctor’s coat, there will be instances of seams coming loose or buttons falling off. That is just the nature of clothing, but with a little sewing know-how, you can do some of these wear-and-tear-repairs from your home.

Everyone should have at their home a mini travel sewing kit – these come with threads of many colors, needles, a pin, and a needle threader (so you don’t have to squint at the eye of that needle to get the thread through!) and a small pair of scissors. If you don’t already have one, they cost about $6 at your local drugstore and are always small enough to fit in a handbag.

Mini Travel Sewing Kit

Re-sew a button

  1. Choose your thread color and cut a length 2x longer than the amount you think you’ll need.
  2. Thread your needle, looping the thread around and retying it at both ends, creating a giant loop of thread with the needle hanging. This is a handy way to keep the thread from falling out of the needle, and saves you time rethreading your needle. It also creates the knot you’ll need to prevent your thread from falling out.
  3. Align the button with the other buttons on your lab coat, and push the threaded needle up through the fabric and through one hole in the button. Use a pin between the stitch you have made and where the next stitch will go to in order to keep from stitching the button too tight. Push the needle down through the hole, through the fabric, and pull the thread all the way through with your needle.
  4. Repeat this process, crisscrossing your thread in an x-shape if its a 4-hole button, until the button is secure.
  5. Push the needle into the fabric under a place that the button covers and make a 3 more stitches to secure the thread further.

Sewing Button Onto Lab Coat

Lab Coat Germs

Do White Coats Really Spread Germs?

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Over the last few years a debate has begun about the deficiencies of lab coats worn in doctors’ practices and clinical settings. Most criticisms have to do with the spread of germs and a lack of hygiene. On the surface, these claims seem to make sense – but dive a little deeper, and you’ll actually see that this threat is mostly bark with very little bite. As a matter of fact, with the proper care and worn in the right settings, the white coat is still very much an integral part of the patient care experience.

The white coat of today comes in performance fabrics that help doctors reduce the likelihood of spreading germs. Because the fact is, germs and bacteria are everywhere anyways – take off your white coat and you have bacteria on your arms and hands. There simply is no escaping all the bacteria, but there also hasn’t been any research that indicates doctors’ lab coats spread bacteria in cases of hospital-acquired infections.

Actually, in the UK health leaders started implementing a “bare below the elbows” policy for doctors with their lab coats. The intention was to prevent the spread of germs through the sleeves of the lab coat, which are the most likely to pick up bacteria throughout the work day. However, studies found that this measure didn’t have a significant effect on the reduction of hospital-acquired infection in patients.

As long as you launder your white coat regularly, there is very little evidence to indicate that lab coats are any more unhygienic than any other garment worn in a clinical setting. I would recommend that you wash your lab coat 3-5 times a week – not only will this reduce the amount of dirt and bacteria day-to-day, but keeping your lab coat fresh at all times is an easy way to prevent the buildup of these in the fabric as well.

Custom Embroidery

3 Ways To Personalize Your Medical Uniform

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  1. Custom embroidery
    Whether intended as a gift for someone else, or an investment for your own professional appearance, it makes sense to invest a little in your new white lab coat in order to ensure that you don’t blend into the background in a sea of white coats. Personalized embroidery can be as simple as your name and title, or as distinctive as a custom digitized and embroidered logo that truly makes you stand out.
  2. Lab coat styling
    The style of your lab coat also is a way to declare your personal style. In the past, there haven’t been many options of lab coat styles – they were pretty standard, unisex, shapeless white coats. Today, there are many more options of lab coats so that you can choose a style that speaks to you, or that is flattering to your body type. The possibilities are endless!
  3. Accessories
    This will depend on your specialty and the rules of where you work, but accessorizing is a great way to jazz up an otherwise boring medical ensemble. Express yourself with a classic or kooky watch, experiment with funky cufflinks, and try out different types of earrings to see what best frames your face. You can also add some individuality with hair accessories, such as headbands and barrettes.

You tell us: what’s your favorite way to individualize your lab coat style?

How To Make Your Lab Coat The Most Exciting Part Of Your Day

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For many doctors, their lab coat is probably the least exciting part of their wardrobe choices. That’s because for a long time, there weren’t really any choices at all! You simply had to accept the options that were available to you, and try to find a lab coat that wasn’t gapingly large. This generation of lab coats were gender-neutral, so the fit was more or less that of a smock – the kind that your kindergartner wears while finger painting.

Today there are so many more options available to make your lab coat an exciting part of your morning routine instead of a dreaded one! This new collection of lab coats was pioneered by medical uniform company Medelita, who was the first to introduce a lab coat made specifically to fit a woman. Now the company offers multiple styles of lab coats for both men and women, so that you don’t have to settle for a drab, dingy coat.

What makes these lab coats special is the way they fit. Since there are multiple styles available, doctors are able to browse and find a lab coat that is suitable and flattering for their body type, whether that be athletic, hourglass, tall and lanky, curvy or petite. The options abound

Doctors who wear Medelita coats have found that their lab coat fits like a tailored blazer or suit jacket – a far cry better than the smock style options of days past.

Professional Doctor White Coat

What Does A Professional Doctor Look Like?

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What is the image that comes to mind when you picture a modern professional?

Your answer will of course depend on what kind of occupation the person has, but there are a few things that are crucial for a professional image regardless of the type of work. For example, a professional businessman would probably wear a beautiful designer suit with impeccable details that fits him well. He would probably match it with a tasteful silk tie and high quality collared shirt. If it’s a businesswoman, she would likely wear a pants suit, or a skirt suit, or a modestly elegant dress.

Notice the key factors here: fits well, detailed construction, high quality garments.

This is no different in the medical industry! Like it or not, people judge a book by it’s cover every time they meet someone new. In the patient-physician relationship, your professional appearance can set the entire tone – are you wearing a shabby, ill-fitting lab coat? Your patient will notice, and they will subconsciously form an opinion of you that may not reflect your true level of professionalism.

As a doctor, it’s really important to keep in mind the image you are presenting to the outside world. Having a lab coat that fits like a tailored jacket is important, as is the quality of the fabric and construction. These details make a significant difference in making you look professional. After all, you worked hard for years to get that white coat – why not choose one that reflects your level of skill and sacrifice?

Doctor Dress Code

Lab Coats Or Scrubs: A Dress Code For Doctors?

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If you think that your sartorial choices are irrelevant to your performance as a physician or clinician, you are mistaken. An article from the Washington Post has described how the apparel of a physician actually has a huge effect on how patients perceive their doctors.

It turns out that patients strongly prefer their doctors wear lab coats in a clinical setting, as it conveys an image of professionalism and skillfulness. Though the data collected was done in an informal study, the findings indicate that most patients feel pretty negatively about their doctors wearing scrubs to consult with patients, unless they are operating or are in an EM setting – in these hands-on settings, scrubs are rated favorably.

In general, the results showed that patients are not impressed when their doctor wears casual attire, be it scrubs or everyday clothing. There was a strong preference for doctors who wore formal attire or a lab coat, or both.

These studies are not conclusive and the authors of the article are in the process of completing a more in-depth study to more definitively assess exactly what their patients prefer them to wear, depending on specialty. These findings should provide more evidence as to how a doctor’s work attire actively plays a role in the way they are perceived by a patient.

Splurging On A Designer Lab Coat: Cost Per Wear

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It can be understandably difficult, no matter what your income is like, to splurge on an item you can get for free or for a much lower cost. For example, there are plenty of medical professionals out there who find it tough to justify spending upwards of $100 on a designer lab coat when their hospital issues standard run-of-the-mill lab coats for free, or they can find a lab coat elsewhere for much cheaper.

This kind of thinking makes sense, but when you take a deeper look at the true cost of what you are wearing, you might actually find that you are spending more by buying cheap. Not only are cheap lab coats boxy, unflattering, and uncomfortable, but they don’t exactly send an image of professionalism to your patients and colleagues.

After all those years spent in medical training, do you really think it’s a wise choice to start cutting corners when it comes to your professional dress?

This lab coat resembles a glorified smock.

This lab coat resembles a glorified smock.

Additionally, you must think about the durability of your lab coat. Sure, the $30 lab coat may be cheaper than the $100 lab coat, but if the cheap one falls apart after just a few spins in the laundry then you’re not actually getting very much bang for your buck.

On the other hand, if you decide to get the more expensive but higher-quality designer lab coat, it might seem like a splurge at the time but the greater durability actually makes it a wiser purchase. A high quality lab coat will last for years, meaning you don’t need to buy a replacement any time soon.

High quality lab coats are distinguished by a professional appearance.

High quality lab coats are distinguished by a professional appearance.

Bottom line? You actually end up saving more when you splurge based on the quality of an item. 

Lab Coats on Hangers

It’s All In The Details: Dobby Weave Lab Coat Fabric

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Radically improving lab coats starts with dramatically improving the fabric, particularly the touch and feel, which has to do with both raw materials and weave. Not all fabrics are created equal, after all.

Lab coat innovator Medelita recently created their proprietary M3 fabric, which is made from the highest quality raw materials and has a signature diamond dobby weave, which results in a beautiful subtle texture. 

What is a dobby weave?

Dobby weaves are limited to simple, small geometric patterns which are repeated frequently. This is a tedious process which took considerable time. Countless samples must be woven and tested, before being sewn into sample garments, all in an effort to make a fabric that is both comfortable and appealing to the eye. 

Dobby Weave

See the small diamond pattern in the fabric?

After multiple trials using different diamond scales, different yarn deniers, and different raw materials, the company finalized their classic diamond fabric weave many years ago. This design detail is just one of the many aspects of the M3 fabric that improve on the core attributes of any fabric: softness, comfort, durability and style. 

skirted back lab coat

The Most Feminine Lab Coat For Women

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Guess what, ladies? Your lab coat doesn’t have to be something that you dread putting on every day. You don’t need to wear what is essentially a glorified smock that is neither comfortable or flattering for your 14-hour work days.

As a matter of fact, there are now tons of options for lab coats that you might even look forward to putting on each morning!

Worn in the right style, a flattering lab coat is actually a fashion piece. For instance, the limited edition Miranda B. lab coat from Medelita has taken your standard medical apparel to the next level by offering the most form-flattering style for ladies.

Miranda B Lab Coat

Here is what makes this lab coat so flattering:

  1. Vertical contouring: the lines of the seams on this lab coat are curved to match the curves of real women’s bodies. This way the lab coat serves to hug you at the narrowest point of your waist. The result? A to-die-for hourglass figure that is still professional.
  2. Darting and pleating: these little design details go a long way in creating a polished appearance. Medelita has purposefully reinvented this coat as an emblem of confidence and poise.
  3. Back skirting: the first lab coat in history to have a skirted back, this delicate feature is beautifully delicate and unique. The skirted back of the Miranda B. is the most feminine design for a medical lab coat available on the market.

Lab Coat Back Skirt

Lab Coat Sizing

Lab Coat Sizing For Dummies

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A common frustration for those shopping for lab coats is that the garment is often ill-fitting for one of two reasons: either the size options are not adequate to properly fit specific body types, or the sizing is inconsistent within a brand.

These are both frustrating situations, and sometimes your favorite brand of lab coat manufacturer will update the fit of their coats in a way that might affect the sizing options. The best way to avoid this situation is to always check on the sizing charts and take your own measurements: this will ensure the best fit possible for your body type.

Lab Coat Size Guide

It’s also important to recognize that even though sizing adjustments can be a bit of a nuisance when you’re trying to find your new size of lab coat, these changes are almost always the result of the manufacturer trying to improve the garment so that it better fits your needs. This short-term annoyance will actually lead to a better fitting lab coat in the long term.

Some lab coat companies also offer options for those who are still not sure of their size even after looking at sizing charts. For example, lab coat and scrubs company Medelita offers an At-Home Try On Program that allows customers to buy a few sizes of lab coats and send back the ones that don’t fit – free shipping both ways. This is the kind of convenience that crazy-busy medical professionals need!

Lab Coats on Hangers