Dressing dos and don’ts for medicos
Students angry as Trivandrum medical college tells them what to wear
Trendy medicos, sporting the latest Afro or other hairdos have become the nightmare of college authorities. They dread medicos turning fashionistas, ignoring the medical vocation. The fraternity also cannot be insulated from haute couture trends in society.
Leggings, palazzos, shorts, short tops, asymmetric tops and ripped jeans — such are dress types the students like to wear and yes, they could wrap themselves in their favorite fabrics outside the campus. On the campuses of government medical colleges, medicos are bound to dress decently, says the Medical Council of India. The Government Medical College in Thiruvananthapuram has gone a step further and laid down what to wear, and what not to.
Vice-principal K. Girijakumari in her order dated October 20, addressed to heads of departments, has prescribed dos and don’ts for the students’ attire. White overcoat is a must. Both male and female students should be neat in dress and appearance. Gents shall wear formal dress with shoes. No chappals, jeans, t-shirts or any other casual dress. Female students can wear saree/churidar and hair should be tied up. And no leggings, short tops, jeans or ‘noisy’ ornaments.
A house surgeon said: “What? I can’t wear leggings? What is the logic in asking us not to wear leggings? Can’t we wear the dress that suits us and what we are comfortable in? I am a house surgeon and have to do 24-hour duty often. I must feel at home in the dress I wear than wear the uniform prescribed by those seldom engaged in the work we do.”
While there is no dress code mentioned on Government Medical College Kozhikode website, a circular that lists the acceptable and unacceptable dress code has been passed around.
IMA state president A.V. Jayakrishnan said the MCI “insists on medicos being decently dressed”. Here the college authorities have cited a few dress types that are a strict ‘No No’ on the campus. The principle behind the medico dress is it should not impinge on a patient’s confidence in the doctor, said Dr Jayakrishnan.