EBME Forums Forums Management Professional Issues Hospital Dress Codes

We have uniform here, blue short sleeved shirt with "Clinical Engineering" and black trousers. We are issued with the shirts but not trousers ( too many different waists and inside legs! )

By co-incidence, the trousers I'm wearing today have torn and is now showing the back of my right thigh These were issued to me 6 years ago!!!! Can't wait to get home!

John
I do indeed know what a dicky bow is.Personnaly I favour an open neck short sleeve shirt.

I've been watching this thread with interest, especially as when I was working as an Agency Tech I was often being pressed to wear long-sleeved shirt and a tie. When I was much younger, and perhaps more compliant, I used to grudgingly go along with the status quo (mainly on the grounds that "they" were the client, and it was what they wanted). They used to insist on grounds that it looked more "professional", by the way.

Although I rarely do agency work these days (let’s just say that I’ve become a bit more choosey about what I’m prepared to do), when I have taken on such tasks during the last few years I’ve resisted any notion of conforming to the shirt and tie code. In fact, I don’t even own a tie these days.

Lately I’ve made it a condition. If I can’t wear my usual black multi-pocketed trousers, together with short-sleeved polo shirt (or similar, if they have their own in-house version), both of which I regard as practical and appropriate, then I’m not coming! "Professional" or not, I find that if they really want you (ie, they want the work done), the rules get waived.

It would take £ 40 k a year for me to put on a suit and tie nowadays. And I can see that being on offer any time soon!

Me too Dicky!

Personaly i have a problem with ties!
I feel that they are dangerous.
We have been issued with shirts and polo shirts with the company name on, but i do not feel as smart in the company shirt as i do in my own!!

I do think that the polo shirt (if worn with real pants;-)) looks quite smart, get a different colour with a logo for your department.

Does anyone get issued with safety shoes?

Yes, effectively we do (medical gas cylinder handling is one reason that comes to mind).

And Operating Tables

Lee

Only today a guy was saying to me that if I wanted to work with him (which I don't, particularly), I would need to fork out for a suit and tie (now I don’t, for sure)! He's talking about servicing dental equipment for pity's sake! You'd think that a guy who has known me for 28 years would have wised up a bit since then, wouldn't you?

Perhaps these "bosses" would be happier if they found me one day with the damned tie wrapped around the lathe, pedestal drill, ... or whatever. Maybe if they got off their fat butts occasionally and did some real work themselves, they would realize what appropriate work clothes are (and are not)!

How about investing in a one-piece overall Geoff? You could ditch the jacket and then work safely with the coveralls on. Plus you could then claim tax-relief for the overalls, steel-toe-cap shoes and 3-piece if it's a requirement to wear one - change at the customers expense, eh?

Seems, to me, like a trivial reason not to use your skills. Unless you like the relative freedom of contract work and staying mobile that is. Incidentally I've been wondering why you don't use your IT skills to develop some training packages and go freelance doing training and stuff?

Actually, Richard, that's more or less what the guy suggested:- "Turn up in your suit and tie, then get changed to do the work" (followed by the reverse process later on). In fact, it's all the driving around that I'd rather avoid, if truth be told.

But "trivial reason"? No, more like a matter or principle as far as I'm concerned. And yes, I do like the relative freedom of contract work, as you put it. In fact I quite "enjoy" the exposure I get to the various machinations of the hospital biomed sheds I encounter. Plus the opportunities it provides for me to "spread the word" (... according to Geoff Hannis, that is)!

Regarding your last point, I like to think of myself (as you do, I believe) as a hands-on kind of guy, and feel that I'm making the best contribution I can by simply working on the kit!