SOM 1050 - Dress Code

Authorizing Body:

Curriculum Committee

Date Issued:

August 1, 2011

Last Update:

August 7, 2017

Rationale:

The dress, grooming, and conduct of our students reflect upon the image of the entire School of Medicine.

Scope and Applicability:

All students enrolled in the School of Medicine.

Standard Practice Guideline:

The expectation is that all School of Medicine students are professional in their appearance. It is the School of Medicine’s goal to convey an image and appearance of competence, approachability, professionalism, and respect. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain exceptionally high standards for grooming, dress, and personal conduct.

Procedures:

Dress Code Policy for the Classroom on the OU Campus

Dress code for the classroom activities on the Oakland campus is informal. However, students are expected to exercise professional discretion in their appearance and grooming. Clean casual dress is allowed. An unkempt personal appearance is not acceptable. Please adhere to the following guidelines when attending classes on the Oakland University Campus.

• Tight or revealing clothing should not be worn to OUWB activities.
• Hats and sunglasses should not be worn in the classroom or laboratory activities.
• BE MODEST AND PROFESSIONAL with regard to hair, dress, jewelry, and fashion accessories.

Dress Code Policy for Professional Settings (Corewell Health Campuses and Patient-Care Settings)

All School of Medicine students must maintain a professional appearance even when they are not seeing patients. Recommended acceptable attire includes: collared shirts, ties, slacks, skirts, blouses, sweaters, dresses, and shoes intended for professional wear, worn with socks or hosiery. When students are working with patients, they are expected to wear a clean white coat and conform to the dress requirements of the Corewell Health System and the supervisory clinical department. Students who have questions about the Corewell Health System Dress Code should direct them to the Clerkship Director or the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Clinical Education.

White Coats in the Clinical Setting 

Students must wear a short white coat with their name badge and OUWB medical school patch visible at all times when seeing patients. The following guidelines should be followed regarding the use of lapel pins on the white coat:

1. There should be no more than 5 lapel pins on the coat at any one time.

2. Medical students are expected to always display the OUWB pin on their left lapel without any other visible pins. All other lapel pins should be displayed on the right lapel.

3. The following categories of pins are appropriate for the right lapel of the white coat:

• • Pins identifying membership in a professional society (e.g., AMA or a local medical society, such as the Michigan Medical Society)
  • Pins identifying membership in an honorific society (i.e., Gold Foundation, AOA)
  • Pins associated with the Beaumont Health System
  • Pins awarded for specialized training (i.e., safe space training for LGBTQ)

4. The following categories of pins are not appropriate:

• • Pins from other schools, universities, or health systems.
  • Decorative or art pins
  • Political pins

5. The wearing of “affinity pins” on the lapel of the white coat may be appropriate in some instances. OUWB students are trained to display nonverbal cues, such as affinity pins and door signs, to indicate to patients that they are in a safe space for discussions on sensitive topics. Examples of the appropriate use of “affinity pins” might include a rainbow pin for LGBTQ issues or an armed forces pin for veterans' or active-duty service issues.  Students may want to discuss the use of an affinity pin with their individual clinical supervisor prior to wearing any particular pin on their lapel.

Corewell Health Systems Dress Code

Purpose and Objective

To establish consistent standards for dress, grooming, and personal appearance that inspire confidence in our patients and families, teams, and communities, while respecting employees' cultural and ethnic religious beliefs, and the need for disability accommodations.

Policy Statement

Corewell Health's mission to provide compassionate, extraordinary care every day is guided by our values of compassion, integrity, respect, teamwork, and excellence. Corewell Health employees are expected to dress appropriately for their day with the goal to service the mission of Corewell Health.

Scope

This policy applies to all employees, management, physicians, and others who perform work or services for Corewell Health and any of its affiliated hospitals, clinics, businesses, and corporate offices.

Standards

Employees are expected to dress appropriately for the nature of our business and the type of work performed, whether working on-site, off-site or using remote technology such as video conferencing.

General Guidelines

Business Professional Attire

Appropriate: Business or business casual attire. Clothing that is of appropriate size and fit, permitting freedom of movement. All personal clothing must be clean, neat, and of appropriate length with finished hems. Clothing is free of holes, stains, rips and tears. Jackets with Corewell Health-approved embroidered logo. Dress capri/crop pants. Leggings are appropriate when covered with a long shirt/sweater or dress. Solid color long-sleeve shirts without logos or with approved Corewell Health logo may be worn under scrub tops. Approved hospital-provided and laundered scrubs should be worn in designated areas only. A lab coat or scrub jacket should be worn over hospital-provided scrubs when outside the designated work area.

Inappropriate: Sweatshirt/hooded zip-up sweatshirts. Shirts with hoods. Capri/crop pants that are casual in nature. Mini skirts. Jeans and denim apparel. Jogging suits and other fitness apparel. Spandex clothing. Tank tops and spaghetti-strapped tops. Low-cut blouses or tops. Shorts. T-shirts, unless worn under scrub tops, as part of a uniform, or for an approved event.

Footwear

Appropriate: Shoes are to be clean and in good repair. Heel height must not present a safety hazard. Employees must wear shoes appropriate to the nature of their work and in accordance with departmental guidelines. Peep and open-toe shoes. Sling-back shoes. Boots/booties.

Inappropriate: Athletic shoes, unless part of an approved uniform. Flip-flops, sandals, and slippers. Open-toe shoes in patient care areas. 

Headwear

Appropriate: Department-issued headwear, per department dress code policy.

Inappropriate: Hats, baseball caps, and visors in the work area.

Personal Hygiene/Tattoos/Jewelry

Appropriate: Employees must have good personal hygiene. Hair should be clean and neat. Employees who work in patient care areas, with food, or with machinery must have their hair pinned up off the shoulders or secured away from the face to promote safety for self and patients. Hairnets may be required by department policy. Facial hair must be groomed and maintained, and not interfere with safety standards. Scents from deodorant, perfume, cologne, body sprays, and the like must be light and non-offensive. Visible tattoos must not be offensive in subject matter or placement. Piercings in the ears. Small stud piercing in the nose. Gauges with inserts.

Employees who have direct contact with patients, work in areas where invasive procedures are performed or when procedures require a surgical scrub, provide cleaning services in patient care areas, transport patients, or provide any dietary service/function, must adhere to the following fingernail standards:

• Artificial fingernails or extenders may not be worn.
• Fingernails must be kept short and clean (not exceeding 1/4 inch past the fingertip in length), no chipped nail polish, no enhancements (i.e., wraps, acrylics, gels, and stones).

Identification Badges

Refer to the Identification Badge Policy for ID badge guidelines. 

A. Employees in leadership and other professional roles may dress appropriately for their day, including business-casual attire. Traditional business attire is always acceptable and may be required based on the nature of the work being performed, interactions with patients and the community, or for formal business meetings or events.

B. Patient- and public-facing employees, including clinicians and direct patient care providers, will dress in attire appropriate for their role or function. This may include department-prescribed uniforms and/or scrub colors. See the department-specific dress and grooming policy and the Corewell Health Scrub Dress Policy for additional information.

C. Employees with individual needs associated with cultural, ethnic, or religious observance or disability should consult with their manager or Human Resources to discuss possible accommodations.

D. Managers will take disciplinary action to address attire that is inappropriate for the work environment. This may include sending employees home to change clothing or improve their personal appearance.

E. This policy establishes the minimum standards for dress, grooming, and personal appearance. Department leadership may issue stricter or more specific dress, grooming, and personal appearance guidelines based on unique job requirements. If a department has such requirements, the department requirements must be followed. See department-specific policy for departmental dress and grooming guidelines.

F. Department leadership is responsible for the enforcement of this policy.

References
The following policies for Corewell Health can be found on the Corewell Health intranet under policies: Progressive Discipline Policy, Scrub Dress Policy, Hand Hygiene Policy, and Identification Badge Policy.

For more specific details related to Image/Appearance at the Corewell Health System see Corewell Image/Appearance Standards - available on the HR website, or via department manager.

CDC Hand Hygiene for Patients in Healthcare Settings

Review and Reissue Date:
Policies should be updated when changes to policies or procedures occur or every three years, whichever occurs earlier.

Discretion to Modify:
Corewell Health periodically reviews and revises its policies. This policy, as with all others, is subject to change at Corewell Health's discretion without prior notice. This policy supersedes all prior written policies on this subject. This policy is located on the Corewell Health intranet.

Definitions:
N/A

Related Policies and Forms:
Request for Disability Accommodation Form
Request for Religious Accommodation Form

Appendix:
N/A