The Commoditization of Scrubs and Lab Coats
Most female Physicians, Dentists, Physician Assistants, and Nurse Practitioners wear scrubs and/or lab coats at work. Over decades, they have become such an intrinsic part of medicine that they’ve evolved into commodities – products so similar and so common that one brand is virtually interchangeable with another. In contrast to what most female medical professionals look for when purchasing clothes worn outside the medical setting, little thought is given to how their scrubs and lab coats look, fit, or feel. Perhaps even more important, is the non-verbal message that wearing them sends to patients, their families, and medical staff. The reason is simple. Until now, they had no alternative. Ill-fitting and poorly constructed scrubs and lab coats made of cheap material that begins to pill within a month of purchase – and seems to attract rather than repel stains and odors – had become so ubiquitous in medicine. Medical professionals who typically give considerable thought to the clothes they wear when not in scrubs and lab coats – accepted this reality during working hours with reluctance and resignation. Fortunately, that’s no longer necessary.
A few enterprising uniform manufacturers are successfully challenging this paradigm. Thinking outside the box, they’ve carefully blended the finest attributes women look for in tailored everyday clothes, with the newest and most relevant performance fabrics available to create the next generation of clinician style scrubs and lab coats. Perhaps the most innovative of these companies has abandoned so called “unisex” (S, M, L, etc.) sizing altogether, and replaced it with traditional (more specific) numeric sizing (6, 8, 10, etc.). That company has also introduced designs tailored specifically to not only fit but flatter the female figure. Unlike unisex sized garments, their lines of scrubs and lab coats specifically designed for women will not fit a man’s body – the truest and most practical test to see if a garment is really designed to fit a woman (one can’t help but be amused over the reality that this common sense design approach is considered revolutionary within the uniform apparel industry). The results are scrubs and lab coats that preserve the traditional look of these garments, while elevating the attractiveness, comfort, function, and durability to levels never before available. In so doing, they’ve enabled female clinicians to present themselves visually with the same level of professionalism that they provide to their patients clinically.
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Those clinicians that have already discovered these new options and purchased such next generation scrubs and lab coats have expressed their appreciation with enthusiasm and gratitude in unsolicited testimonials. The website of one of these new boutique uniform design shops includes several unsolicited endorsements that illustrate just how real – and dramatic – the response to these new scrubs and lab coats has been.
The irony is that with all the wonderful properties these uniforms possess – exquisite fabrics that feel so comfortable against the skin, special pockets specifically designed for clinicians, stain and odor repellency – they cost less than comparably finished street clothes. In fact, for less than what most women spend on a pair of jeans, they can now purchase a set of scrubs or lab coat. Helping to not only make them feel great about their appearance, it will also reinforce the high standards they maintain in their medical practice.
For those female Physicians, Dentists, Physician Assistants, and Nurse Practitioners who would like to learn more about these next generation female scrubs and lab coats I recommend medelita.
Kimberly Green
http://www.articlesbase.com/clothing-articles/the-commoditization-of-scrubs-and-lab-coats-714500.html