QUESTION:  What kind of dress code should I have for my clinic staff?  How should I dress myself in the clinic?

ANSWER:  There are no hard and fast rules or norms for how you and your staff should dress.  There are a number of obvious points, however, the first of which is that you are a health care professional to whom members of the community look for doctor level care and for serious advice and support.  Anything that detracts from a good impression in your appearance or that of your staff should be avoided.  Here are some other things to consider:

·         You should always maintain a professional appearance yourself and ask that your staff members be neat, clean and modest in their dress.  The level of formality will vary according to your tastes, the community in which you work and the nature of your approach to practice.

·         Make sure your staff clearly understands the parameters for dress you have established for your clinic.  It is a good idea to commit any policy or guidelines you have to writing and make sure they have copies.  Also, any policy you establish should be enforced uniformly among all staff people. 

 

·         You should remember to be comfortable in what you wear and never dress in any way that might impede your work.  Clothes that restrict your movement or place any extra demand on how you adjust should be avoided.

 

·         Avoid any appearance of pretense in your dress.  People need to feel comfortable in your presence and with your staff.  Looking to the community for cues on dress is very important and you should avoid anything that is likely to make any patient feel uncomfortable because of any contrast between your and their appearance.

 

·         The physical nature of a chiropractor's work may mean that on warm days, you will want to change your clothes one or more times during the day to maintain a "fresh" appearance to patients.  Be conscious of how you appear to patients in these terms.  It is very important because of your close proximity to patients as you adjust.

 

·         Avoid heavy perfumes or after shave scents, since many patients may not like or even have adverse responses.

 

·         Be very conscious of any safety issue with scarves, necklaces, heavy watches and things like pens in the pocket.  Such accessories can get entangled in equipment and/or with patients themselves.