Why Do Doctors Wear White Lab Coats?
But aside from it being more of a medical symbol, why white? Is there something else that the color represents? When did it all begin? Let’s find out as we get along with this article.
Table of Contents
- A Brief History of the Lab Coat
- When Did Doctors Start Using White Lab Coats?
- Why Do Doctors Still Wear White Today?
A Brief History Of The Lab Coat
If you’ve thumbed through any history books that are pre-19th century in origin, you’ll likely have come across doctors in black coats leaning over some patient. It may be a little surprising to know, but doctors for the majority of the 17th-19th centuries used to wear black lab coats rather than white!
If we consider the dullness of those times, it looks pretty logical why a person who deals with death almost every day would prefer to wear black. It was as though they were in constant mourning.
Yet there is another reason doctors preferred black during that time. It also played a utilitarian role of concealing blood and other body fluid stains. Therefore, doctors could go a while without washing their lab coats.
In contrast, scientists in the 18th and 19th centuries donned light-pink, white, and yellow-colored lab coats. During this era, scientists were more credited than doctors since their innovations had seen science improve.
In their effort to fight back, physicians started to accept science and labored in scientific endeavors. After all, some of the studies carried out by scientists had eventually cured diseases; physicians thus wished to apply these treatment breakthroughs to as many individuals as possible.
Gradually, white became the color of medicine. And this was precisely when the quintessential white lab coat was designed.
When Did Doctors Start Using White Lab Coats?
It took a short time for the change from a black to a white lab coat. Two famous Thomas Eakins paintings—”The Gross Clinic,” created in 1875, and “The Agnew Clinic,” created in 1889—depict two sets of doctors wearing black and white, respectively.
It can be told that doctors started to wear white lab coats between 1875 and 1889. And nobody knows who exactly had the idea to make or encourage them.
What we do know, however, is that it was first introduced to Canada by Dr. George Armstrong (1855-1933), a surgeon and the president of the Canadian Medical Association at the time. Nonetheless, as time grew, white has become a symbol of cleanliness, purity, and professionalism.
Why Do Doctors Still Wear White Today?
There are a ton of reasons why doctors wear white, even today. Some of these reasons are as follows:
- It maintains a professional appearance
- White is a symbol of humanism
- To be recognized by colleagues and patients
- Displays hierarchy
- Signifies health and hygiene
- Follows a tradition that’s over 150 years old
The answer to “why do doctors wear white?” is an interesting one indeed. Today, white is synonymous with trust, cleanliness, and life, which is everything a doctor is known for.
