Dress Code

Students are asked to remember that our campus shares space with a major medical center and that patients may see them at any time. Therefore, students are asked to use judgment at all times in selecting clothing to avoid including clothing that is ripped, revealing, or which displays slogans or images that could be offensive to patients or colleagues. Examples to avoid include clothing with sexually or other provocative sayings or that advertise alcoholic beverages, ripped jeans or excessively low cut or tight clothing. Specific dress has not been delineated in this code in order that students should have freedom of choice as long as professionalism is maintained. However, students are required to abide by all policies of the hospital or clinical system in which they are rotating or in which they are doing research involving patient contact.

Students are expected to dress in a manner that is appropriate for their particular work environment. For example, jeans are acceptable in the laboratory or classroom but are not acceptable when seeing patients. Shoes with open toes are acceptable in the classroom but not in the lab or in the clinical setting. As part of professional appearance, students are expected to be generally well groomed.

Violation of the dress code can have detrimental consequences for patient care and could damage the reputation of the T.H. Chan School of Medicine and the functioning and attractiveness of the hospital. Flagrant and repeated violations of the dress code may be deemed to signify a lack of insight or maturity on the part of the individual student and call for counseling and discipline. Violations of the dress code should be initially brought to the attention of the student by the immediate supervisor. Repeated and flagrant violations should be brought to the attention of the Associate Dean for Student Affairs who shall discuss the infraction with the student involved. If flagrant repeated violations continue, formal counseling or disciplinary action shall be recommended by the Associate Dean for Student Affairs and shall be carried out after a hearing and approval by the appropriate academic evaluation board.