Although the primary purpose of medical uniforms is to protect the wearer and those around them, fashion also plays an essential role in making the garments comfortable and ensuring they help us feel secure.
In a study conducted by Colorchain with over 100 medical professionals, 100% expressed that they did not feel distinguished by their medical attire. This is where the medical apparel industry has failed its end customers for years with impractical designs and a lack of details, styles, and colors.
Healthcare professionals wear their uniforms and gear for long shifts and perform challenging and complex tasks. Therefore, despite being perceived as ‘just uniforms for protection,’ feeling identified and secure with what we wear also makes our work more enjoyable.
Let’s explore three reasons why fashion should start playing a more important role in medical uniform design.
A Positive External Perception
For healthcare professionals, it is crucial to convey self-confidence and make patients feel that they are in the best hands. Medical uniforms that incorporate fashion into their design can help achieve this more easily, as they demonstrate cleanliness and professionalism through quality and attention to detail.
This is why we carefully choose what to wear for a job interview or the first day in a new position: Our clothing is the first reflection of who we are to the world.
Maintaining our image, including the professional one, also involves fashion—even if it’s not immediately apparent. This applies to healthcare professionals whose attire affects vulnerable patients’ perception of them.
In fact, a recent study found that wearing medical attire with white lab coats, compared to casual or formal wear, conveys to patients that their doctors are responsible, reliable, and professional.
A Means of Self-Expression and Differentiation
Fashion psychology is a discipline that has gained strength over the past two decades and is increasingly demonstrating its credibility. For example, a psychologist in the field has stated that the color of clothing can amplify positive emotions.
Our study also revealed that nine out of ten surveyed professionals mentioned the importance of feeling identified by their medical uniform and being able to differentiate themselves from other roles and professions that have adopted medical attire. Healthcare staff want their clothing to distinguish them, dignify them, and demonstrate their excellent skills.
Clothing provides an opportunity for self-expression and enhances self-confidence—factors that should not be excluded in the workplace.
Additionally, it is important for healthcare institutions to map and identify the color schemes that best represent their brand and effectively separate each service area. Often, institutions tend to use traditional colors such as white, blue, and green, which do not foster institutional identity and fail to innovate and bring life to medical uniforms.
Thus, more vibrant colors, unconventional cuts and fits, and a greater variety of garments (such as jackets) can give healthcare professionals more opportunities to feel identified and comfortable wearing their medical uniforms, even if they are fluid-resistant garments with specialized fabrics.
A Reason to Promote the Use of Uniforms and Gear
Post-pandemic, there has been a reversal of the strict protection schemes that were reinforced during the pandemic. One of the most significant was the use of uniforms in all healthcare settings.
This includes outpatient consultations, where in many cases, professionals forego medical attire for casual clothing and lab coats. This is generally due to a preference for the style of what they wear, but unfortunately, it is less safe for both the patients they attend and the doctors themselves.
Designing medical garments with fashion and style in mind means that those who prefer to wear more formal attire in their consultations can now do so with medical uniforms, without losing sight of the status and identification they seek, plus the essential protection factor.
Although the healthcare textile industry is known for being traditional and less innovative, it is time to revolutionize the design and offer medical staff more variety that integrates fashion, technology, and comfort.
Explore Colorchain’s differentiated medical attire and check out our catalog and new collections here.
