Dress Code Policy

Policy Statement

Students at the Keck School of Medicine are expected to promote and reflect a professional and safe patient care environment. The following guidelines are the minimum standards for all Keck School of Medicine students with regard to dress, grooming, and personal hygiene.

Students must also adhere to the dress code policies of any clinical sites to which they are assigned.

Policy Requirement

Professional Dress (as defined below) is required for clinical activities, patient encounters (including patient panels) and ICM unless otherwise specified. Students are also required to wear professional clothing/attire when presenting in a course (e.g., EPIC, HJSC, Transition to Clinical Practice, Intersessions, and Transition to Residency) and when a standardized or real patient is present.

Personal Hygiene/Cleanliness

1. Hair is to be clean and well-groomed. Hair should not come in contact with the patient, sterile field, or medical equipment. Faces should be clean-shaven or beards and mustaches clean and neatly trimmed*.
2. Body hygiene is required so that offensive body and/or breath odor is avoided.
3. Cosmetics should be appropriate for a business environment.
4. Perfumes, colognes, scented lotions, and/or after-shave lotion should not be worn.
5. Fingernails must be kept clean, well-manicured, and trimmed at a length that does not interfere with patient care or personal safety.

Clinical Setting Attire (Professional Dress)

1. Appropriate professional attire may include: dresses, blouses, collared shirts (button down or polo-style), or sweaters with slacks or skirts. All clothing must be clean and in good condition. Clothing must not be tight, sheer, or revealing. Skirts and dresses must be of appropriate length to maintain modesty while standing or sitting.
2. The official photo identification (ID) badge of the hospital or clinical site must be worn at all times, between the shoulder and the waist, with the name and picture easily visible.
3. White coats must be clean and pressed.
4. Clean, closed-toe/heel shoes constructed of sufficient strength to protect the foot may be worn. It is recommended that students maintain a pair of clinical environment-designated shoes.
5. Jewelry should not interfere with patient care or personal safety.
6. Pre-clinical students may wear ICM designated color/style scrubs for physical examination practice sessions. Students are to wear white coats with an official ID badge for an assessment which occurs on the same date.
7. Scrubs may be worn on clerkships in areas where they are allowed and if permitted by supervisors. Scrubs should be clean. Facility-provided scrubs must be worn in the peri-operative and operating room settings. Note: when in the operating room, t-shirts or short sleeve shirts may be worn under scrubs only if contained within the scrub shirt.

Inappropriate Attire in Clinical Settings

• Jeans, denim, or denim-like fabric.
• T-shirts or undershirts worn by themselves. Shorts of any type, mini-skirts, sweat pants or shirts, pajamas, athletic wear or leggings without an appropriate length shirt, dress, or skirt.
• Midriff, off-the-shoulder, spaghetti-strap, or strapless blouses, sweaters, and dresses.
• Hats, caps, or visors indoors*.
• Wearing operating room/procedure room attire (masks, booties, hair coverings) outside of procedure areas.
• Open-toe/heel shoes, slingbacks, sandals, and flip-flops.
• Torn, wrinkled, unclean clothing, and scrubs.

*May be acceptable when appropriate for medical or religious reasons.

Reviewed and Approved: May 1, 2024