21–30 of 38 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think it makes sense, notebooks are hard to sterilize.
> notebooks are hard to sterilize Washing / sterilizing the lab coat has the same effect as erasing the data written on it. There isn't a library of lab coats which contain notes written on them, for future consultation. A notepad page is also easier to permanently sterilize (via incineration) than a lab coat.
When I worked in the NHS, our coats were far from white because we used to write on them, in magic marker, things like specimen numbers, doctors and nurses names, phone numbers etc. that we had to deal with queries about. I was always impressed that the laundry managed to get them pristine white again. Of course this was just us sloppy men - female techs carried useful things like notebooks (paper) and biros. And now…
> Of course this was just us sloppy men - female techs… What an odd thing to say
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think it makes sense, notebooks are hard to sterilize.
> notebooks are hard to sterilize Washing / sterilizing the lab coat has the same effect as erasing the data written on it. There isn't a library of lab coats which contain notes written on them, for future consultation. A notepad page is also easier to permanently sterilize (via incineration) than a lab coat.
I think it's pretty clear they were taking ephemeral notes, not using them for long-term archiving.
When I worked in the NHS, our coats were far from white because we used to write on them, in magic marker, things like specimen numbers, doctors and nurses names, phone numbers etc. that we had to deal with queries about. I was always impressed that the laundry managed to get them pristine white again. Of course this was just us sloppy men - female techs carried useful things like notebooks (paper) and biros. And now…
> And nowadays in the NHS you will be hard-pressed to spot a white coat - people wear ordinary clothes, scrubs, or nurses uniforms. At least that's my impression as a recent in-patient. Yeah, they were banned in the name of hygiene (sleeve length) not that long ago. 2007 in England & 2014 in Scotland I think. The BMA has some lingering objection to it from what I understand, but since Covid they're all in scrubs anyw…
https://www.workwearexpress.com/blog/NHS%20Uniform%20Colour%20CodesWhen I worked in the NHS, our coats were far from white because we used to write on them, in magic marker, things like specimen numbers, doctors and nurses names, phone numbers etc. that we had to deal with queries about. I was always impressed that the laundry managed to get them pristine white again. Of course this was just us sloppy men - female techs carried useful things like notebooks (paper) and biros. And now…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Of course this was just us sloppy men - female techs… What an odd thing to say
The writer is retired and probably in his 70s now, so keep that in mind
The HN user zabzonk's profile description says "Ex C++ programmer and project manager".
It'd be interesting to understand more about their crossover from microbiology into C++ (or vice-versa).
When I worked in the NHS, our coats were far from white because we used to write on them, in magic marker, things like specimen numbers, doctors and nurses names, phone numbers etc. that we had to deal with queries about. I was always impressed that the laundry managed to get them pristine white again. Of course this was just us sloppy men - female techs carried useful things like notebooks (paper) and biros. And now…
> "our coats were white because we used to write on them" It's hard to tell whether this is a deliberately trolling statement, a fantastical Walter Mitty style statement, or something else. Coats weren't white for anyone to write on, and clinical staff didn't routinely write on their clothes.
> "our coats were were from white"
The understanding of the original post was "our coats were white because", which implied the purpose of the coats being white, was to allow them to be written on.
The post was edited to read:
> "our coats were far from white"
When I worked in the NHS, our coats were far from white because we used to write on them, in magic marker, things like specimen numbers, doctors and nurses names, phone numbers etc. that we had to deal with queries about. I was always impressed that the laundry managed to get them pristine white again. Of course this was just us sloppy men - female techs carried useful things like notebooks (paper) and biros. And now…
The environmental impact of that laundry problem has been reduced but at the cost of 3M Corporation producing trillions of post-it notes that carry such tidbits of information around labs instead.