Dress Code

In the student laboratory, all students must adhere to the Student Laboratory Rules, which include guidelines for dress. These guidelines are designed for the students' safety and professional development. Any student who does not follow these guidelines may be asked to leave and return in the appropriate dress.

Guidelines for professional attire in the clinical laboratory require consideration for patients, visitors, and coworkers as well as personal safety. Therefore, when in clinical rotations, or when visiting the hospital laboratory as part of a laboratory activity, students are expected to promote a professional image by following these guidelines:

1. Clothes should be clean and neat. Casual or athletic wear such as leggings, sweat suits or warm-up pants should not be worn. Scrub suits are acceptable. Extremes in dress style should be avoided. Dresses and skirts must be at least knee-length and pants must be at least mid-calf.
2. Closed toe shoes only. No spiked heels or high platform heels.
3. A clean white laboratory coat and a name tag must be worn when performing laboratory work. Additional PPE should be worn as appropriate for each task.
4. Keep jewelry, perfume or shaving lotion, or scents found in other products to a minimum.
5. When there is any direct patient contact (i.e., when performing phlebotomy) in any area, inpatient or outpatient, students are prohibited from wearing artificial nails, including artificial tips or attachments, gel nails, silicone nails, silk wraps, acrylic nails, and nail jewelry.
6. No headphones or hats.
7. Long hair should be tied back.

In addition to these basic guidelines, students are expected to follow any additional provisions of the facility's dress code. For example, UNC Hospitals' dress code states that jeans or any type of clothing (skirt, shirt, vest) made from denim of any color may NOT be worn. Collarless shirts with any logos or writing on them can not be worn.

Any student who does not follow these guidelines may be asked to leave and return in the appropriate dress.

Go to Lab Coat Laundry Procedures