What hospital staff wear white vests / sleeveless coats?

Question

I'm just curious what staff members of the hospitals sport the white vests/ sleeveless lab coats. Are they Physician's assistants, physical therapists, medical assistants, respiratory therapists.

It seems that the physical therapists, secretaries, nurses, and CNAs all wear scrubs. I know diet techs wear white vests or a lab coat.

I'm just trying to understand inner-workingsings of a hospital. There are so many people! :)

thanks in advance.

Answer 1

There used to be more hard and fast rules for this such as only those with a doctorate degree were allowed to wear coats that went below the waist. It just isn't true anymore.

Personally, I always wear a long coat, but my collegue likes to wear a sleevless vest in the summer (we are both PTs). yet, we are both allowed to wear scrubs as an alternative.

It's all dependent on the facility's policies. The only way to tell for sure is by reading someone's credentials on their name badge.