Don’t be lazy, wear a lab coat now!
Any doctor, nurse, surgeon or support staff that is working in a medical institution will immediately tell you that your lab coat is a vital part of your daily work. Especially if you are a researcher dealing with highly toxic chemicals that are being experimented with, you will find that your lab coat is an extremely fundamental component that is used to protect you from any accidents that might occur during your course of work.
Even though the common perception of lab coats is that it must be white, you will be surprised to know that today, labcoats come in many different colors. One main reason for this being so, is for the purpose of identification. With different colored lab coats being assigned to different staff, the identification of the many roles that each staff plays becomes much easier.
In most medical institutions, you will find that doctors normally get issued white lab coats, whereas other support staffs such as nurses get issued lab coats that are either green or blue. Though this is common in most medical institutions, there are no fixed guidelines and the choice of color per department, is entirely up to the medical institution’s decision.
With the different colors of lab coats available today, you will also find many different types of lab coats as well. Lab coats have now been developed with different materials for different purposes, which is why you should consider your type of usage before deciding on which type to use.
A common guideline that is employed by many recognized medical institution, is to always discard your lab coat if it is contaminated, and send it for cleaning at a specialized cleaning facility, immediately. This is extremely important, as doing so prevents any type of contamination from occurring. Also, it will prevent anyone else from getting harmed by and toxic substances that might be found on your stained lab coat.
Should the amount of chemical contamination exceed acceptable levels, you would have no choice but to throw your lab coat away. If you have to do this, you will need to ensure that your lab coat is properly disposed of, as it should not be mixed with the rest of the trash.
Another thing you will need to note, is that it is highly recommended that you wear your lab coat properly at all times. This usually means that you have your lab coat fully buttoned up or zipped, and always have your sleeves fully extended and covering your arms. If you do not wear your lab coat properly, it will not be able to protect you from any toxic chemical substances that might cause you harm.