Covering Your Hair in the Hospital

One of the most difficult things that I have had to manage so far is figuring out how to cover my hair while I see patients and work in the lab. Expensive wigs and falls are not really made for getting blood or vomit on them, and they have these pieces of hair that are forever getting in your face. They may wear a little better in the lab, except that I experiment with mice and so I would have a wig that perpetually smells of the mouse house. Eew.

In the lab, it's a pretty solvable problem. I can wear a hat, a mitpachat, a bandana you name it. Nobody cares. It keeps my hair covered without obstructing my vision or getting in my face all the time. In the hospital, you have to be more careful. Many patients would not appreciate their Dr. wearing a newsboy cap. It makes them feel like you are unprofessional, on your way out and have no time for them. However I have found that you can easily get away with wearing a bandana. Many of the non Jewish nurses and staff wear them to keep the hair out of their face. You want to be careful though. If you are the type to not let a single centimeter of hair peek out from thebandana in the front then this is not the look for you. Your patients and colleagues will wonder why their Dr., who clearly has cancer, is walking around treating other people instead of resting up and taking care of their own health issues. Plus if you work with cancer patients they wonder how you can have cancer that requires chemo to the point of making you loose your hair and yet look so healthy and fit.

The solution for many female, religious, married physicians that I have spoken too seems to be the ponytail sheitel. They are not as super expenssive as full wigs, they keep hair off your face and they look natural. If you are someone who finds wigs hot and itchy I am afraid this will not solve that issue.

Right now, I'm a happy lab rat with a stack of about 50 different bandanas that match all my outfits. They're cute and functional and I can throw them in the wash with the rest of my clothes. I love them.