
Petition for Amendment to Approved Uniform Colors at Dragon Rises College of Oriental Medicine


As dedicated students committed to the success and reputation of our institution, we propose that materials required for in-clinic treatments should be included in our tuition costs, thereby alleviating financial burdens and ensuring a consistent and high-quality educational experience.
Background:
Professionalism in appearance is important to both our outward presentation as a school of Oriental medicine as well as to our sense of community as a student body. Currently, the school permits students to wear scrubs in one of three colors: maroon, black, and navy blue. While we, as students of Dragon Rises College of Oriental Medicine (DRCOM), fully understand the importance of a professional appearance, we believe we would benefit from expanding the permitted color palette for our scrubs.
Rationale:
We have many students coming into DRCOM from diverse medical and medical-adjacent backgrounds, meaning that many of us already possess scrubs in solid colors other than the currently approved three colors. While we recognize that the school does provide students with two pairs of scrubs, we are in school three days a week and in externship on additional days of the week. Not only is two pairs not enough to cover a full week as a student, but constantly washing those two pairs leads to breakdown in the integrity of the fabric, leading to a notable decline in their professional appearance. Furthermore, being enrolled full time in a Master's program while juggling our other commitments outside of school leaves little time to constantly be washing our scrubs. Ultimately, this all leads to the need for additional scrubs beyond what the school provides. As we make shifts in our careers and career plans, which comes at a large personal expense, we find ourselves needing to purchase additional scrubs, when many of us already own several pairs, because of the restricted approved color palette.
Proposed Solution:
To best serve the financial and time commitment needs of our current and prospective students, as well as uphold the professional appearance that helps make DRCOM a respected institution in the community, we propose expanding the approved color palette for student scrubs to include any solid colors, where the top and bottom portions of the scrubs are identical colors. We recognize that any patterned scrubs, such as those often seen in pediatric-oriented medical facilities, would not be appropriate in this setting and we do not suggest that such scrubs should be approved.
Benefits:
1. Financial Relief: Offering a more affordable solution to the current uniform policy for many current and prospective students by allowing us to wear scrubs we already have, as opposed to purchasing new ones, in order to meet current student standards.
2. Continued Professionalism: Continuing to present a professional appearance to the public when they walk through our doors by ensuring we are all wearing solid, matching scrubs that are not over washed and beginning to break down.
3. Relief from time constraints: Allowing us to wear scrubs we already own will not only save us time from having to go purchase more, it will also reduce the amount of time we spend ensuring our uniforms are clean and presentable for school/clinic, as we will have additional options to choose from every day.
Considerations:
We understand that maintaining a professional appearance bolsters the public's trust in us as student practitioners. If expanding the color palette is something that administration thinks would detract from that trust, we propose that a more restricted color palette be applied to students working/observing in the student clinic, but that expanded colors could still be permitted in the classroom setting, where we are not interacting with patients.
We appreciate your time and consideration of this proposal and look forward to the opportunity to discuss this further.
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