With Christmas approaching, Abi Rimmer at the BMJ asked doctors whether festive jumpers are appropriate for doctors working in hospital medicine.
The responses varied from a big yes in paediatrics to a cautious no from doctors working in emergency.
Sam Thenabadu (@4hrEmergencyDoc), consultant in adult and paediatric emergency medicine, told the publication that for the majority of staff, donning a Christmas pudding or jingling elf jumper has now become accepted uniform. It brings festivity to work and in some small way tempers the feelings of missing out.
He reported that a straw poll of his colleagues confirmed his suspicions that both tasteful and gregarious jumpers were actively being sourced for this year’s Christmas period.
Katherine Conroy (@kc_312), specialty trainee in ear, nose, and throat surgery, spent last Christmas as a patient, admitted with a life-threatening diagnosis. “Nothing will unleash your inner Scrooge like being woken up on Christmas morning by the bleep of the observation machine,” she said. She cautioned that frivolity needs to be balanced with the gravity of medicine.
Alessandra Glover Williams (@alessglover), specialty trainee in neonatology and trainee representative for Severn at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health trainees committee, said: “As a paediatric registrar approaching my fourth Christmas in a row at work, I am something of an expert when contemplating this question.”
She said while Christmas attire beings a smile to lots of children, there are times when it is not appropriate. “With planning and thought we can balance spreading joy and hilarity with the gravity that our job demands,” she added.
