Hospital etiquette (and general hat etiquette)

[Cochese]

I'm inquiring about a couple of different factors specific to my situation, which I didn't see covered in an existing thread.

I work for a hospital. Notice I didn't say 'at'. I work from home, but 2-3 times a month I'm required to be onsite to attend department or individual meetings. Our department does not deal in patient care, and our dress code is business casual. For guys, generally that means a polo and some slacks or khakis would suffice. I, having discovered the wondrous powers of the three-piece suit and hat, aspire to be better dressed.

Questions are thus: walking in the hallways to and from my department upon arriving or departing - hat acceptable?

To take it the other way, if I'm walking to grab something to eat or to use the facilities, do I need to grab my suit jacket?

 

[TomS]

My understanding is that your hat can be worn indoors walking through *common areas*. I don't believe the jacket has to be worn while you walk around your immediate work area.

 

[Cochese]

I suppose the issue is 'immediate work area.' I have to leave the confines of the department to do either of those things. To grab some breakfast I have to saunter across campus, underground.

 

[LaMedicine]

Question. What kind of hallway will you be walking through? Just the administrative department, or the clinical sections?
If it's only the administrative section, you can keep your hat on until you arrive at your destination.
If you need to walk through the clinical department, I suggest you take off your hat and keep it in your hand unless you ask the hospital administration and are told otherwise, as there may be common medical sense rules in place for infection control and other preventive measures, that the medical staff adhere to, and would prefer that the lay staff members follow as well.

 

[Feraud]

Questions are thus: walking in the hallways to and from my department upon arriving or departing - hat acceptable?

Yes.

To take it the other way, if I'm walking to grab something to eat or to use the facilities, do I need to grab my suit jacket?

Not necessary.

 

[Cochese]

Question. What kind of hallway will you be walking through? Just the administrative department, or the clinical sections?
If it's only the administrative section, you can keep your hat on until you arrive at your destination.
If you need to walk through the clinical department, I suggest you take off your hat and keep it in your hand unless you ask the hospital administration and are told otherwise, as there may be common medical sense rules in place for infection control and other preventive measures, that the medical staff adhere to, and would prefer that the lay staff members follow as well.

Almost all of it is Administrative/Plant Works on that floor. I don't venture into any clinical floors, however there is a Diagnostic Center I pass by. No real worry there however. It's called the ground floor, but it's actually subterranean for the most part.

 

[sal]

I wear my hat all through the hospital until I reach my office. I do not enter the patient wings where their rooms are however I am a clinician and do walk through clinical areas.
I do not wear my suit jacket if I go the the cafeteria etc. If I am in clinic I am wearing my lab coat

 

[Cochese]

I wear my hat all through the hospital until I reach my office. I do not enter the patient wings where their rooms are however I am a clinician and do walk through clinical areas.
I do not wear my suit jacket if I go the the cafeteria etc. If I am in clinic I am wearing my lab coat

Thanks for the input. I picked up a nice sharkskin grey 3pc I'm hoping to show off Thursday.

 

[plain old dave]

Admittedly, most of my Hat Etiquette is taken from military regs, but then again most men in the Golden Age were Veterans. That said, to my mind wearing a hat of any sort in any sort of medical facility is a bit much. Unless the hat is part of your working attire (food service, police, etc.).

 

[Warlord of The Weejuns]

As a general rule I remove my hat whenever I go in doors. Exceptions would be shopping malls or large stores.

 

[kyboots]

If you are a gentleman, the hat should be off anytime you go indoors. Mine is off the minute I enter the hospital, regardless of the location. If you are in the military, that hat is off going through the door. Exceptions OK a tunnel or a parking garage and I would agree a shopping mall or large store.

 

[Cochese]

I wore my full getup last week - suit/tie, trench and hat to work. Worked fine. I didn't encounter anyone going or leaving so it really didn't matter. Once I entered in my department the hat and coats gut hung until I left.

It was after I left that I discovered the problem. These 'rules' where written in a different era, not completely compatible with this one. I wore my hat home in the car, and removed it once I entered a take-out Chinese place. Hat back went on while I was in the grocery store, although I neglected to doff it when I went through the check-out. Today I wore my other hat, one that matches my short peacoat and I had on casual clothing otherwise. The uncertainty of what to do just made me leave it in the car.

I guess that's the rub - if you're running lots of errands in your car to shops, then you may run the risk of having your hat in your hand more often than on your head. It seems like the rules need to be rewritten based on current reality. Not to change the rules, but to clarify them and make some allowances that suburbia and the car have made more problematic.

 

[furious]

I think it's asking too much to expect that a gentleman's hat be removed immediately upon entry to any building. Many times it is simply not feasible esp. in this ultra-fast paced world in which we live. Too many electronic devices in one's hands already and such. I think the "rules" must be malleable to fit the times in order to encourage hat wearing. For example, I usually wear a fedora when I wear a jacket and tie to the office, so I leave my hat on through the entrance foyer, elevator, and until I get to my office proper. I leave my hat on in most public buildings when passing through, and when I am going to sit, I remove it. Very rarely have I had the opportunity to tip or doff my hat to anyone, although I would relish in doing so. Wearing a proper hat is one of the best ways that we can connect with a lost time, and as the world continues to change, I find that I reach for my fedora more often.

 

[Cochese]

I think it's asking too much to expect that a gentleman's hat be removed immediately upon entry to any building. Many times it is simply not feasible esp. in this ultra-fast paced world in which we live. Too many electronic devices in one's hands already and such. I think the "rules" must be malleable to fit the times in order to encourage hat wearing. For example, I usually wear a fedora when I wear a jacket and tie to the office, so I leave my hat on through the entrance foyer, elevator, and until I get to my office proper. I leave my hat on in most public buildings when passing through, and when I am going to sit, I remove it. Very rarely have I had the opportunity to tip or doff my hat to anyone, although I would relish in doing so. Wearing a proper hat is one of the best ways that we can connect with a lost time, and as the world continues to change, I find that I reach for my fedora more often.

Well stated. Perhaps we should have a roundtable on specific situations.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

I've never been in the military, but I work in the the Pentagon's suburb. The men in uniform whip of their hats the second they enter any building. From my viewpoint, that's going too far for a civilian. My rule of thumb is not to take off my hat when in a public place. By my reckoning, a public place is a quick service restaurant (no waiter), a building lobby, a corridor, or an elevator. Other public places include a subway or bus station, an airport, a subway car or a bus.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

I have to go to the VA hospital several times a week. The hat stays on until I am actually in a patient care or treatment room, then it comes off.