Don't Flip Your Lid Over Surgeons in Skullcaps
The iconic symbol of surgery is at the center of a dress-code dustup.
T
here's something about a surgeon in a
form-fitting skullcap that identifies
him as the leader of the pack. Plus, it
looks kind of badass, much cooler than the
shower-cap look of a surgeon in a wispy
bouffant bonnet.
"The skullcap looks good. It looks better
than a big puffy thing on my head," says
orthopedic surgeon Justin Hollander, DO, of
Munson Medical Center in Traverse City,
Mich., the Michigan State Spartans fan in the
picture to your right. "It's a prestige thing. We are the captains of the
ship. And we want people to know who's in charge. It's my room. It's
my patient."
Dr. Hollander has worn a skullcap for 10 years and 10,000 cases, for
all of his residency and most of his practice. But he's now donning a
bonnet "that comes out of cardboard box that sits near the floor"
because the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN)
pointed out that, ahem, skullcaps don't cover all of the head, hair and
ears.
In an odd exchange of clothes-minded discussion about proper dress
in the OR last month, first the American College of Surgeons (ACS)
released its surgical attire guidelines, describing the skullcap as "sym-
bolic of the surgical profession" and calling for its continued use. The
ACS said that it was acceptable for "only a limited amount of hair" on
the nape of the neck and "modest sideburns" to be left uncovered by
surgeons wearing skullcaps.
A couple weeks later, the AORN released a response to the ACS
8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6
Editor's Page
Dan O'Connor
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN
Justin Hollander, DO