Enclothed Cognition

Our Medelita conference team is just returning from the California Dental Association convention, The Art and Science of Dentistry, in Anaheim.  Our only local conference of the year (as we are based in San Clemente, CA) The CDA Presents event was only a short car ride away.  This week we are still basking in the excitement – lots of repeat customers, many vocal previous customers coming back to the booth to thank us (as well as to entice others with their animated testimonials) and just an overall vibe that dentists, dental surgeons and hygienists are becoming familiar with our new brand, Medelita.  “Are you the ones with the cuffed sleeves and fluid resistant fabric?” so many would say.  Yep – that’s us! Our dental lab coats being the newest in our lab coat lineup, this is all very rewarding to our small team, to realize that we are growing and the people are hearing about us.  Specifically, what makes our lab coats so unique and profession specific. So what did they buy?  Elsie G. and Fauchard dental coats went flying.  These new 100% cotton dental coats are extremely well received by dentists and all dental professionals.  Women seem to truly love the sporty look of the Elsie G. lab coat with the preppy stand-up collar and snap closure.  And the men commented that the Fauchard cuffed sleeves and optional snap closure to the neck are ideal features for their everyday positioning and professional presentation. Much to our surprise, no one seemed deterred by our lack of current inventory in both the Elsie G. and Lucy H.T. lab coats.  It’s true – they have been so popular that we’ve had a hard time properly planning for inventory.  A good and a bad problem, I suppose.  But one that is definitely being corrected in the upcoming months, never to happen again.  We are extremely grateful for the patience our customers/colleagues have displayed, as we experience these growing pains. Looking forward to CDA in Anaheim next year.  Likely to see new and (now) plenty of old faces next year . . . . with new styles and new scrub colors in hand.

My mother is an avid collector of jewelry. She follows all the designers and is always sparkling from head to toe on any special occasion. During a recent trip to California, she gave me a necklace that I wore to the CDA Conference in Anaheim this past Friday. As I was leaving the Conference, I was approached by two women who admired it and asked me if it was Brighton. “I don’t know,” I said, “Probably.” They looked slightly horrified that I didn’t know, and I imagine they thought me a little unworthy of wearing it. I may not be jewelry savvy, but I, like many women, have a confidence boosting secret of my very own. For some women, it’s a Brighton necklace, a new haircut, or a Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag…for me, it is high heels. I don’t wear them often (I’m fairly tall without them), but when I want to feel my best, nothing puts a strut in my step like a good pair of high heels. There’s something about the click of a heel that makes me feel empowered…if my life had a soundtrack, Pat Benatar would start to sing whenever I walked in heels! At Medelita, we put the utmost care and detail into creating lab coats and scrubs worthy of being a confidence booster. We empower women in the medical field to shed the unisex baggy uniforms and step into the comfort and sophistication of flattering garments designed and tailored for them. We hear all the time from our customers about how much attention they receive in our lab coats and scrubs. Most often, they’re asked, “Where did you get it?” Personally, I’m hoping that someday soon, that question will be “Is that Medelita?” (I also hope the person wearing it doesn’t say ‘I don’t know’!) When it comes to giving yourself an extra shot of confidence, what’s your secret?

I got sick a few days ago, and unlike other companies I have worked for, I was told adamantly to just stay at home and rest. It was a little difficult at first to accept. Many of us have been trained by Corporate America to sacrifice our health in order to remain dedicated to our careers and the work that we do. As a society, we have a tendency to work long hours, sometimes lose sleep, and brush aside our health to power through…and we usually end up being sicker for far longer. I’m happy to say that I’m now feeling much better, and I’ve learned in these past few days that dedication does not have to come at the price of my own wellbeing. Medelita was founded by a female clinician, Lara Manchik, PA-C, and she has strived to establish a corporate culture that goes beyond lab coats and scrubs. We’re not just another lab coat company; Medelita is a company that embodies the values of health and wellbeing that our customers dedicate their lives to promoting. In turn, Medelita has taken a great deal of time and care to ensure that the comfort and wellbeing of our customers always comes first. Our pockets are reinforced and designed into the garments to allow you to carry anything you need without being weighted down and uncomfortable, and our Advanced Dual Action Teflon® fabric protector repels and releases fluids, soil and stains, ensuring a bright white, clean and polished appearance, as well as the longevity of your lab coat. Combined with many other details, every Medelita lab coat and set of scrubs is geared towards making you look and feel your very best. It’s easy to become martyrs for our cause, to put what we believe in before ourselves, but I’ve come to realize that we can give more overall by taking the time to ensure that we are healthy, comfortable, confident, and efficient. Whether it’s taking a day off when you’re sick or wearing your favorite Medelita lab coat at work, what do you do to balance your dedication with your health and wellbeing?

[caption id="attachment_438" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Medelita Embroidery"][/caption] Change. Some of us love it and some of us fear it, but change is an inevitable part of life. I happen to like change, which is probably why I've lived in two different countries and four different states in my 29 years of life. In fact I've become so comfortable with change that I've developed some commitment-phobic tendencies that I mask beneath the guise of "being an indecisive libra." (Thank you Zodiac for letting me blame my idiosyncrasies on the stars.) When you're spending more for a higher quality product, you want it to last forever, and in many ways, embroidery is a commitment. Whether it's a change in practice or title, or a new married name, it's not that rare for someone to desire a change in their embroidery. For those "libras" among us, one frequently asked question is, "Can you remove the embroidery and put a different name on my lab coat?" The short answer is yes, we can remove the stitching and re-embroider your new name. However, we don’t recommend it for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, you will always be able to see the stitching from the original embroidered name...even with professional cleaning and heavy steaming. If the new name is less letters than the original name, there is more of a chance of noticing the change than if the new name is the same length or longer.  Our embroidery artisan can try to alter the width and overall size of the embroidery to cover the original (by taking it all out and resizing), but it's not an ideal option. Removing the original embroidery is not very easy, and once in a while, no matter how hard we try or how much time we take, a slight hole can emerge from either the embroidery removal process, or simply the number of tiny holes purposefully placed in the fabric from the original embroidery. Removing the embroidery essentially lessens the integrity of the fabric. So do you have to choose between buying a new coat or damaging the quality of your existing one? Not at all. At Medelita, we have a great team dedicated to serving the needs of our customers, and that includes finding the best solution for any problem. A great option that we offer at Medelita is to allow our embroidery team to stitch a special white background straight on top of your original embroidery, and then have your new embroidery within that white pattern.  We’ve done that quite a few times and the customers have really liked it. No matter what changes your life may bring, you can rely on Medelita for the best customer support and dedication. We want you to be happy.

[caption id="attachment_448" align="alignright" width="225" caption="René Laennec "][/caption] Inspiration comes in all forms. Here at Medelita, we're inspired by historical pioneers, and we often name our lab coats after notable medical figures. Our mid-length 100% cotton Laennec men's lab coat marks a long awaited upgrade to the ubiquitous physician lab coat, and it is named after a man who changed the face (and the ears!) of the medical field. René Laennec was a French physician. In 1816, he invented the stethoscope while working at a teaching hospital in Paris and pioneered its use in diagnosing various chest conditions. Prior to Monsieur Laennec, a physician would place their ear against their patient's chest in order to listen to a heartbeat or for signs of infection or breathing irregularity. In the early 1800s, this was actually a rather mortifying practice for the vast majority of female patients. On one particular occasion, Dr. Laennec was presented with a young overweight female patient and was unable to listen to a heartbeat through traditional means. In a flash of inspiration, he rolled a piece of paper into a cylinder and the stethoscope was born. [caption id="attachment_456" align="alignleft" width="198" caption="The Laennec Lab Coat"][/caption] What I love the most about this story is that Dr. Laennec's inspiration came in the form of children. Children are, by far, the greatest inventors that the world has to offer, and in the days leading up to his innovation, René Laennec had seen schoolchildren playing with long, hollow sticks. The children held their ear to one end of the stick while the opposite end was scratched with a pin, delightfully turning the properties of acoustics into a fun playground game. Clearly a humble man, Dr. Laennec chose not to name his invention a renéscope (a catchier name than a laennecscope, in my opinion) but took the far more practical approach of naming it after the Greek stethos (chest) and skopos (examination). However, he often referred to the stethoscope as "the cylinder," and called it "the greatest legacy of my life." Medelita agrees, and we are proud to honor him. With a distinguished blazer-like appearance and ergonomic fit, our 40" Laennec men’s lab coat presents a clean and prestigious appearance. It also features five total pockets, including a concealed pocket for your PDA and functional suit chest pocket. With a tailored, distinguished look and technically innovative features, the Medelita Laennec lab coat is  a perfect blend of quality and functionality.

Click here to learn more about the Laennec Medelita Lab Coat

On the Rachael Ray show this morning a woman in scrubs was featured during a fashion segment, and style expert Clinton Kelly offered a guilty verdict. "You know what this look says to me?" asked Clinton, while looking at the drab attire of a scrub top and scrub pant. "Inmate!!" It's a shame that she wasn't wearing Medelita scrubs because I think he would have found it impossible to criticize.  But I have to agree that the vast majority of scrubs on the market today are boxy, ill-fitting, and un-flattering. It is mind-baffling to everyone here at Medelita that women and men in healthcare and dentistry are expected to wear shapeless, frumpy unisex lab coats and scrubs that do nothing to portray their true level of aptitude and professionalism.  As an Emergency Medicine Physician Assistant, our Founder Lara Manchik found herself constantly frustrated by uncomfortable fabrics, horrendous fit, and unflattering silhouettes. By founding Medelita, she set out to create a paradigm shift and offer garments consistent with the level of prestige and achievement earned by doctors, surgeons, dentists, PAs and other medical professionals.  At Medelita, we believe that your uniform is an outer display of your achievement – the closest thing to wearing a diploma – and for that reason, it should be perfect. Are your scrubs flattering, or are you an inmate trapped in an uncomfortable prison of an abrasive and ill-fitting uniform?  We invite you to experience the comfort and confidence of wearing Medelita scrubs, and we're certain that even famous Hollywood stylists won't have a bad word to say.

  As a PA-founded company, Medelita has a special place in its heart for Physician Assistants.  As we prepare to attend the Annual AAPA Conference in Las Vegas, I'd like to take a moment to honor a very special PA who has dedicated her life to helping the underserved. It was at her father's side that Margaret Allen learned how compassionate care can make a tremendous difference in the lives of people who need it most. Along with her father's compassion and sense of humor, Margaret inherited a healthy dose of bravery from her mother, who served as a nurse in a London hospital during the Blitz of WWII. With a touch of humor, she recalls the life-changing moment she recognized her calling to become a Physician Assistant. "I turned 40, digging in a bed of collard greens in Chiapas, and realized that I needed more qualifications if I was going to help people in need," Margaret says. "Becoming a PA was the natural route." Twenty years later, Margaret certainly has the qualifications to care for the health of people who have fallen through the cracks. She earned her PA certification from the Stanford University Medical Center Primary Care Associate Program, where she had the unique privilege of meeting Dr. Patch Adams. "His integrity, humor, and take-no-prisoners attitude to the hobbling time constraints placed on medical practitioners was quite inspirational," Margaret recalls of the encounter. She's carried those lessons into her work as a PA and leader in her profession. For the past 17 years, she has been treating the homeless and poverty-stricken with equal parts respect, dignity, and compassion. As the lead clinician at Ravenswood Belle Haven Clinic in East Palo Alto, she has become the only source of regular medical care for people whose lives are in constant flux. "Like so many other health care providers, I sometimes work long hours trying to get services to patients. But in the end, it’s a good feeling to go home at the end of a long day knowing that someone feels better, even happier, as a result of what you have done." In 2009, Margaret was awarded by the AAPA for her Service to the Underserved. We were thrilled to send Margaret a personalized set of Medelita scrubs, which made quite an impression in her clinic. "When working with the underserved, I need to be respectful and unassuming," Margaret says of her Medelita scrub set. "They're perfect for my work as they feel great, wear well, fit nicely, and effortlessly make it look like I have made an effort!"

Do you know what I hate? I hate opening the dryer and realizing too late that I forgot to put a fabric softener sheet in with my laundry. I've even been known to throw a sheet in with dry clothes and set the dryer for 15 minutes just to get rid of the static cling. But until recently, like many creature comforts of my modern life, I really never stopped to ask, "How does it work?" In a nutshell, fabric softeners (both liquid and dryer sheets) work by coating the surface of the cloth fibers with a thin layer of film designed to make your clothing feel smoother and prevent buildup of static electricity. Also, they smell nice. In some cases, however, using fabric softener can actually hinder the performance of certain items. Especially with cotton, coating fibers in fabric softener chemicals can reduce the water absorption properties of the fabric. For instance, most all-cotton towels become naturally softer with repeated washings and using fabric softener will  make them less absorbent. Medelita scrubs are made with a very special performance drirelease® cotton fabric with FreshGuard®. What this means is that the fabric itself is moisture-wicking, quick drying, and soft. Drirelease® yarns pull moisture away from the skin and help to regulate skin temperature, minimizing sweat and discomfort.  FreshGuard® is bacteriostatic; it neutralizes and inhibits the growth of bacterial odors. The patented formula is applied at the yarn level, so they are permanent and last the lifetime of the garment. They are also completely environmentally friendly. However, like towels, using fabric softener on your Medelita scrubs can make the fabric less effective. Because fabric softener coats clothing, it can clog the weave of our performance fabric, basically creating a layer between you and the yarn and stopping it from doing all of the amazing things it was designed to do. Because our scrubs fabric dries so quickly, you only need to put them in the dryer for a short amount of time. If you don't have time to dry your scrubs separately, we recommend removing your scrubs from the dryer after 10-15 minutes and then adding a dryer sheet to the rest of the laundry if you want to. This quick and simple adjustment will guarantee that your Medelita scrubs keep you dry, comfortable, and fresh for as long as you own them.

At Medelita, we have separate private single-stall bathrooms for men and women (No, I’m not entering a contest for strangest blog intro, I swear). I recently saw a male coworker leaving the women's bathroom, and I had to laugh because the men's bathroom was empty and less than five feet away. "It's nicer!," he said before darting back into his office. I've noticed that some men have a tendency to claim that the little 'luxury' details don't matter...until they discover the difference. My boyfriend buys Irish Spring in a 6-pack and then uses my L'Occitane Shea Butter soap, and I'd bet you know at least one man that secretly swears by Bath & Body Works and prefers high-end hair products (although he'll adamantly deny it). When Medelita was founded, we only offered a women's line of scrubs and lab coats. At the time, we didn't think there was much of a market for a men's line, since the 'unisex' styling was essentially masculine in both design and tradition. Boy, we were wrong! Our Founder always relays a flashback to one of the very first medical conferences (AAD) she attended as an exhibitor.  Anxious about even the female MDs liking and accepting the new Medelita lab coats, she was caught off guard when a very pushy and vocal male dermatologist forged his way through the slew of female MDs happily trying on lab coats, and said, with his fist on the table, “Where’s mine???”  Ok, she realized, so it’s not just women that have been unhappily wearing frumpy lab coats. It didn't take long for more men in the medical world to speak up and demand the same quality of garment. We were flooded with requests for tailored and professional looking lab coats and scrubs designed specifically for men. At Medelita, when the customer speaks, we always listen...and the Medelita Men's line was born. Today, we now offer four distinct lab coat designs for men: the full-length Osler lab coat, the mid-length Laennec lab coat, the Fauchard dental lab coat, and the Fleming consultation lab coat. Medelita Men's lab coats are 100% cotton and impeccably hand-sewn, like a tailored suit blazer.  At Medelita, we devote as much time to perfecting our garments for men as we do for women. The tailoring, fit and design features make our lab coats second to none because, after all, your lab coat is your suit, and you deserve to look your best.

What happened to exceptional Customer Service? For the past few weeks, I've been dealing with a company that owes me several hundreds of dollars. The latest installment involves them sending the check to the wrong address and then arguing with me about who is wrong (I live here. I know my address). Arguably, it's not entirely their fault because USPS gave them incorrect information. However, when you're owed money or when you pay for a service or product and something goes wrong, it doesn't really matter who is at fault. Especially when you work long hours, you don't have time to jump through hoops or disentangle yourself from red tape...and expecting you to do that is not good customer service. At Medelita, we treat our customers the same way that we ourselves wish to be treated. We pay attention to the details, and we put a great deal of time and effort into making sure that your order is perfect. On those rare occasions when a customer isn't completely happy with their order, Medelita goes above and beyond to rectify the situation. To us, you're not just an order number or a faceless consumer...you're a deserving, accomplished, and professional individual that deserves a level of customer service that exudes respect and a personal  touch.  If you ever have any questions or concerns, please contact us at questions@medelita.com ...we're here to serve you, without the hoops and tape.