Enclothed Cognition

As a company where over 75% of orders are made with personalized embroidery, Medelita is poised to take advantage of this trend, and we have recently launched an e-gift programto speed up the process by which a person can send a gift to someone special.

Medelita slim fit lab coats and scrubs were a hit last week as we exhibited at two medical conferences, The American Society for Plastic Surgery's "The Meeting" in San Diego, and the American College of Emergency Physicians meeting in Seattle.

The weekend of the 19th was stimulatingly spent among Surgeons at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons conference in San Diego. There was a good turnout with both old friends/customers and new, as well as new residents coming to try on the Physician coats they have recently earned the right to wear. Attendees were an interesting mix of international and domestic plastic surgery practitioners, with a notably large contingent from South Korea. The E. Wilson slim fit coats were a big hit and it was nearly impossible to get those men to step away from the mirror. Many a smartphone photo was emailed home to the spouse to show off! Our soft scrubs were also a big hit as many people were really waiting for an opportunity to feel the material prior to purchasing. Yes, they really are as soft as we say they are. Female clinicians appreciated the varied lengths of lab coat we offer for females, as well as the different lapel and pocket styles. Residents were very excited about our new resident discount as well as the fact that we have their hospital logos available for embroidery. They returned daily to introduce Medelita to a new colleague. I had a fascinating conversation with a resident from Columbia who related his experience during Hurricane Sandy last year. Since their downtown hospital was closed due to flooding, the uptown hospital was triage busy – for 4 days straight! He was a very impressive young man and our conversation left me inspired, and very confident in the future of American medicine.

Unsurprisingly, many of our Medelita customers have learned about us through word-of-mouth from other colleagues.  Just like trading info on a great babysitter, restaurant, or mechanic, sharing the source for excellent lab coats and scrubs – Medelita – is spreading the good news around.  With this in mind we wanted to make sure you knew about our colleague referral program so you can gain more than just the credit for a good find.   If you are a current customer, you can be earning free store credit at Medelita.com by letting colleagues know where you got your professional medical apparel, Sanita clogs and leather physician bags. It’s pretty simple:  Log in to your account (or create a new one in seconds), click on the “refer a colleague” button near the bottom of that page, and enter the email addresses of the colleagues you want to inform about Medelita.  When your colleagues receive your email, they will visit the Medelita website by clicking on the links provided in that email.  Once they create an account they will automatically receive $20 of Medelita store credit to apply to any order over $100. Better yet, onnce their first order is completed, you will also receive $20 in store credit – to use anytime within the next year.  There is no limit to the credit you can earn.   You can read more about the details here:  //www.medelita.com/colleague-referral.html So while it is nice to give someone the catalog from your most recent package, or to simply mention Medelita.com, it might be even nicer for you to be earning store credit for your good deeds.  And if you are not a customer yet, find a colleague who is a customer and ask them to refer you.  Nobody can pass up a free lunch!

Our lab coats do.  We are establishing a new paradigm in the medical apparel industry. In fact, our aim isn't to simply make “lab coats and uniforms,” rather, we strive to coats and scrubs that are specifically tailored to be physician coats and scrubs for doctors.

We have two distinctly different  fits for our men’s lab coats which we’d prefer to call “physician” or “clinician” coats as our white coats are far from the ubiquitous “laboratory coat.” 

Residency is an intense time – really intense. The passion for the work is high, as is the dissonant combination of pride and self-doubt. The field of medicine is not a casual career path but a choice to truly face life, death, and every stop in between on an hourly basis. Combine braving hours of human pain and bodily fluids with the intellectual rigors of constant education (with little food or sleep) and you get, well, life as a medical resident. Although it is a given that we are all grateful for their dedication and assistance, there are actually some tangible gifts they would also appreciate this holiday season.

Top ten gifts for Medical Residents & Fellows:

1. $100 Starbucks card – cause they’ll need it

2. Embroidered Lab Coat from Medelita (instant boost of confidence and professionalism!)

3. On the go healthy snacks that can fit in a lab coat pocket: http://www.kindsnacks.com/

4. Sanita clogs – great support for people on their feet over 2,000 hours/year. Now offered with non-skid soles and 15% off with discount code: comfyclogs

5. 1 year worth of pre-paid dry-cleaning – make their life easier

6. Medelita gift card – the world is their oyster

7. An airline ticket to the medical conference of their choice

8. A bike, or other encouragement to get outside on their few days off

9. Medelita Scrubs – super soft with high performance bacteriostatic fabric

10. A hug

Medelita offers Sanita Clogs on our professional medical apparel website because they are the best shoes for long hospital shifts.  We know this because Medelita founder Lara Manchik Francisco, PA-C worked for 10 years on her feet in a busy emergency room.  We also know it because they have been recommended by many others in the field.  A few blog excerpts are below and underscore the exact reasons why clogs are the best choice: Mary L. Brandt, Professor and Vice Chair of the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, recently attested that, “Less than a 2 inch heel is best for Achilles.” She also adds, "If you will be standing for long periods on rounds or in procedures, think about getting shoes that slip on and off.  If you’ve been standing for hours it really helps to stretch your calves and change the pressure points.  When you are sitting, you can slip them off and let your feet breathe. There’s a lot of walking in the hospital, but there’s even more standing.  Running shoes don’t provide the right kind of support for standing, which means your feet will suffer if that’s what you wear." Here are a couple of other tips from Ted R. Melnick, MD Chief Resident, Department of Emergency Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine:

• "More important, though, is the efficiency this type of shoe allows you in the call room. You can quickly slip out of them and get some rest during the limited time you have to sleep during an overnight call. And when a code is called in the middle of the night, you can slip your shoes on quickly and be one of the first to respond.“
• “If you have a well-cushioned walking or running shoe, it will keep you comfortable during the long walks from one hospital ward to another. However, during a long procedure in the OR or on long walk rounds (this is making rounds while standing as opposed to sitting or walking for that matter), that cushioning will do a poor job of distributing the weight of your body.”

Sanita Clogs are the original Danish Clog and have been handmade in Europe for over 100 years. They now offer non-skid soles and are easily cleaned with a damp cloth.  These reasons along with those above are all support your choice of Sanita Clogs as professional Medical footwear.

A few months ago Keila Valdz Mower, a Girl Scout leader in Utah, wrote a compelling email to Medelita requesting a donation of lab coats to support a STEM Education program. Medelita enthusiastically said YES!

I was recently approached by a friend who wanted to purchase a personalized Medelita lab coat for a new graduate, and could sense his apprehension immediately. While this would make the perfect gift, he explained, it required that the size, fit, style, and embroidery was perfect.