Are you a doctor, a doctor or both?

As a graduate student in the biological sciences on a campus with a medical school, I live near the collision of two very different worlds. Every day I am surrounded by Doctors of Medicine and Doctors with a Ph.D. and even, for the highly motivated multitaskers, people with both. Now there are some great research scientist with M.D. but many M.D. in research just dabble in my world. Luckily for patients I do not ever dabble in clinical work(mostly for those pesky legal things called laws that and respect for human life). Certain attitudes differ between there two circles. For example medical students and residents are expected to accrue large amounts of debt and temporarily abandon their families to pursue their education. Graduate students are paid a livable (though not luxurious) stipend and our schedule is dictated by our infrequent class, how long a given experiment is, deadlines for abstracts, but mostly how late we can show up and still find a place to park.

No where are attitudes more divergent than concerning the indispensable lab coat. For my clinically inclined counterparts a lab coat is a badge of honor and respect. There are even meanings placed on coat length. They are worn to distinguish themselves from the non M.D. masses. During lunch the local eats are filled with white coats enjoying a high trans fat meal. In lab a lab coat mean something entirely different. It is an apron for science nerds. It's sole function is to keep crap off me and my clothing. Traces of mouse feces, blood and urine, various carcinogens, caustic chemicals, and possibly, if I've been sloppy, some low level radioactive tritium could be found on my coat. I have a long coat because it keeps the above list from finding it's way onto my pants while I'm sitting. So when I see doctors in there bright white unstained coat eating together, I think, "I could where my coat feel important too", but it's about the last thing I'd want to wear while eating (carcinogens and mouse poo give me gas).