The application and appealing of white lab coat

A white coat or laboratory coat is a knee-length overcoat worn by professionals in the medical field or by those involved in laboratory work. The coat protects their street clothes and also serves as a simple uniform. The garment is made from white or light-colored cotton,linen, or cotton polyester blend, allowing it to be washed at high temperature and make it easy to see if it is clean. 
Similar coats are a symbol of learning in Argentina and Uruguay, where they are worn by both students and teachers in state schools. In Tunisia and Mozambique, teachers wear white coats to protect their street clothes from chalk. 
Medicine 
White coats are sometimes seen as the distinctive dress of both physicians and surgeons, who have worn them for over 100 years. In the nineteenth century, respect for the certainty of science was in stark contrast to the quackery and mysticism of nineteenth century medicine. To emphasize the transition to the more scientific approach to modern medicine, physicians sought to represent themselves as scientists, and began to wear the most recognizable symbol of the scientist, the white laboratory coat.  
Recently, white coat ceremonies have become popular amongst those starting medical school. 
The modern white coat was introduced to medicine in the late 1800s as a symbol of cleanliness 
Patient perceptions 
A study conducted in the United Kingdom found that the majority of patients prefer their doctors to wear white coats, but the majority of doctors prefer other clothing, such as scrubs. The study found that psychiatrists were among the least likely to wear white coats and when they are worn, they are typically worn over the scrubs. Some medical doctors view the coats as hot and uncomfortable, and many feel that they spread infection 

White versus black 
A tie-dyed lab coat 
Until the mid-1920s, students who were examining cadavers would wear black lab coats to show respect for the dead. Black lab coats were used in early biomedical and microbiology laboratories. The "whitness" and "pureness" concepts that were established in medicine pervaded that environment at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries and physicians changed the black for the white coat. 

In laboratory work 
When used in the laboratory, lab coats protect against accidental spills, e.g., acids. In this case they usually have long sleeves and are made of an absorbent material, such as cotton, so that the user can be protected from the chemical. Some lab coats have buttons or elastic at the end of the sleeves, to secure them around the wrist so that they do not hang into conainers of chemicals. Short-sleeved lab coats also exist where protection from substances such as acid is not necessary, and are favoured by certain scientists, such as microbiologists, avoiding the problem of hanging sleeves altogether, combined with the ease of washing the forearms (an important consideration in microbiology). 

Controversy 
Studies have shown that doctor's coats worn in hospitals can harbor contagions including MRSA. 
In 2007, the UK National Health Service started banning long-sleeved coats. 
In 2009, the American Medical Association investigated banning coats with long sleeves to protect patients, but did not institute a ban. 
A study published in 2011 investigating the effectiveness of the NHS ban showed no statistical difference in contamination levels between residents wearing long-sleeved coats and those wearing short-sleeved scrubs.[12] 
In an effort to reduce the contamination of healthcare uniforms, ASTM International is developing standards to specifically address liquid penetration resistance, liquid repellency, bacterial decontamination, and antimicrobial properties of such uniforms