Student Clinical Dress Code and Equipment Requirements

Hospital Specialty Rotations:

Students will wear the royal blue scrubs bearing the OCC EMS logo on all specialty hospital shifts unless specifically directed otherwise.  These shifts include the OB, OR, Respiratory, ICU, PICU, and Cardiac Cath Rotations. Scrubs must be purchased from the OCC bookstore to ensure uniformity and easy identification of students. No other scrubs are acceptable.  Scrubs must be freshly laundered before each shift. We recommend at least two sets per student, especially if the student is going on to paramedic training. Shoes should be white with soft rubber soles. No black leather boots, shoes, or otherwise hard soled footwear is permitted inside the hospitals, out of the ER.  Footwear must not have multiple colors with brand logos or artistic designs. Students must wear their picture ID tag at all times!  Clinical sites reserve the right to refuse any student for any reason at their discretion, including the student's failure to comply with OCC's uniform policy.

Ambulance and ER Rotations:

Students will wear navy blue four pocket Dickies type uniform pants to their ambulance and hospital ER rotations. No cargo pants are allowed.  No bell bottoms or excessively form fitting pants are allowed.  A navy blue, OCC-EMS shirt, which can be purchased in the OCC bookstore, is the only acceptable shirt. An OCC-EMS navy blue pullover is permitted, if the weather dictates its necessity.  Any questions about the acceptability of clinical attire will be addressed by the clinical instructor and/or program manager and are not up for debate by the student. 

Students may not wear any article of clothing that has any markings that identify him or her with another EMS agency or fire department. The student may check with the supervisor at the facility that he or she is visiting to see if his or her attire meets their standards, or the student may consult with his or her clinical instructor and/or program manager.  Students must wear their picture ID tag at all times!  Clinical sites reserve the right to refuse any student for any reason at their discretion, including the student's failure to comply with OCC's uniform policy.

Equipment:

Students will need to supply a watch with second hand or digital second response, a black ballpoint pen, and preferably, their own stethoscopes.   It is recommended that the students supply their own manual blood pressure cuffs at their hospital rotations, because of the limited availability of manual cuffs there.  Students must arrive prepared for every shift, including bringing their objectives and paperwork. It is the students' responsibility to know their own scope of practice and objectives for each rotation.  If a student does not have a necessary form, copies of the clinical forms may be downloaded from the forms page on this website.

Cleanliness:

No heavy perfumes, colognes, or other strong odors are acceptable since they may nauseate or offend patients.  Long hair should be pulled all the way up, as ponytails can easily be grabbed by patients.

Jewelry:

Jewelry must be kept to a minimum. Wearing earrings poses a danger to the students, again because they can be grabbed, therefore earrings should not be worn. No EMT collar brass may be worn. During clinical rotations, students will only be allowed to wear a wedding band; other rings are discouraged for their safety and protection. Any neck chains must be worn under a shirt.

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