Costume party

A typical selection of outfits for an SP encounter.
[Preparing for the Costume Ball via wikimedia]

I wish SPs had costumers. Granted, most SP events are done while wearing hospital gowns. We usually wear undergarments: bras and shorts/pants. We are often on camera, after all! And students have a hard enough time without the shock of fully visible breasts and groins.

But sometimes we are in "street clothes" for encounters that don't require a physical exam. And when that happens, I have to start making assumptions about the presentation of class and gender. This is both highly interesting and a little uncomfortable for me.

For instance: what outward signs most clearly signal an office manager, stay-at-home mom, car salesperson, maid, music mogul, golfer, homeless person, teacher, lawyer, Target salesperson, accountant, Catholic, artist, landscaper, factory worker, party girl, pharmaceutical salesperson, restaurant manager, cook, hippie, construction worker, banker, social worker, delivery driver, cattle rancher, travel agent, hairdresser, jazz musician, bartender... or a fellow medical student?

I have two competing thoughts:

1. Students should not be surprised by SP presentation so that they are more able to respond to the scenario.
2. Students should be exposed to SP presentations that defy their expectations and limit their assumptions.

So depending on the role, this leads to questions like: Should I wear makeup? Should I put my hair up? What sort of shoes does this character wear (if any)? Should I wear a fragrance? Should I wear my glasses? Does this character wear tight-fitting clothing? What colors are typical for this character range/class? What jewelry does this character wear (if any)? What about a wedding ring? What do I wear while giving birth? Do alternative medicine clients dress differently than Western medicine clients? Etc. In any case, I know I am either playing to stereotype or I am causing the students to question my authenticity.

Extra credit!
Worst case scenario: I sometimes have a repeating event in which I know I will be one of four different cases, but I don't know which until I arrive at the event. So I've had to create an outfit that will work for any of the four characters. That's tough! I guess the alternative is to bring several different outfits -- but I don't think even I am that dedicated.

Extra credit #2!
When I have to create a costume from my closet, I will sometimes find a surprising lack of a common item. For instance, I recently discovered I don't have a plain pair of black pants when trying to create a business manager outfit. Apparently I haven't needed a pair for at least 10 years!

Setting the standard:
I can worry less about what to wear if the manner of dress is included in the case. Please do that!