The tie has long been the quintessential emblem for the professional. Tradition spanning centuries dictates that a professional, such as a doctor, should wear a tie, the one item that completes the professional aesthetic and separates the business-like and formal from the casual.

Do doctors need to wear ties?

Although studies have shown that while physicians' white coats, neckties and sleeves harbor infectious organisms, leading some countries to require physicians' arms to be “bare below the elbow,” no studies have shown actual transmission of infection to patients through contact with physician attire, researchers note.

Why did doctors stop wearing ties?

It's about infection, too. While no clinical studies have demonstrated cross-transmission of bugs from a professional to a patient via neckties, they have been found to be contaminated by potentially pathogenic bacteria and to be possible sources for physician-transmitted infections.