short coat

short coat
 n.— «The structure of medical training in the United States is such that after a book-heavy first two years of medical school, the third- and fourth-year medical students are given their half-length white coats (hence the pejorative term “short coats”) and thrown into the hospital to see what real disease looks like.» —“See One, Do One, Go Into Private Practice” by Jordan Safirstein Huffington Post Oct. 3, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)