Doctors’ Dress Code - Does It Matter?

1 min

A survey of more than 4,000 patients at 10 major U.S. medical centers found that what their doctors wear is important to them and actually influences their satisfaction with their care. The survey from the University of Michigan Medical School provided patients with photos of male and female doctors in seven different forms of attire and found that 44 percent felt a physician should wear formal attire, a light blue long-sleeved dress shirt and navy blue suit pants, with or without white coat, with black leather shoes with one-inch heels for women and black leather shoes and a dark blue tie for men. Most (62 percent) agreed that when seeing patients in the hospital doctors should wear a white coat and 55 percent said the same for doctors seeing patients in their offices. Patients in the Northeast and Midwest were not as insistent on white coats over a dress shirt and navy pants as those in the West and South. Some respondants took a broader view of what doctors should wear when seeing patients on weekends – 44 percent said jeans and a short-sleeved shirt were okay, but 56 percent were neutral about this or disapproved.

Source:
Christopher M. Petrilli et al, “Understanding patient preference for physician attire: a cross-sectional observational study of 10 academic medical centres in the USA.” BMJ Open, May 29, 2018, dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-021239

Also in this week’s bulletin: