“If you dress like a resident, you get treated like a resident” is what I was told, so I did “business attire + white coat” once I transitioned to a hospitalist doc life after medical residency. Once COVID-19 pandemic hit, I moved to “scrubs + white coat” and haven’t transitioned back to “business attire + white coat” yet. Or maybe as I get older, I care less about looking “too young to be a doc” ? But how much does it all really matter in clinical outcomes?
Work attire should display professionalism, inspire confidence & trust from patients, and yet be functional for carrying tools of your trade …and maybe subtly exude some character even. The studies on attire I find are vastly centered on patient perceptions of healthcare providers and some on care satisfaction. A comprehensive literature review published in 2015 – aptly called ‘TAILOR’ study’ showed most studies concluding a ‘positive impact’ of professional attire on patients, a preference for White coat (this mattered more for non-procedural docs) but only a minority showed perceptions influenced by it – interestingly geography mattered! Here in the US, I see more use of inscribed jackets, fleeces, and fitted scrubs gaining traction. I read with interest how one physician explains why he moved to wearing fishing vests at work! Mayo Clinic doctors famously do not wear white coats – only business attire, and their medical school graduation ceremony is called “stethoscope ceremony” instead of “White coat ceremony”. A more recent study published in 2021 showed photographs of a male or female model wearing various types of physician attire to US-based English speaking adults. Casual attire was rated as less professional and experienced than a white coat. Maybe this is a generational bias and might change in the future. Gender biases existed too, unfortunately. The strength and quality of clinician-patient relationship plays into patients’ healthcare experiences, satisfaction and adherence to treatment recommendations and attire is an important non-verbal aspect of it.
💡 My take: Don’t let your attire & grooming distract patient & their family from your clinical care. Be memorable about your care, not about your look. This should apply to both ends of the spectrum – unkempt, shabby, foul body odor at one end AND over-the-top, intimidating & stiff-looking at the other. I wear a clean, unwrinkled white coat and often have a fun medical lapel pin or other holiday pins on my collar to subtly show my fun side, which often prompts a good comment from the patient
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