Clothes Make the Doctor

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Clothes Make the Doctor

January 10, 2004 06:04:00 AM PST , HealthDay

By Kathleen Doheny

HealthDay Reporter

SATURDAY, Jan. 10 (HealthDayNews) -- Casual Fridays may be

embraced by American workers everywhere who love dressing down for their

jobs, but when they go to their doctor they want to see white coats and

stethoscopes every day of the week.

That's the finding of a recent University of Tennessee survey of

496 patients who visited two different local clinics and were asked what

clothing they'd prefer their doctor to don.

Patients surveyed say they want to see their physicians in white

coats, complete with a name tag and a visible stethoscope. Least

desirable foot attire included sandals, clogs and tennis shoes, adds

study author Dr. Amy Keenum, an assistant professor of family medicine

at the university. Her report appears in a recent issue of the Southern

Medical Journal.

" I wasn't surprised by the [preference for] white coats, " Keenum

says. " But sandals? "

Keenum conducted the survey with the other two female doctors in

her practice. She admits she is no fan of high heels. " We were kind of

hoping they'd like clogs, " says Keenum, who prefers her pair of English

walking shoes for comfort during her workday, which often involves 12

hours of seeing patients and being on her feet.

Doctors' attire isn't just an appearance issue, according to

Keenum and others who have studied the topic. If patients are

comfortable with a doctor's image -- and much of that is conveyed by

what he or she wears -- it can help patient-doctor communication and,

theoretically, that can improve the outcome of the treatment.

The findings from the current study do differ a bit from similar

ones conducted two decades ago, Keenum says., Back then, patients

preferred white coats and shirts and ties for male doctors and dresses

for female doctors. In her survey, pants were deemed desirable for women

doctors.

Ponytails on male doctors got a thumbs-down, as did perfume on

women doctors.

Patients younger than 40 were less likely to prefer traditional

attire on their doctors than those over age 40, Keenum found.

The study results make sense to Cheryl Wadlington, creative

director of Evoluer Image Consultants in Philadelphia.

" One of the psychological factors of fashion or style or image is

Americans are not quick to change, " she says. When they think of a

doctor, the image is one of a professional, perhaps the " Marcus Welby "

look. Often, she says, that is the image they want to keep even as they

have become more casual in their own workday attire.

Patients do seem to prefer a traditionally dressed physician

rather than a casually dressed one, Keenum agrees.

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