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ASC
MANAGEMENT
What Not to Wear — Physician's Attire Elicits Mixed Responses in
Outpatient Orthopedic Centers
By Eric Oliver
A
study in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Re-
search examined the effect physicians' attire has
on a patient's perception of them in an outpatient
orthopedic setting.
Here's what you need to know.
1. Researchers from Philadelphia's Temple University sur-
veyed 85 patients at an outpatient orthopedic clinic at an
urban teaching hospital.
2. Researchers presented eight images, four male and four
female, to the patients. The surgeons wore a variety of uni-
forms including: a white coat covering formal attire, scrubs,
business attire and casual attire.
The patients had to rate how confident, trustworthy, safe,
caring and smart the surgeon appeared; how the surgery
would go and how likely they would discuss personal infor-
mation with the surgeon.
3. The researchers found that the white coat on a male
surgeon had higher rating in confidence, intelligence, sur-
gical skill, trust, ability to discuss confidential information
and safety than a surgeon in business attire.
Patients preferred the white coat to casual attire in all
categories.
4. For female surgeons there was no difference between
the white coat and scrubs, but the white coat was preferred
to business attire in a majority of categories.
5. Patients disliked when providers wore casual clothing.
6. The researchers concluded that patients preferred the
white coat, and they were more likely to believe the surgery
would go better if the surgeon had a white coat or scrubs.
The study supports past research that surgeons should
wear scrubs over business or casual attire if not sporting
a white coat.
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