A doctor’s white coat is not only a staple of healthcare attire, it’s also a symbol of professionalism, authority, friendliness, and trust. While medical students know that confidence comes from practice, donning the white coat marks an important milestone on your path to doctorate.
Nowadays they are associated with the credibility and status of a doctor
Since the 19th century, white coats have served as a symbol of cleanliness and achievement. Today, they are also largely associated with a doctor’s credibility and status. According to a survey published by JAMA Network OpenMost patients prefer physicians to wear formal medical attire rather than casual wear.
“When someone in the hospital sees someone in a white coat, it indicates that [ellos] they’re someone who knows what’s going on, and that’s just the power of the symbol.”
The results reinforced the perceived superiority of white coats across the board. Fleeces and softshell jackets earned an average rating of 3.1 to denote experience, while white coats skated at 4.9.
For professionalism, white coats earned another 4.9 rating, compared to a 3.3 for soft-shell jackets and a 3.2 for fleece.
The soft shells received an average rating of 3.1 for agreeableness, while the white coats received an average of 3.6.
The position of each doctor also played an important role.
The position of each doctor also played a role in the importance of their attire. For example, respondents preferred surgeons to wear white coats rather than scrubs. However, family doctors and dermatologists preferred to wear business underwear under a white coat.
White coat: Gender bias and doctor’s clothing
Another dimension of the JAMA survey captured the influence of gender on perceived professionalism among physicians.
Compared to images of male models wearing lab coats or white coats, images of female models wearing identical outfits evoked lower ratings of professionalism from participants.
Even when male and female models wore white coats in photos, the male models more commonly identified as doctors. Female models were often perceived as medical or technical assistants.
When wearing scrubs, female models were likely to be perceived as nurses, while male models were perceived as surgeons. In general, female models were less professional looking than male models in all sections of the survey.
But even with the pervasiveness of projected gender biases, the white coat remains a significant item for many doctors.
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