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Do you care about your doctor's appearance?

I've never really thought about how my doctors look. I guess my main concern has always been dealing with my health problems and getting them taken care of. But this study published in the British Medical Journal seems to indicate that many patients do care about how their physicians look and interact with them. Do you have an opinion on this?

Patients preferred doctors to wear semiformal attire, but the addition of a smiling face was even better. The next most preferred styles were semiformal without a smile, followed by white coat, formal suit, jeans, and casual dress. Patients were more comfortable with conservative items of clothing, such as long sleeves, covered shoes, and dress trousers or skirts than with less conservative items such as facial piercing, short tops, and earrings on men. Many less conservative items such as jeans were still acceptable to most patients. Most patients preferred to be called by their first name, to be introduced to a doctor by full name and title, and to see the doctor's name badge worn at the breast pocket. Older patients had more conservative preferences... BMJ full article

By Merv Sheppard