Impact of physician attire on patients' impression of their gynecologist: Results from a large single-center survey analysis

Objective: To assess the impact of physician attire in a gynecology office setting on a patient's level of trust and perception regarding medical advice, performing vaginal exams, and physician's ability to perform major and minor procedures.

Study design: Cross sectional anonymous survey at a large academic medical center. The survey was distributed to 200 patients of a single-physician gynecology office, between January 1st 2018 and March 31st 2018. The survey contained an image depicting a hypothetical gynecologist and hypothetical questions regarding clinical situations. Participants were asked to answer which doctor from the image shown they preferred for a given scenario.

Results: White coat was reported to be preferred physician attire in almost every clinical situation (p < 0.05). There were only two clinical scenarios, a gynecologic emergency (p < 0.01) and in the setting of major surgery (p < 0.07), in which patients did not have a preference for the gynecologist wearing a white coat. Attire did not have a significant effect on respondent's perception of the gynecologist's knowledge, level of compassion, authority, or ability to communicate.

Conclusion: The majority of patients preferred a physician wearing a white coat in the presented gynecologic scenarios, with the exception of gynecologic emergencies and gynecologic surgery, in which surgical scrubs were preferred.