Response to ‘Dressed to regress but not for success’ Abhimanyu Jabbal Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, UK

I

was pleased to receive a response to my study.1,2 The conclusion ‘patients prefer white coats to no white coats’ is challenged by adding the total number of responses favouring smart casual and smart attire, which is indeed greater than the number of responses preferring the white coat; however, the intention was for the three choices to be distinct, and the white coat was the preferred option by patients. Perhaps this could have been better phrased as ‘Patients prefer the white coat over other styles of dress’. I did not compare the white coat against smart dress alone. The author questioned whether patients subconsciously prefer the white coat because it ‘brands’ the individual as a doctor, and suggests that this perpetuates a hierarchy that affects the doctor–patient relationship. I wonder

why the authors would stigmatise the ‘brand’ of a doctor. Is the medical profession not something to have trust and faith in? In a busy multidisciplinary environment, every other member of staff in the hospital wears a uniform, and this helps patients to recognise with which professional they are interacting. The white coat is an addition to the rest of the students’ clothing; therefore, I do not agree that this would lead to a loss of personal identity. The study showed that white coats did not seem to make patients uncomfortable or intimidated compared with the other styles of dress, but rather enhanced the favourable attributes of trust and confidence. There did not seem to be a negative impact on the doctor–patient interaction. Regarding the logistics of buying and laundering the white

coats, in the current climate it would be safe to assume that hospitals would not be willing to undertake the purchase and laundering of white coats because of the change in infrastructure that this would require. It would be entirely reasonable for the student to purchase and launder their own white coats. Where I work, students of all other professions working in the hospital do this with their uniforms. If the same guidelines to not wear uniform outside the hospital were applied, this would be more hygienic. REFERENCES 1.

Francis I, Katarey D. Dressed to regress, but not for success. Clin Teach 2015;12:292.

2.

Jabbal A. Medical student dress code in the orthopaedic outpatient department. Clin Teach 2014;11:507–511.

Corresponding author’s contact details: Mr Abhimanyu Jabbal, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. E-mail: [email protected] doi: 10.1111/tct.12407

© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2015; 12: 292–295 293

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Response to 'Dressed to regress but not for success'.

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