Orthopaedic Physician Attire Influences Patient Perceptions in an Urban Inpatient Setting.

Area of Science:

• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Patient Perceptions
• Physician Attire

Background:

• Physician attire significantly impacts patient perceptions and the patient-physician relationship.
• Previous studies explored attire preferences in various settings, but not specifically in inpatient orthopaedic surgery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how orthopaedic physician attire influences patient confidence, trustworthiness, perceived safety, caring, intelligence, surgical outcomes, and willingness to share personal information.
• To determine if patient perceptions differ based on the gender of the surgeon.

Main Methods:

• A survey of 93 orthopaedic surgery patients at an urban academic medical center.
• Patients rated images of male and female surgeons in five attire types: business attire (BA), white coat over business attire (WB), scrubs alone (SA), white coat over scrubs (WS), and casual attire (CA).
• Ratings were on a five-point Likert scale for confidence, trustworthiness, safety, caring, intelligence, surgical outcome, and willingness to discuss personal information.

Main Results:

• Patients showed a preference for surgeons wearing a white coat over scrubs (WS) or business attire (WB), or scrubs alone (SA).
• Casual attire (CA) and business attire (BA) were least preferred.
• No significant differences in patient preference or perception were found based on the gender of the surgeon.

Conclusions:

• Inpatient orthopaedic patients prefer physicians in attire that includes a white coat (over scrubs or business attire) or scrubs alone.
• Surgeon gender did not influence patient preferences regarding attire.
• Adopting professional attire, such as a white coat or scrubs, can enhance the patient-physician relationship and patient care in inpatient orthopaedic settings.