Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Do white coats make us better doctors?

Lauren B. Smith, DVM
Physician
September 12, 2016
Share
Tweet
Share

It is 80 degrees in the exam rooms.  The air conditioner is broken and despite calling and alerting our clients, almost none of them want to reschedule.  I finish writing up a chart in the treatment room where the air conditioner from the kennels still has some influence.  Despite the temporary respite from the heat, my skin is still glistening with a thin layer of perspiration.  I look sullenly at the white coat that I had shucked as soon as I was out of eyesight of the nearest client.

I could go see the next patient without it.  Lots of doctors don’t wear white coats.  In fact, there is an ever increasing movement away from wearing then.  The reasoning goes like this: White coats are dirty.  They harbor bacteria which could be transferred from one patient to the next.  There are currently no studies to validate the assumption that wearing a white coat increases infection rates, but it does make sense.  Doctors who adhere to this reasoning advocate for a bare below the elbows approach to dressing.  There’s also concern that white coats reinforce outdated hierarchies in medicine and act as a barrier to team unity.

And yet, reluctantly, I shrug the coat back on.  You see, as much as I try to get behind team “no white coat,” I just can’t.

Maybe it’s because I’m a woman, and as unfortunate as it is, we still live in a society where a woman’s perceived ability is tied in with her physical appearance.  Studies show that women who wear makeup are seen as more likeable, trustworthy and competent. If we want to be seen as professionals, it’s important that we look like professionals.  So, I make sure I’ve got my white coat along with my full face of make-up when I head to work.

Maybe it’s because I look young for my age.  I still, eight years out, sometimes greet a new client who is certain that I’m too young to be a doctor.  Wearing a white coat reinforces that I am in fact the doctor and helps me to look more mature.

Maybe it’s because I’m a veterinarian, and there are still those who think vets aren’t real doctors.  I assure you I am as real a doctor as any other out there — and I have the white coat to prove it.

All of the above are valid reasons.  We need clients to trust us and people trust doctors more when they’re wearing a white coat.  They are more open and honest about confidential medical information with a doctor they feel is professionally dressed.  In medicine, patient history is essential.  If our clients don’t trust us enough to confide in us, we might miss out on a vital piece of the diagnostic puzzle.

But when it comes down to it, the main reason I still come down on the side of the white coat is that as confident as I am in my medical knowledge, bedside manner, and overall doctoring abilities, without my white coat on, I feel just a little bit less of a vet.

It’s crazy, I know.  An article of clothing holds no power over how smart, competent, and knowledgeable a person is …

Or does it?

Turns out, studies have shown that it does.  People associate wearing a white coat with attentiveness and carefulness.  When asked to wear a doctor’s white coat, people performed better on tasks associated with these traits than when they were not wearing it, or when they were told it was a painter’s coat.

What we wear has a significant impact on the way we are perceived by others and by ourselves.  For now, a white coat is still seen as a symbol of medicine; one that plays an important role in transforming us from Joe Shmoe on the street to doctor. I hope one day the bare below the elbows crowd can succeed in changing perceptions of doctor’s attire to something a little more practical. Until then, I still believe that my white coat makes me more confident and respected by clients, and that makes me a better doctor.

Lauren B. Smith is a veterinarian.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

ADVERTISEMENT

Prev

Should you care which EMR your doctor uses?

September 11, 2016 Kevin 10
…
Next

You can't prepare for a rotation in the pediatric ER

September 12, 2016 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Primary Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Should you care which EMR your doctor uses?
Next Post >
You can't prepare for a rotation in the pediatric ER

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

  • Doctors aren’t just white coats without a face

    Devon Romano
  • Medicine vs. racism: white coats for black lives

    Divya Seth, MD, MPH
  • Why do doctors who hate being doctors still practice?

    Kristin Puhl, MD
  • Doctors: It’s time to unionize

    Thomas D. Guastavino, MD
  • Doctors die. But the good ones leave a legacy.

    Jaime B. Gerber, MD
  • Lawmakers don’t care for our patients. Doctors do.

    Joanna Bisgrove, MD

More in Physician

  • How to handle chronically late patients in your medical practice

    Neil Baum, MD
  • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

    Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD
  • Why medicine must evolve to support modern physicians

    Ryan Nadelson, MD
  • Why listening to parents’ intuition can save lives in pediatric care

    Tokunbo Akande, MD, MPH
  • Finding balance and meaning in medical practice: a holistic approach to professional fulfillment

    Dr. Saad S. Alshohaib
  • How regulatory overreach is destroying innovation in U.S. health care

    Kayvan Haddadan, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why timing, not surgery, determines patient survival

      Michael Karch, MD | Conditions
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Why point-of-care ultrasound belongs in every emergency department triage [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why PSA levels alone shouldn’t define your prostate cancer risk

      Martina Ambardjieva, MD, PhD | Conditions
    • How to handle chronically late patients in your medical practice

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • Reframing chronic pain and dignity: What a pain clinic teaches us about MAiD and chronic suffering

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

      Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD | Physician
    • Why medicine must evolve to support modern physicians

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 6 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why timing, not surgery, determines patient survival

      Michael Karch, MD | Conditions
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Why point-of-care ultrasound belongs in every emergency department triage [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why PSA levels alone shouldn’t define your prostate cancer risk

      Martina Ambardjieva, MD, PhD | Conditions
    • How to handle chronically late patients in your medical practice

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • Reframing chronic pain and dignity: What a pain clinic teaches us about MAiD and chronic suffering

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

      Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD | Physician
    • Why medicine must evolve to support modern physicians

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Do white coats make us better doctors?
6 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...