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

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.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.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.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.

Duke Scholars

Author Douglas Bruce Timmons Jr Obstetrics and Gynecology, Reproductive Endocrinology & Fert ...