Clothes May Also Make the Pediatrician

Does a doctor’s stiff white coat put off or intimidate young patients?

Just the opposite, it seems, according to a New York research team that has found parents and children prefer formally dressed doctors to those who wear casual or sloppy attire.

Pediatrician Ronald V. Marino and colleagues surveyed 50 sets of parents and their children, who ranged from 5 to 18 years old. They showed them photographs of men and women pediatricians wearing attire ranging from “very doctorly” starched white coats to very casual ensembles like surgical scrubs or casual shirts unbuttoned at the neck.

Adults rated the formal look as superior, says Marino, who is director of ambulatory and behavioral pediatrics at the Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, N.Y. Children reacted negatively to the most casual attire, although not as strongly as their parents. Marino’s survey was published recently in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.

The message for doctors, Marino says, is: “You stand to alienate parents and kids if you dress really sloppily.”

Dr. Stephen Tannenbaum, now a pediatrician at Kaiser Permanente, Los Angeles, isn’t surprised by the findings. Years ago as a young resident, he attended a parent consultation with a senior pediatrician. Tannenbaum was immaculately dressed in a starched white coat; his superior wore a flannel shirt and casual pants. The parents ignored the senior doctor and directed their questions to Tannenbaum.

Doctors who present a professional image inspire patient trust, says Tannenbaum. But he doesn’t think a professional look need necessarily be strait-laced. Under his starched white coat, he sometimes slips on a Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck tie to help patients feel more comfortable.