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| Pierced doctors lose by a nose |
28-Apr-2005 |
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by Jane McCredie
A DOCTOR with a pierced lip or nose may be seen as less competent and trustworthy by patients, and many colleagues are not comfortable with piercings either, a study shows.
About half the patients surveyed believed pierced lips or noses were inappropriate for doctors, according to a report in the Journal of General Internal Medicine (March).
A female model posing as a doctor was judged to be competent and trustworthy by almost 70% of patients when she was not wearing a nose ring, but by fewer than half with the ring in place.
Patients older than 50 were more likely to be troubled by non-traditional piercings, the survey found, with almost two-thirds describing a nose stud as inappropriate medical attire.
Even patients who had body modifications themselves — body piercing or tattoos — were not necessarily comfortable with piercings in their doctor. One-third of such patients disapproved of doctors with nose piercings, while almost 40% were opposed to pierced lips.
“It is particularly crucial that physicians, and particularly physicians in training, understand that their appearance may affect a patient’s opinion about their abilities and possibly erode confidence in them as a health care provider,” the authors wrote.
Earrings did not affect the rating of a male doctor’s competence or trustworthiness, despite the fact that more than one-quarter of patients believed they were inappropriate attire for a male doctor.
An accompanying survey of faculty physicians found that more than half would be uncomfortable working with a doctor or medical student who had a pierced eyebrow or nose.
Journal of General Internal Medicine 2005; 20:213-18.
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