A senior British doctor has complained that junior members of her profession are getting too scruffy. But since doctors are valued for their skill and knowledge does it really matter what they wear?
The father of Western medicine, Hippocrates, had a clear idea of what a doctor should look like – “clean in person, well dressed, and anointed with sweet-smelling unguents“. Hippocrates would probably approve of modern hospitals, which offer “unguents” at every turn in the form of hand sanitizer – but he might take issue with the standard of doctors’ dress.
Hospital consultant Stephanie Dancer certainly believes it is in decline. Writing in the British Medical Journal last month, she complained that many junior doctors were abandoning formal shirts and jackets for T-shirts.
I – Word Understanding
Scruffy – not neat or orderly
Anointed – rubbed with oil / oil substance
Unguents – oily substance that is applied on the skin
II – Have your say
1. Six years ago UK issued dress code guidelines prohibiting dangling ties, long sleeves (including the white coat) and wristwatches to cut down on cross-contamination within hospitals, reducing the number of germs doctors carried from one ward to another.
2. Attire is not the only aspect of a doctor’s bearing that seems to matter. Would you trust a doctor with obvious health problems? (overweight, smokes, etc.)
3. Female doctors set to outnumber male colleagues by 2017. Women doctors are said to be safer than male doctors. Male vs. female doctor – who is better?
