To dress up for doctor’s appointments?

I know a few doctors socially and while academically smart and very qualified they're not on some elevated emotional and spiritual plane. They are humans and as such are as likely to be riddled with unexamined bias as the rest of us. So yes I think you're probably not wrong to think that some doctors do listen to well off people more than they listen to less well off people.

My feeling on this stems from my experience of driving btw. For work I drive a lot of different cars (from £200 runarounds up to Bentleys) and I am always very amused by how much road rage I am on the receiving end while driving a shit car (LOADS) compared to when I am driving an expensive car (none whatsoever). It has really opened my eyes to the level of disdain held for poor people in our society and I'm sure that a lot of the people with such bias have no idea they even feel that way!

I mean I wouldn't wear a suit or anything, but I always wear like proper clothes eg all black fitting clothes to see the GP. I always seem to wear sports clothes to see my psychiatrist though. I have no idea why

I did a stint in A&E as a newly qualified healthcare professional. I can vouch for the fact that quite a lot of the patients had literally soiled themselves in one way or another… So the thing about wearing clean pants incase you go under a bus is utterly futile. The medical staff really don’t care what you are wearing.

The only time I considered what I wore to the GP was when I was clinically depressed and thought if I turned up looking a mess it would flag concern. A bit daft really cos I think I had already crossed that threshold and was only kidding myself.
I think if you're seeing a GP for MH issues then how you present yourself tells them a lot.
For physical appointments I take into account if I'm going to need to remove clothes for an exam e.g. loose leg trousers that can roll UP rather than tights or skinny jeans that would need to come DOWN to show my knees, or sleeves that can easily be rolled up for blood pressure, or skirt and top rather than jump suit if I need to get my belly out.

It’s definitely a thing, you get judged on everything. Everything. Even your bloody name.

I can’t believe a previous poster said it was delusional to think doctors judge you. Of course they do! What planet do you live on? Their treatment and advice may not change but if you think they treat an unemployed young man, in dirty joggers, smelling of fags and weed and dirt under his finger nails the same as they would treat a 40 year lawyer in a sharp suit and a good watch then you’re delusional.

This is happened to me aswell.

i had insomnia i’m pretty sure its because my thyroid medication not right because its happened everytime my thyroid meds not in the right level. I got phone appointments with GP and he thinks i got anxiety and even he ask me “on today living crisis its really often people got anxiety without they realising it”. I kept insist want to meet him face to face and he agreed i got appointment in the evening.

later that evening i came with my son and he saw me dress up nicely and saw my son school private school uniform and the first thing he said “you clearly dont have a problem with living crisis”. And he agreed to do a lab check. I was so upset, cant believe GP can be so judgemental like that.

Not medical but school. As a single and quite young mum I found staff could be extremely condescending and treated me like an idiot until they realised that I was a graduate and training to teach. At our Dr's my GP wears tracky bottoms and trainers. Fine by me as he gets results for his patients.

This is an actual thing.
A young doctor unwittingly told me they are looking out for signs of neglect.His wife was a primary school teacher and he told me they had to keep reports of kids were unkempt etc .
I had always made sure the days my kids had dentist or doctor appointments they had clean fresh uniform and were able to go home get changed/ brush teeth into clean clothes before any appointment
Likewise as an adult I always try to look smart .well dressed , best shoes etc for any hospital appointment.
I think it’s important as you are going to see a medical professional so it’s important to have some respect ?

I remember an old doctor I had years ago who would have eaten you alive for wearing make up.
He said he needed to see the patients pallor. Fair point I suppose

I am a doctor and I agree with you.
Unconscious bias happens in medicine … the studies show it and people who say it doesn’t exist are talking a crock of shit.
We all make assumptions. I come from a back ground poverty , drug use and mental illness.
I remember seeing one woman in a posh jumper with handbag and makeup to match… she told me that she couldn’t possibly let her children go to the high school I went too ( 5 mins later I told her where I had gone to school… the look on her face was priceless!)
Doctors of colour are discriminated against by some patients demanding an “English” doctor.
I find it hard to see patients who are very very unkempt… I am talking about no was or change clothes for weeks .. not before you come to appointment. It is challenging but I try hard to not to show any feelings and be kind.
A friend of mine who worked visiting young babies and their Mums at home thought an immaculate home was the first sign post natal depression..
The key is to be aware as a professional about your biases.

I like to dress down and look ill 😄
At some points in life I’ve looked healthier than I’ve felt due to wearing full make up , smart work clothes etc, and it has backfired because it masks the extent of the issue.

It’s totally true. They treat you like scum and assume you’re an uneducated benefits claimant or something if you attend an appointment during the day. They act like you’re lying or being hysterical. But if you turn up in a suit they listen and you get better treatment and more respect.

It is definitely a thing. I've gone straight from work in the fairly formal suits I wear as a senior teacher. Have also gone in casual trainers and jeans in the holidays. From receptionists upwards I am treat differently according to how I'm dressed. Obviously I am the same articulate person either way but definitely feel my concerns are taken more seriously when I'm dressed smartly. Judgements are being made about how likely I am to understand treatment depending on how I'm dressed. I am also consulted more when smartly dressed regarding different options for treatment rather than just being informed ..'well this is what we'll do. DH in a more 'working class ' considered job prefers me to come to appointments with him. He dresses smartly for appointments but always feels his concerns are considered more carefully when I advocate for him.

This IS a thing. It’s about first impressions and how we all make snap judgments about others based on them. YANBU to make sure you look like you respect yourself in these interactions. If you don’t, others won’t is definitely my experience.

I don't wear make-up at all, and when I visit the GP I simply walk out the door, in whatever I happen to be wearing at the time. As for having a shower? If I had one in the morning I'm certainly not going to have another one just for a doctor's visit. A lot of people go straight from work, someone who has a labouring job wouldn't go home to get changed to see a doctor, then get changed again to go back to work.

I once went to the GP when I felt really bad, from memory I threw a jersey on over my pj jacket (and they had to listen to my chest).

What a weird thread - or else you have very strange doctors!

I also have to say as a health professional I don't care what you arrive in. I'm there to care for you and your baby and I'll do that however you present yourself.

No, I just wear what I normally would which is very casual. I only wear a small amount of makeup on a daily basis and wouldn’t apply more because I was going to see a gp.

It’s definitely true I’d like to think it’s unconscious bias but not 100% on that.
Look at the way they describe you in hospital letters.
When a doctor found out I worked in the hospital they suddenly became much nicer and had all the time in the world.
Also I live in a nice village that some think is posh, it’s not, some doctors are like oh it’s lovely there do you know the x’s.
my daughters school uniform is similar colour to that of a expensive private school. The orthodontist beamed oh you’re a xxxx pupil, when I said the actual name of her school their face and attitude dropped ( it’s got a bit of bad press!)

I dress pretty casual but often get more respect once I start speaking. My work lanyard also gets me more respect.

People don't dress up for the doctor where I live - or not that I've noticed - and I have never not been taken seriously by a doctor. I don't live in the UK, but several of the doctors I've seen have been from the UK, and they don't seem to care how patients look.

Not at all. I wear what I usually wear.

However if I feel I'm not being taken seriously, then I use medical jargon and they twig I'm a healthcare professional. I usually get taken seriously then, which shouldn't have to be the case.

Totally agree with you OP I do this too. I also make sure my children are dressed tidily for appointments. But I would want everyone to take me seriously whether that’s GPs, headteachers, other parents or the bin man, so I think I always dress suitably for an occasion. I’m not talking ball gowns on the school run, but always hair and make-up done and clean clothes. It’s no effort it’s just a given not to dress like a slob outside of the house.

It works both ways. I remember going to see a locum GP, she looked positively homeless, filthy converse with a hole in, battered old cardi hanging off her shoulders, I couldn’t believe she was a doctor. I dress better to go to the tip.

I completely believe in unconscious bias, to say nothing of the conscious kind, so do credit the stories from those who dress for medical care.

But could there be more to it? I interact better when I feel more confident in my looks and I may actually be a bit sharper mentally. Those factors would affect encounters with HCPs. If you feel that medical encounters go better when you dress better, could part of it be about self confidence?

Yanbu. It's a thing.