To dress up for doctor’s appointments?

[PollencaCalling]

Really re: classism in medicine!

Unless desperately ill I never go to see a GP/consultant etc without making sure that I’m looking well put together. Of course I’m not talking formal attire - just nice, tidy outfit and good hair/makeup. My opinion is that this way things are taken more seriously, and from experience this has been the case. Spoke about it with a friend earlier who thinks I’m bonkers!

Although it shouldn’t be the case I do think that to some extent I am justified in thinking this. Some doctors certainly do still have a class bias and I have experienced it myself. Took DD to A&E a few years ago and got quite a nasty doctor who implied that she was making it up! Once she took her coat off and revealed a hoodie from her (quite MC grammar school) his opinion of her completely changed and he couldn’t have been more pleasant or helpful. It really bothered me at the time and has stuck with me since

I've never noticed this. I just dress normally. In fact when I had a bad reaction to prescribed medication and went to a&e I must have looked horrific as I was treated really quickly and definitely had no make up on in that moment.

I do know though I'm always treated better in every single circumstance as a (young ish) white woman than my husband is as a black man.

😂 last time I went to the doctors was in September, I felt so bloody rough and looked like death warmed up, no recollection of what I wore but I know it was the same thing I’d been wearing for about 3 days straight. Dread to think what the Dr thought of me!!

In principle, I'd make the effort to look presentable wherever I went. Alas, it is so hard to get a GP appointment now that we have to take what's on offer, and if that's during my working day then I have to go as I am...I do a manual job, which I try to look half-decent for, but it's still jeans & tee shirt.

GP appointments are like gold dust. I’ve not had one since pre covid. If I was ill enough to secure one I think the last thing on my mind would be make up and what I’d be wearing 🤷‍♀️

The only time I've been taken seriously by my GP was when I turned up in my work gear and face full of make up.
Before, in my leggings and t short working from home gear with messy bun and no make up, dismissed, told it's part of aging at 33(losing body hair, menstrual irregularities, anxiety).

Plot twist. It wasn't.

You don’t need to be traditionally ill to have a GP appointment, that attitude is simply a symptom of the failing NHS.

The only time I’ve ever seen doctors or consultants in recent years is for orthopaedic concerns.

I would always be in fresh clothes and look decent for any appointment. Doctors, dentist, spec savers whatever. Showered and fresh. Accepting that coming from work at the end of the day that’s not possible.

I do. Shouldn't have to, but studies have shown that middle class or better educated patients have longer spent with them.

OP I totally get this. I had to rush my son to hospital a few weeks back. He had had a bad night and we barely slept so I was in tracksuit bottoms, a hoodie and my hair not even brushed and no make up on. I’m late 20s but very small and petite and truth be told I look about 19 when I’m thrown together like that. The doctor was horrible, just looked down their nose completely, I said something about my husband and they were like ‘oh you’re husband??’ Sounding shocked. I eventually snapped when they started using medical jargon and sarcastically said back ‘I’m a chartered accountant, not a doctor so can you explain that to me in plain English.’ Completely changed their tune after that.

I’ve had it on the flip side too, was coming from a work event and had to go to hospital so was dressed up, hair done, make up on (didn’t take away the fact I felt like absolute shite!!) and was treated so lovely.

Have heard tons of cases like this too. My aunt actually married an A&E doctor (now thankfully divorced!) and he openly admitted to me he judges patients (note I know most doctors aren’t like this and most don’t have such an outspoken horrible bias however I do believe many do have subconscious biases)

Yanbu. It's a thing.

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?

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.

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.

There is probably a bit of true in that aspect for me too. I am very much a look good, feel good person. Definitely not at my best if I’m not confident in my appearance.

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.

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

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!)

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.