Background: The preferred attire for physicians has not been defined to date. In Israel, where casual attire is acceptable in most circumstances, patients' preferences have not yet been systematically evaluated.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that was designed to evaluate parents' preferences for physicians' attire in a pediatric inpatient ward. A volunteer was dressed in four types of clothes sets: elegant attire, sportive attire, careless attire and scrubs - all of which were displayed, with or without a white coat. Parents were asked whether or not they felt the physician was an important component of the medical encounter; they were also asked to choose the picture of the doctor they preferred to care for their child.
Results: A total of 250 parents participated in the study; 68% of the parents believe that the physician's attire is an important component of the medical encounter; 41% of the parents preferred the doctor to wear scrubs with a white coat, 22% preferred scrubs without a white coat. Careless attire was the least preferred attire.
Conclusions: The physicians' attire was important for most of the participants. We recommend that doctors in inpatient wards wear scrubs.