Patients Attitude towards Surgeons Attire in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Drogheda

摘要

Background: A doctor’s competence and professionalism is often judged on the basis of attire. Our Lady of udLourdes (OLOL) is a leading Irish hospital in the implementation of Bare Below the Elbows (BBTE) policy, udhowever surgical attire is not standardised and there is great variability in attire worn on wards. We aimed to udevaluate patients attitude towards surgeons attire in OLOL.udMethods:A prospective survey of adult surgical in-patients was conducted from October 2013 to February ud2014. A twelve-question questionnaire was used as data collection tool, using a five point Likert scale to assess udpatients response to each question. Data were collected on patient demographics, patients level of trust and udconfidence based on different surgical attire, and patients perception of different attire worn by surgical teams. udResults:There were 150 completed surveys during the study period with a male to female ratio of 44% to ud56% respectively. The mean patient length of in-hospital stay (LOS) was 4.7 days (range 1–22). The most udcommonly represented age group was 30–40 years (18%), with a comparable spread among all age groups. udThe majority of patients found the attire worn by surgeons on the ward to be very appropriate (93%). Majority udof responders believed scrubs to be the most appropriate attire for surgeons on wards (39%), followed by shirt udand tie with white coat (38%) followed by short sleeved shirt and no tie (18%). Shirt and tie with white coat udhad a positive effect on patients trust in 63% of responders, a negative effect in 10% and no effect in 26%. udScrubs had a positive effect on patients trust in 63%, negative effect in 11% and no effect in 25%. Short sleeved udshirt and no tie had a positive effect in 44%, negative effect in 25% and no effect in 30% of patients. udConclusion:Patients in OLOL find attire worn by surgeons to be appropriate. Shirt and tie with white coat udor scrubs remains the patient’s choice attire for surgeons. Shirt and tie with white coat or scrubs has a more udpositive effect on trust of patients compared to short sleeved shirt and no tie.