Would you judge a doctor by their appearance?

Doctors are humans first, physicians second.

If you saw your doctor in a bar or a restaurant holding a drink, would that cause you to question them?

If you saw your gynecologist on a lovely beach in Bali, wearing a bikini, would that make you rethink her competence as a physician?

I have always been told that the way doctors dress is very important to how they are perceived. Right from my first day, we were asked to wear traditional clothing, starch-white lab coats, stethoscopes and minimal makeup or hair-styling in the hospital. We are heavily discouraged from getting tattoos, piercing, hair colour or anything that could make us look unseemly. This made sense to me, we all have to maintain a certain decorum in our place of work. Right?

It is only when I saw how doctors were judged for dressing as they please OUTSIDE their space of work that I was angered.

A research paper titled ‘Prevalence of Unprofessional Social Media Content among young vascular surgeons’ was recently published by the Journal of Vascular Surgery. It defines unprofessional in two categories – clearly unprofessional behaviour, which includes HIPAA violations, being intoxicated at work and unlawful behavior with patients.

ALL ACCEPTABLE.

But it went further to define ‘seemingly‘ unprofessional behaviour as ‘Holding alcoholic drinks’, Having controversial political views’ and ‘inappropriate attire’. The researchers, which included three male doctors made FAKE social media accounts to ‘gather data’ (more like violate privacy) on the behaviour of vascular surgeons OUTSIDE the hospital. The investigators focused on recent vascular surgery residency and fellowship graduates, putting the average age of the study subjects (who did not give permission to be studied) at around 28-37 years old.

So what this study implies is – if you’re a surgeon, on holiday, which you clearly deserve because you work 7 days a week, you are not allowed to have a glass of wine or wear a bikini.

Because God forbid, how can doctors act like humans?

How are doctors allowed to have a life outside their profession?

Doctors are supposed to wear their white coats even when they swim, right?

I apologize for the sarcasm, but this is in fact what is being said. The fact that this study even got published in a reputed journal is ridiculous because journal papers are painstakingly peer-reviewed before being published. It really questions the deep rooted biases entrenched in the system.

Most of the people targeted by this study were women, and needless to say this sparked serious anger. The hashtag #MedBikini went viral on Twitter and Instagram, bringing countless women (and men!) to proudly post pictures of themselves in bikinis or other casual attire, along with the #MedBikini hashtag, in mutual support of so-called “unprofessional” behavior outside of the operating room.

We need to humanize doctors, make them more accessible to the patient. This not only is normal, but also enables a better connection and relationship with patients, and by extension, better outcomes. #MedBikini is a trend to humanize, not de-professionalize, women in a traditionally male profession. Another red flag about this highly flawed research study is that it adds ‘views about social topics’ under the umbrella of unprofessional behaviour.

A doctor’s view of controversial social topics like abortion and body-shape concerns is a strong, powerful and useful point of view. To label that as unprofessional is grossly incorrect, as it not only violates their basic rights but also serves as a downfall for society. Fortunately, the article has since been retracted for errors in the research process. But it has brought to light many deeply situated gender and race biases in the healthcare system.

On a more positive note, I am proud that the entire community (including many men) stood in solidarity with those female vascular surgeons in an effort to normalize the perceptions of doctors. Some of the posts had powerful captions like

 “Me posing in a bikini on Sunday does not dictate the quality of care you will receive from me on Monday,” said Nicole Sparks, MD, an ob-gyn in Atlanta.

“I shared my photo in solidarity with all of the women in medicine who have been told to not be too nice but also not aggressive; not be too well-dressed but not look like a slob; not act like a know-it-all but not admit uncertainty; not act too perfect but never admit that you need help,” said Yang Yang, MD, a vascular surgery resident.

I strongly and sincerely believe that we are humans first, physicians second. We take an oath to serve, and we are proud to do so, to the best of our abilities. We give our blood, sweat and tears at every step of the process.

And as I have mentioned before it gives me immense satisfaction and gratitude to be a part of this fraternity. But not at the cost of who I am as a person.

Do you agree? Do post your views in the comments!