Our hospital has de facto color coding of scrubs by profession. Navy for RT, teal for PT/OT, royal blue for docs, etc...
For 2 yrs, I've conducted an informal social experiment, wearing doctor and "non-doctor" colors on different days.
Here's what I've observed:
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When I'm in navy (RT) and teal (PT/OT), doctors who don't already know me are more rude.
They speak more curtly and occasionally condescendingly. Not most doctors - but enough do that when averaged across an entire day, it's noticeable.
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A typical example:
Last Friday, one ED attg insulted and chastised me in front of a handful of her peers for sitting in the wrong seat (while I was disguised as PT).
If she knew I was the hospitalist there to admit her patient, that definitely would not have happened.
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Meanwhile, other staff are more openly friendly as compared to when I'm "dressed like a doctor".
Not more polite per se; they're always polite.
But rather more small talk & random banter.
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I rarely dress in doctors' royal blue any more - I enjoy banter with strangers at work.
And the occasional negative encounter with a doc who mistakes my role gives away their true colors.
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Differential treatment of HCWs by scrub color is not exactly the most important problem medicine is facing, but it's a sign that we all need to work harder to show equal respect for everyone on our healthcare teams.
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@DrEricStrong
What I feel we often loose sight on is that we are men/women (humans) first before being doctors, teachers etc…
That’s unfortunate!
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@DrEricStrong
Dr. strong did you ever tell the ED physician that you were the hospitalist ?!! Or did you just quietly leave ? I want to know how the story ends
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