Patienten wie ein Mediziner in einem weißen Mantel, verwechseln aber oft Ärzte für Krankenschwestern | Ärzteinnen „beurteilt mehr nach dem Aussehen als nach männlichen Kollegen“, stellt die globale Studie fest
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/aug/12/patients-like-a-medic-in-a-white-coat-but-often-mistake-female-doctors-for-nurses
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From the article: Patients see doctors in a white coat as professional and trustworthy but often mistake a female medic wearing one for a nurse or medical assistant, a study has found.
Female physicians are “unfairly judged based on appearance and attire, which affected patients’ perceptions of professionalism and competency”, according to a global review of the evidence around patients’ impressions of what doctors wear.
“Female physicians are often judged more on appearance than their male counterparts,” it said.
“The way female physicians dress significantly influences perceptions of competence and professionalism, highlighting the gendered expectations that patients hold.
“Even when male and female physicians wore identical attire, female physicians were still more likely to be misidentified as nurses or medical assistants.”
The researchers found that “gender-related perceptions of physician attire” existed across the 13 countries studied, including the US, India, Japan, China and Germany.
The paper, [published](https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/8/e100824) in the journal BMJ Open, is based on an analysis of 32 previously published studies on perceptions of doctors’ clothing.
“The expectations regarding attire are often gendered, particularly affecting the recognition and respect given to female physicians,” the paper’s co-authors write.
Such behaviour is so widespread that hospitals and other healthcare providers should try to reduce bias among patients and “foster equitable perceptions” of male and female medics, they add.
The white coat has been a symbol of medical expertise for decades. Its association in patients’ minds with cleanliness and professionalism meant that “white medical coats became the standard attire for physicians worldwide in the 20th century”.
I suspect this less an issue of some inherent misoginistic views and more of a direct result of decades of conditioning through television to expect doctors to be men and nurses to be women. Plenty of people struggle with the concept of men being nurses as well often resulting in a unnecessary gendering of the title „male nurse“ as though the gender addition is somehow necessary to dispel the confusion that the referred to male medical professional is not a doctor.
Edit: Also historical demographics of the professions
I saw a clip of one of the 8 billion medical shows where the head hospital doctor or whatever was called the nazi. A temporary doctor came to the hospital and told some chick that he would only work with the amazing prestigious nazi, not her. Of course it turns out that she was the one they called the nazi, but because she was a woman he was all like no way dude.
32 studies from a few places is hardly „global“
Everyone is judged on appearance. So what? Other to fan flames of division what is the purpose of these findings ?
Then you have people like my former (female nurse) colleague, who earned a PhD in public health and was mad when she wasn’t issued a “DOCTOR” ID badge.