Why do doctors wear white coats?

Certain uniforms have become synonymous with particular professions. Men and women who share the word of faith don clerical collars and habits. Police officers on patrol typically wear dark blue slacks and shirts with a badge affixed to the front. Construction workers are often recognizable by their hard hats. Perhaps no profession is more widely spotted by the clothing they don than doctors, whose white coats tend set them apart from other health care workers.

Most medical schools conduct some sort of white coat ceremony for their students. It often is a poignant moment when medical students receive their coats after many years of education and training. In the largest study of its kind, researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 4,000 patients at 10 academic medical centers in the United States and found that a physician’s clothing affects how patients view their doctors and how satisfied they are with their care. Physicians who wear white coats as opposed to business attire were deemed more trustworthy, knowledgeable, caring, and approachable, most notably among patients age 65 and older.

The American Medical Association Journal of Ethics says the physician’s white coat has served as a symbol of doctors for more than 100 years. The white coat can be traced to the word “candidus,” which in Latin means “white.” Initially all ancient Romans seeking public office as “candidates” (a word derived from candidus) wore white togas. The symbol for justice also shows a white toga.

Notably, prior to the nineteenth century, physicians dressed themselves in black, as it was considered formal attire similar to the clergy or how one might wear a black tuxedo to a special event. But the association with uncleanliness and death that surrounds the color black, as well as the concept of antisepsis that was taking hold in Europe after the discoveries of Joseph Lister, changed this. Medicine was moving in a different direction. To promote a greater sense of cleanliness and sterility, doctors began wearing white coats and nurses wore white caps and aprons. Eventually the white coat became a symbol of medical authority, respect and trust.

Many doctors wear white coats to symbolize the noble calling to medicine. It is a recognizeable piece of clothing, and one that continues to be seen more than a century after its introduction.