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Would you trust a doctor in a T-shirt?
- mordae 13y agoMy doctor wears T-shirt and a coat, does that count? I don't think it's important what they wear as long as it's clean and the person looks confident and capable.
- harrytuttle 13y agoIn a similar vein: would you trust a programmer in a suit?
- cliveowen 13y agoWhy not, sometimes even programmers want to dress in style.
- levosmetalo 13y agoSuit != style.
- calibraxis 13y agoIt depends on what they're signaling with such dress, and to what audience. (Because people socially communicate with dress. After all, few males wear female-coded clothing, like skirts.) If they merely want to look more romantically attractive in the suit, then it's meaningless in evaluating them as programmers. If they're signaling conformity to management, then that may impact my goals, pro or con. If they're contracting at a conservative bank, that's a smart thing. In other situations, they may conflict with my goals. So, these little details may provide topics for further, brief investigation. In much the same way that, when you first walk into an office, you see indications of the power structure. (For instance, is one seat uniquely positioned to easily see what's going on in all the other screens?)
- sp332 13y agoI worked with a very good programmer who liked to dress up for work. He was't pretentious or snobbish, he just really liked nice clothes. It was fine, no one complained that he was showing off or anything.
- hownottowrite 13y agoLawyers, bankers, and politicians wear suits. They're certainly trustworthy people.
- cliveowen 13y agoThis made me chuckle, +1
- alan_cx 13y agoHow is a lawyer not trust worthy? I have never seen a case where a lawyer screws over a client. Never understood this business of saying lawyers cannot be trusted. If one means that a lawyer acting against one on behalf of another party cannot be trusted, well, of course. Such a lawyer is not acting for one. In that instance, one would instruct one's own lawyer, and that lawyer would be 100% trust-able.
- LeeHunter 13y agoIn my limited dealings with lawyers I have seen several instances where the lawyer appeared to be recommending a course of action that seemed geared towards extending their billings rather than serving their client's interests with a speedy resolution. This seems to be a common practice with a small but significant minority of lawyers.
- alan_cx 13y agoNo builders, doctors, dentists, or car mechanics then? Your point is a criticism that can apply to any profession. No reason to target lawyers.
- LeeHunter 13y agoI don't think anyone was suggesting that there are no crooks in other professions. I was responding to YOUR comment that you couldn't imagine a crooked lawyer. As to why lawyers are singled out it may be partly due to their unique position in society that allows them to harass and bully. For example http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/lawyer-threatens-suit-over-coat http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/lawyer-threaten... or the recent case of Oatmeal vs dickhead lawyer.
- beagle3 13y agoIn some hospitals, not wearing a coat is a status symbol indicating seniority. In these places, you SHOULD trust the doctor in the T-shirt (or the button down, or the dress) more than you trust those with the coat
- lunchladydoris 13y agoIn a similar vein, here in the UK, surgeons return to being called mister once they're fully qualified.
- scoyote 13y agoAbsolutely!
- masnick 13y agoI'd rather have my doctor wear a tshirt than wear a tie: ties are known to spread infection. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=99526&page=1 http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=99526&page=1 I suspect the same could be true with long sleeves.
- bobdvb 13y agoNoses and hands also spread infections, I don't want my doctor to have them either.
- masnick 13y agoPoor hand hygiene is a huge cause of preventable, hospital-acquired infection. See http://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/tools/who_guidelines-handhygiene_summary.pdf http://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/tools/who_guidelines-handhygien... (pdf).
- Crake 13y agoI don't care what they wear, so long as I can afford to see one. :( /American citizen
- tome 13y agoWould you marry someone in a T-shirt? Would you go to a funeral wearing a T-shirt? I don't have a good answer to any of these questions :)
- rasur 13y agoThis seems to be a case of "how you dress defines your competencies in your profession", which for some professions it surely would have some bearing[1], but in general, how you are dressed should not really make any difference to the job you perform. This is, as others here have pointed out, more generally a question of conformity (with some arbitrarily expected "norm"). [1] An example off the top of my head: I'd question the competence of a fire-fighter turning up to fight a fire in jeans and a t-shirt instead of proper protective attire.
- fnordfnordfnord 13y ago>I'd question the competence of a fire-fighter turning up to fight a fire in jeans and a t-shirt instead of proper protective attire. As you should, a fire-fighter's protective bunker gear is necessary to perform their job function. A coat or tie OTOH does nothing to improve the doctor's ability to perform his/her job function. Deference to such traditional costumes might even lend credibility where none is deserved.
- bobdvb 13y agoSorry, I might not be old, but I do like my professionals to be professionally dressed, I consider professional to involve being smart and smart generally involves wearing a shirt. You might think I am wrong, but in equal measure I too think you are wrong.